Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal 18 (2015) 303e308

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Engineering Science and Technology,

an International Journal
journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jestch

Full length article

The effect of cutting process on surface microstructure and hardness

of pure and Al 6061 aluminium alloy
Adnan Akkurt
Department of Industrial Design Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this study pure aluminium and Al 6061 aluminium alloy material had been cut with saw, milling,
Received 26 March 2014 submerged plasma, plasma, laser, wire electric discharge machining, oxyfuel and Abrasive water jet.
Received in revised form Microstructures and hardness variations of cut surfaces which obtained with different processes have
21 July 2014
been investigated. Results of the study show that the hardness and surface quality of the cut surface is
Accepted 23 July 2014
Available online 19 February 2015
affected from the kind of cutting process. Microstructure of cut surfaces is affected from the kind of
cutting process. Microstructural changes during cutting of the materials are observed with all of the
cutting process other than Abrasive water jet. Abrasive water jet method can be effectively used in in-
Keywords:
Cutting
dustrial applications where no microstructural changes and hardness reduction is essential.
Abrasive water jet © 2015 Karabuk University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under
Machining the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
Non-traditional machining

1. Introduction levels and conventional chip removing ratio have been

The quality of cutting process which has been obtained with
any method can be determined by measuring of surface prop-
erties such as surface roughness. The new cutting methods are
needed to obtain better surface quality. Non traditional cutting
methods are developed and used for newly developed engi-
neering materials. The cutting methods which based on jet
principle are preferred for hard to cut materials. Microfeatures
of surfaces show variations depending on cutting methods. The
machined surfaces which obtained by jet based cutting pro-
cesses show parallel straight surface features. In the jet method
which is based on jet flow the quality of surface can be devel-
oped by using the increased power for per unit of cutting length
of material. To get better surface quality the jet pressure is
increased and the lateral movement of jet is decreased [1]. Cut
surface features; when it examines to assign the quality of cut
surface features, it is seen that there are similarity of the sur-
faces cut by jet based cutting applications. The surface rough-
ness of the workpiece is related to diameter of the jet [2]. There
are some cutting methods for the plate shaped materials.
Abrasive water jet (AWJ) method has been compared with other
cutting methods in Fig. 1 by Hashish [3]. In the figure power
E-mail address: aakkurt@gazi.edu.tr.
Peer review under responsibility of Karabuk University.
compared for different machining methods. Hashish stated that
AWJ consume less energy level during cutting applications
when compared with other cutting methods [3]. In AWJ method
it is possible to cut with too narrow kerf. AWJ does not have any
thermal effect on the materials to be cut. The water jet (WJ) and
the AWJ also have limitations [3,6] besides their advantages.
Powel et al., have studied the economic point of view of laser
and AWJ [7]. They investigated the technical and commercial
advantages and disadvantages of the processes. Ohlsson et al.,
investigated the effects of cutting pressure, abrasive amount in
the jet, lateral speed on the cutting depth and surface features
for grey cast iron and steel [7e9] In Hashish and Schreiber's
studied they had reported that the laser and abrasive water jet
methods have unique cutting capabilities [10e12]. In Fig. 2 AWJ
is compared with common alternative cutting methods the
comparison of most common cutting methods is seen in Fig. 2.
Maximum cutting thickness of the processes is given in Table 1.
Material applications of some machining methods is shown in
Table 2. A general comparison of cutting methods depending on
material is shown in Table 3 [12e18].
The previous study focus abrasive Waterjet process or other
cutting process but none of them compare the all process with each
other. The present study, compare all cutting process and fill the
literature the gaps.
In this study pure aluminium and Al 6061 aluminium alloy
material had been cut with saw, milling, submerged plasma,

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jestch.2014.07.004
2215-0986/© 2015 Karabuk University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
304 A. Akkurt / Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal 18 (2015) 303e308

Fig. 1. The volume chip removing ratio of machining related to power levels [3].

