Experimental investigation on roundness error in friction drilling and mechanical properties of Al/SiCp-MMC composites

Silicon carbide particulate reinforced aluminum (Al/SiCp) Metal Matrix Composites (MMC) is finding increased applications in Industries due to its unique advantages. Holes are to be drilled in many applications for joining and assembly purposes. Friction drilling is a newer non-traditional hole-making chip less process used to make holes in a single step. The manuscript first discusses the mechanical properties such as tensile strength and micro hardness of Al/SiCp-MMC composites, then it discusses the roundness (hole diameter accuracy) errors on dry friction drilled holes. The parameters considered for the experiments are: the composition of work piece, work piece thickness, spindle speed, and feed rate. The results indicated that the increase in the composition of wt% of SiCp particles increases the tensile strength, hardness. The drilling test results indicated that moderate wt% of SiCp gives better results. Higher spindle speeds and higher feed rates increase the roundness error. The highly influential parameter which affects the roundness error is feed rate. Increase in plate thickness also increases the roundness error in drilling of MMC composites.