In the world of prototyping and design, the machinability of your material is a crucial element to consider. It is often defined as the ease the material can be machined. So how machinable a metal highly depends on the properties and the cutting conditions. That said, aluminum is often more machinable than some metals because it easily chips. In this article, we look at the benefits of applying CNC aluminum machining to different sectors. We also defined machined aluminum.
It is also easy to shape. This implies that it chips easily and is freer to machining. At the same time, the cutting tool will spend some significant time in cutting that work-piece, rather than the chips created. Speed comes in when it is time to ease the shaping process of the material.
Typically, aluminum is capable of machining up to 4 times faster than steel since it is used in multiple different applications including camera and radio parts.
How to avoid deformation
Aluminum is definitely a crucial industrial raw material. But following the fact that it is relatively low in hardness, it can deform into a thin-walled element in the process of machining.
Besides improving the actual tool performance as well as eliminating the stresses of your material, there are a few steps you can take in order to reduce the entire deformation of that material.
- Symmetrical machining
If you have aluminum parts with a broad processing allowance, it becomes necessary to evade an excessive heat concentration to create better and viable heat dissipation while reducing the whole thermal deformation. Typically, this method can be taken into consideration when it comes to avoiding deformation.
- Choose the right cutting perimeter
You should be able to choose the right cutting perimeter at all times. This implies that the cutting force can easily be reduced by selecting the proper cutting parameters.
In that process, if the cutting parameters happen to be bigger than normal, you will realize that there is excessive cutting force projected, which should easily contribute to the deformation of several other parts, while affecting the entire rigidity of your spindle as well as the durability of your tools.
Importance of CNC Aluminum Machining
Aluminum machining comes with an impressive form of accuracy since the machine ensures that there is consistency in product quality. Typically, the whole process is rather more precise as compared to the manual machining. It can also be repeated over and over.
Aluminum machining is also known for its safety during operations. Being a user, you need to understand that the machines are rather safer than the manually operated ones since they work right behind a transparent safety guard.
Aluminum machining is known to be cost effective. Conventional machining demands that one operator runs the machine at a time. Aluminum CNC machining demands that fewer machine operators operate it because one skilled operator can run multiple machines at once.
Because the CNC is pretty much accurate, it reduces the existing errors from that manufacturing process.
Final Thoughts
For many project managers in the CNC market, aluminum happens to be a popular material choice. This is because it has desirable properties. Not only is it strong but resistant to any form of corrosion.