plasma, laser, wire electric discharge machining (EDM), oxyfuel and
abrasive water jet. Microstructures and hardness variations of cut
surfaces which obtained with different processes had been inves-
tigated. Results of the study show that the hardness and surface
quality of the cut surface is affected from the kind of cutting
process.
2. Experimental study
In this study aluminium alloy plate material which has 20 mm
thickness have prepared and cut by conventional (oxygen flame,
hydraulic saw, and milling machine) and 8 non-traditional (AWJ,
Laser, Plasma arc, Water plasma, wire erosion) cutting methods.
Microstructure and hardness variations of the cut surface based on
the kind of cutting process had been investigated. In the experi-
mental study commercial pure aluminium and Al 6061 aluminium
alloy material were used. The chemical composition of aluminium
plate materials is given in Table 4. Technical details of the AWJ
system that are used in experimental study is given in Table 5. The
hardness of the pure and Al 6061 aluminium alloy plates were 41.05
and 53.08 HV30
Base material and cut surface microstructures have imaged
(X280) by using “PANASONIC WV-CP410 Model Type N334” mi-
croscope. The specimens had been polished with aluminium
powder and diamond paste. Then the specimens were etched with
2 ml HNO3 98 ml for 20 min before taking images. INSTRON
WOLPERT TESTOR were used to measure hardness values of base
materials and cut surfaces at HV30 condition. Hardness values of the
every point in the figures represent the average of 5 measurements
on the same linear line on the cut section. After this stage images
and hardness values of the cut surfaces that were obtained with
cutting process had been evaluated.

3. Results and discussion

The effect of cutting process on microstructure of the studied

materials is given in Fig. 3. In Microstructure of pure and Al6061
aluminium alloy it is seen that a-Al intermetallic compounds
have dispersed homogenously. To investigate the microstructure
of cut surface and the structural deformation, the photographs

Table 1
The comparison of cutting methods depending on material thickness [12].

Cutting methods Maximum material thickness (mm)

Stainless Alloyed Carbon Composites Stone,

steel steel steels granite marble

AWJ cutting 100 100 100 140 140

Laser cutting 10 5 16 e 5
Plasma cutting 20 20 20 e e
Fig. 2. Comparison of cutting abilities of different cutting methods by using single
Oxygen cutting e e 160 e e
orifice jet beam [13].
 A. Akkurt / Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal 18 (2015) 303e308 305

Table 2
Material applications of some machining methods [4,16].

Materials applications

Process Aluminium Steel Super alloys Titanium Refectories Plastics Ceramics Glass

Ultrasonic machining
Abrasive jet machining
Electrochemical machining
Chemical machining
Electric discharge machining
Electro beam machining
Laser beam machining
Plasma arc machining
Abrasive water jet machining
C B
B B
B A
A A
B A
B B
B B
A A
A A
C B
A B
A B
B B
A A
B B
B B
A B
A A
A B A A
A B A A
B D D D
C C C B
A D D D
A B A B
C B A B
C C D D
A B A A

A: good applications; B: fair; C: poor; D: not applicable.

Table 3
Overall comparison of abrasive water jet and alternative cutting methods [11].

Comparison of disconnection by water jet and other machining methods

Comparison factor Abrasive Laser Plasma Underwater Wire Milling Band Oxygen
water jet cutting cutting plasma EDM cutting saw cutting

Material thickness A C B B A B B A
Cutting quality A A C B A B B C
Lateral speed B A B B B B A B
Multi purpose use A D B B B B B C
Heat affected zone (HAZ) A D D C C B B D
Sensitive cutting A A B B A A C D
Secondary process requirement A B B B B B C C
Chip formation B C C C A B D B
Production flexibility A B C C B A C D
Overall process time B B D D B B A C

A: excellent; B: good; C: acceptable; D: unacceptable.

