Surface integrity in broaching of AA 7075-T651 aluminum alloys

Special features as noncircular hole shapes are manufactured by the broaching process. The rise per tooth varies in different zones of the broaching tool. In this article, the effects of the two main process parameters (cutting speed and rise per tooth) on surface integrity (surface roughness, micro-hardness) and chip morphology will be studied. The experiments have been done on AA7075-T651 aluminum alloy. To investigate the effect of rise per tooth, one of the cutting edges of broaching tool is separated and the broaching process is implemented for nine samples. The samples are broached with three different cutting speeds (6, 12 and 18 m/min) and three rise per tooth (0.02, 0.05 and 0.1?mm). Also, the effect of cutting speed is investigated with a broaching needle (rise per tooth 0.1?mm). The results show that best surface roughness is obtained at cutting speed 12 m/min. The surface roughness will be improved by decreasing the rise per tooth. Also, the surface hardness decreases by increasing the cutting speed. The surface integrity (surface roughness and surface hardness) is comparable for single edge cutting tool and broaching needle. Continuous chips are formed during the broaching process and decreasing the cutting speed cause more compression of the chips.