A study on ultra–high-speed cutting of aluminium alloy:: Formation of welded metal on the secondary cutting edge of the tool and its effects on the quality of finished surface

To investigate the mechanism of ultra–high-speed cutting for aluminium alloy, cutting experiments by using a machine tool equipped with an active magnetic bearing spindle were performed over a range of cutting speeds from 20 to 260 m/s. On the whole, the finished surface tends to improve with an increase in cutting speed. However, the formation of welded metal on the tool edge in the speed range from 100 to 200 m/s promotes the material side flow on the finished surface, which causes the surface roughness to increase.