Highly Loaded Aluminum MMC's 6091/SiC/40P

[jrr79]

Long time thread lurker first time posting. I have found a lot of knowledge on here. I've tried a few different searches but no luck yet finding anything related to this material

One of our current customers is having us quote some parts out of this material. It is a silicon carbide reinforced aluminum matrix composite. I'm trying to find information on machinability and tooling recommendations. So far it looks like diamond tooling for conventional machining. For the part we previously made out of 6061 the endmills ranged from .025 to .375 diameter. Holes were from .062 thru to .180. Threaded holes were for 2-56 and 6-32 helical inserts. I can't share the part model.

Anyone have any experience in machining this material?

[Colin Gilchrist]

Nothing says "easy to machine" quite like putting a tool to Silicon Carbide.

Try 6 C.

https://6c-tools.ch/en/produkte/

[jrr79]

Thanks Colin. I appreciate the tool recommendation.

[Colin Gilchrist]

CBN Tools would also be good, but are best for finishing. They are prone to chipping. I've seen good production processes with CBN, where two tools are used, and the finisher gets swapped out to become the roughing tool, once it is worn.

https://us.ns-tool.com/en/products/product_information/cbn/

 

[Leon82]

It says typical hardness it 86-88 Rockwell.

It says low CTE. Probably for something optical 

[Colin Gilchrist]