of unaffected part and cut edge have been taken and shown in
Fig. 3.
In saw cutting process there was not any microstructural
changes for both of the cut material as seen in Fig. 3b. There is
limited cold deformation at the cut surfaces. Hardness variations of
cut surfaces obtained with different processes are given in Fig. 4.
Hardness reduction on surface of the saw cut surface was measured
as 3.36% and 2.27% for pure Al and Al6061 Al alloy respectively.
Hardness reduction in cutting region can be explained with the
heat input during cutting process [18,19]. In the heated section
hardness is adversely affected [20]. Cutting of studied material with
milling machine cold deformation were observed as seen in Fig. 3c.
Depth of the cold deformed section beneath the surface of the
material is about 25 mm for both of the materials. Hardness
reduction ratio on the milling machine cut surface was measured as
1.88% and 3.22% for pure Al and Al6061 Al alloy respectively as seen
in Fig. 4. In submerged plasma process at cutting zone the material
microstructure had been changed with the effect of heat and water
combination as seen in Fig. 3d. At the surface of the materials the
structure deteriorated as a layer with 25 mm thickness. The
Table 4
Chemical compositions of materials.
% 99 purity commercial pure aluminium
Si % 0.340 Fe % 0.509 Cu % 0.151 Mn % 0.701 Mg % » 1.17 Zn % 0.0044
Cr % 0.0102 S % <0.005 Ti % 0.0625 s Sb % <0.0625 Ni % 0.00778 Al % 98.94
Al 6061ealuminium alloy
S % 0.185 Fe % 0.278 Cu % 0.0192 Mn % 0.290 Mg % 2.57
S % <0.005 Ti % 0.0196 Cr % 0.0150 Pb % 0.0323 Al % 96.60
hardness of these layers is lower than that of the base material.
Hardness reduction of the submerged plasma cut surfaces were
measured as 7.06% and 3.87% for pure Al and Al6061 Al alloy
respectively.
In the laser cutting method smooth surface structure has
been obtained. Intensified intermetallic compounds and porous
of gas were observed at the upper side of the cut section as seen
in Fig. 3e. These changes of microstructure can be explained
with the heat effect of during cutting operation. Hardness
reduction value of the laser cut surfaces were measured as 7.41%
and 5.43% for pure Al and Al6061 Al alloy respectively. Plasma
cutting resulted with a rough cutting surface profile as seen in
Fig. 3f. At the edge of the cutting section deformations and
micro cracks has formed. Hardness reduction ratio on the
plasma cut surface was measured as 7.24% and 6.26% for pure Al
and Al6061 Al alloy respectively. AWJ cutting process created a
rough cutting surface profile as seen in Fig. 3g. Better surface
profile characteristics were obtained with AWJ than laser cut-
ting process. There were not any changes in the microstructure
of the materials with AWJ cutting process. When compared with
the all of the cutting processes AWJ differ with no any mean-
ingful hardness changes in cutting section. In wire electric
discharge cutting (WEDM) a heat effected layer with about
15e30 mm thickness beneath the surface was observed as seen
in Fig. 3h. Microstructure of the material deteriorated. This layer
information can be explained with heat input during cutting
process. Hardness reduction ratio on the WEDM cut surface was
measured as 6.94% and 3.66% for pure Al and Al6061 Al alloy
respectively. It has been observed that very coarse cutting sur-
Zn % 0.0943 face profile and dendritic structure has formed due to excessive
Ni % 0.0111
and sudden warming and slow cooling rate with oxyfuel cutting
306 A. Akkurt / Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal 18 (2015) 303e308

Table 5
Cutting system and cutting parameters with abrasive water jet.

