An experimental examination of the dry drilling machinability features of cellular glass-filled new-generation metallic composite foams

On the way to the real industrial applications of the metal matrix composite foams, the machining issue is highly critical in terms of dimensional accuracy, surface quality, and design diversity. Therefore, especially for lightweight automotive and aerospace components, the drilling machinability properties of cellular glass-added aluminum composite foams were examined in this paper, and this is the first initiative in the literature specific to millimeter-scale glass and aluminum-zinc matrix combination. To comprehend the drilling properties, the outputs of thrust force, cylindricity, material removal rate, specific cutting coefficient, circularity error, damage factor, surface roughness, and chip formation were measured elaboratively. The results showed that cylindricity and damage factor of foams elevated with the increased feed rates (from 0.05 mm×rev⁻¹ to 0.2 mm×rev⁻¹) and cutting speeds (from 25 m×min⁻¹ to 100 m×min⁻¹). Maximum thrust force value reached up to 150 N for 0.2 mm×rev⁻¹ feed and 25 m×min⁻¹ cutting speed. Besides, specific cutting coefficient values ranged between 360 MPa and 114 MPa. The highest surface roughness of 58.3 μm was obtained with the lowest cutting speed of 25 m×min⁻¹, and the long/continuous chip structure converted into a separate/short structure based on rising feed and cutting speeds.