Machining Aluminum: Is It Really That Easy?

What are the main issues when machining aluminum, and how can cutting tools mitigate them?

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Aluminum possesses unique qualities and can transform from white to silver. It is incorrodible like gold, as tenacious as iron, as fusible as copper, and as light as glass. It is easily workable and widely found in nature, as it is based on alumina, which forms the basis of most rocks. Aluminum is three times lighter than iron; in short, it seems to have been created expressly to furnish projectile material! This characteristic of aluminum, described by Jules Verne, the French novelist, poet, and playwright, many years ago, explains why aluminum and its alloys have become essential engineering materials. Its lightweight nature, good formability and machinability, and high corrosion resistance have made aluminum extremely popular in the aerospace, automotive, and packaging industries, as well as in resin mold manufacturing, homeware, and other fields. The use of pure aluminum is limited. In most industrial applications, aluminum is used in the form of alloys with various alloying elements, typically copper, magnesium, silicon, zinc, and others. Therefore, when discussing the machining of aluminum, it usually refers to cutting aluminum alloys.

Aluminum is considered a material with good machinability. There is a strong belief that machining aluminum does not cause any particular problems. "Take a sharp cutting tool and machine aluminum as fast as you can" - this tenet is very common in the manufacturing environment. Indeed, aluminum is one of the most machinable engineering materials. Hence, the main task when machining aluminum, as manufacturers perceive, is to ensure maximum productivity based on the capabilities of the machine tools. This is correct; however, your cutting tool should not only allow for this but also facilitate reasonable tool life and not break shortly thereafter. So, what are the main problems in machining aluminum and what are the requirements for a cutting tool to solve these problems?