Abrasive water jet cutting

Water consumption z3.5 l/min The pump piston diameter 20 mm
System temperature of 48  C Inlet pressure of water into the pressure booster 6 bar
water
Working pressure of the 200 bar Inlet diameter of water into the nozzle 0.25 mm
booster
Outlet pressure of water 20 bar Abrasive nozzle inlet diameter into the nozzle 0.75 mm
from the pressure
booster
Water flow rate 3 l/min Stand-off distance 4 mm
Outlet velocity of water 800 m/s Water pressure at the instance of discharge 400 MPa
from the nozzle
Temperature at the z55  C Jet angle at the nozzle 90
instance of cutting
Current consumption 380 V Energy consumption 58 kW h
during work
Amount of abrasive 250 g/min Material used in the nozzle orifice Sapphire
consumed
Abrasive used GMA garnet Chemical composition Fe2O3Al2 (SIO4)3
Abrasive hardness 7.5e8 Mohs Abrasive particle size 300 mm
Abrasive water outlet 0.75 mm Nozzle length 76.2 mm
diameter from the
nozzle
Slurry content % 18 Mixing tube length 88.9 mm
Mixing tube diameter 1.27 mm Nozzle orifice life 40e50 h
Laser beam cutting Plasma beam and water shield plasma cutting
Cutting rate (lateral feed 20 m/min Cutting rate (Lateral feed rate) 20 m/min
rate)
Position rate 140 m/min Plate positioning By laser
Laser power 1550 W Current for maximum cutting 760 A
Main power supply GW 0e100% Nozzle pressure 12 bar
Pulse type Mega pulse Operating pressure 24 bar
Pulse change frequency 2000 Hz Operating frequency 50 Hz
Pulse time NP(T) 1500 ms Cooling capacity 4000 kcal/h
SP(t) 120 ms
Mod type Sürekli mod (CW) Nominal voltage 400 V
Focus distance 7.5 mm Average sound level 68 dB(A)
Cutting gas Nitrogen Cutting gas Oxygen þ nitrogen
Cutting gas pressure 1.2 bar Maximum cutting thickness 35 mm
Cooling temperature TA ¼ 25  C Cutting capacity 4000  7000 mm
Oxygen flame cutting Wire electrical discharge cutting
Cutting rate (lateral feed 20 m/min Processing condition C521
rate)
Current for maximum 760 A Feed rate 3 m/min
cutting
Nozzle pressure 10 bar Processing conditions and parameters
Operating pressure 20 bar ON OFF IP HP MA SV V SF C
Operating frequency 50 Hz 006 15 17 2 15 0.3 0.3 005 0
Cooling capacity 4000 kcal/h Voltage 32 V
Receiver tank capacity 30 l Current 5.6 A
Nominal voltage 400 V Wire tension Level 8
Average sound level 68 dB(A) Wire feed rate 7 m/min
Cutting gas Oxygen þ propane Control system Fine APT

Parameters for each cutting methods are selected in accordance with the machine manufacturers' recommendations.

process. Excessive heat input during cutting process resulted
with greater grains as seen in Fig. 3i. After the cutting
process very different structure than original composition was
obtained. The changes in the microstructure and hardness can
be attributed to heat input during cutting process [21].
Hardness reduction ratio on the oxyfuel cut surface was
measured as 7.84% and 8.59% for pure Al and Al6061 Al alloy
respectively.
4. Conclusions
From the results given above, the following conclusions can be
drawn:

AWJ process is a unique process that has not adverse affect on
microstructure of cut surface.

Heat based cutting process results in microstructure changes on
the cut surface. This situation requires additional cleaning
operation in further manufacturing stages.

There is cold deformation in mechanical cutting processes and
heat affected structure changes with heat based cutting pro-
cesses but there is not any changes in the structure of AWJ cut
surfaces.

Oxyfuel cutting results in the most structural changes in grain
size after cutting because of excessive heat input than that of
other heat based cutting processes.

Hardness of the cut surface reduced with all of the cutting
methods other than AWJ. Oxyfuel cutting has the highest
hardness reduction ratio.

AWJ method can be effectively used in industrial applications
where no microstructure changes and hardness reduction is
essential.
A. Akkurt / Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal 18 (2015) 303e308 307

Fig. 3. The effect of cutting process on microstructure of the studied materials.

308 A. Akkurt / Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal 18 (2015) 303e308

Fig. 4. Hardness variations in cutting with different processes.

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