An investigation of optimum SiO₂ nanolubrication parameters in end milling of aerospace Al6061-T6 alloy

Aluminium AL6061-T6 is a common alloy which is used for many purposes since it has the superior mechanical properties such as hardness and weldability. It is commonly used in aircraft, automotive and packaging food industries. Milling of Al6061-T6 would be a good process especially in producing varieties shape of products to adapt with different applications. The capability of the CNC milling machine to make batch production would be a noteworthy advantage. However, the demand for high quality focuses attention on product quality, especially the roughness of the machined surface, because of its effect on product appearance, function and reliability. Introducing correct lubrication in the machining zone could improve the tribological characteristic of Al6061-T6 leading to higher product quality. In this research work, the optimum SiO₂ nanolubrication parameters in milling of Al6061-T6 are investigated to achieve correct lubrication conditions for the lowest cutting force, cutting temperature and surface roughness. These parameters include nanolubricant concentration, nozzle angle and air carrier pressure. Taguchi optimization method is used with standard orthogonal array L₁₆(4)³. Furthermore, analyses on surface roughness and cutting force are conducted using signal-to-noise (S/N) response analysis and the analysis of variance (Pareto ANOVA) to determine which process parameters are statistically significant. Finally, confirmation tests were carried out to investigate the optimization improvements.