Fabrication and friction drilling of aluminum silicon carbide metal matrix composite

This study investigates the friction drilling process, a nontraditional hole-making technique, for thermal aspects, energy and power in friction drilling of aluminum silicon carbide metal matrix composites (AlSiC MMC). This type of MMC is finding applications in making automotive pats like Engine, brake system and drive shaft. In friction drilling, a rotating conical tool is applied to penetrate work-material and create a hole in single step. The main concern in the present study is the effectiveness and advantages of this novel technique on dry friction drilled holes. The parameters considered are the composition of work piece, temperature of work piece, work piece thickness, spindle speed, and feed rate. The interaction effect of these parameters was analyzed using design of experiments applied response surface methodology. The AlSiC MMC plates were fabricated by liquid metallurgy method which is an economical and efficient one. A low volume low cost fabrication technique is adopted. Friction drilling process is compared with the conventional twist drilling process.