Turning (Topic: 16170)

Turning of aluminium alloys should be carried out at high speeds. The workpiece should be carefully clamped, in order to avoid damaging the surface. There are six-jaws chucks available, which allow good clamping with a low pressure. In some cases it is important to remember the high thermal expansion of aluminium. Hollow workpieces held by outward pressure tend to become loose due to thermal expansion. Cutting fluids are normally used to cool the workpiece and prevent build-up.

Some typical values for turning

* Front and side ** Top and side

A lathe may also be used on many other operations such as form turning, parting off, facing, grinding, threading, knurling and thread rolling. Today, most of these operations are performed on CNC-lathes. Some alloys are specially designed for automatic machining.

References: [2,3,6,7]