Effect of cutting clearance in shear-slitting process on the residual stress and cut surface quality of AA6111-T4 aluminum alloy

The paper presents the problem of the correct selection of the cutting clearance during the cutting process of aluminum alloys on circular shears. Currently, production lines lack correct guidelines on how to set the cutting clearance depending on the type of aluminum alloy and its thickness. This causes defects in the products and accelerated wear of the cutting tools.The paper presents the results of experimental and numerical research related to the process of shear-slitting of t = 1 mm AA6111-T4 aluminum alloy. During the experimental studies, it was determined how the value of the clearance affects the characteristic features of the cut edge and deviations of the shape of the product. Using numerical tests, the influence of the clearance value on the stress values in the cutting zone was determined. For the AA6111-T4 aluminum alloy, the highest product quality was obtained using clearances hc = 0.09 mm and hc = 0.12 mm. The conducted experimental research can be useful on production lines in the aspect of the correct selection of technological parameters of the process due to the adopted energy and quality criteria.