CNC per materiali tipo MMC

The production of components made by MMC materials is one of CRP’s specialisations. Metal matrix composites offer further weight savings, increased stiffness and exceptional strength and resistance to fatigue.

The F1 fashion in 2006 and 2007 is AMC225XE. A grade 3 aerospace aluminium alloy - AA2 124 - reinforced with silicon carbide particles, typically 2-3 micron  - containing 25% silicon by volume. The material is versatile. It can be machined directly from billets, forged or formed by using extrusion or rolling techniques.

Like all materials which include silicon carbide it is also highly abrasive and requires the use of PCD (Polycrystalline Diamond) tooling. It can be wire cut and CRP use Charmilles machines to profile billets and forgings.

Advantages of MMC’s

 
Metal Matrix composites are used to gain competitive advantage provided by weight or performance benefits.

Increased operating speeds of more than 50% have been achieved in high speed machining.

 

PCD tools make it practical to machine Metal Matrix Composites

 
A metal matrix composite typically uses aluminium as a binding material and it is strengthened with the addition of carbide powders of various combinations and concentrations.

Machining a metal matrix material is very difficult and similar to machining a grinding wheel. The particulate is very abrasive and cannot be machined with conventional carbide tools (Widia).

 

CRP uses Polycrystalline Diamond tools, customized on its design, and the whole facility lends itself perfectly to the machining of MMC parts.

CRP has achieved higher productivity and quality over carbide (Widia) tooling thanks to the machining and quality control process know-how we have developed internally, thanks to a long and beneficial experience in F1.

More important, diamond tools allow us to machine parts and add features that are not possible using carbide (Widia) tools.

 

F1 Front upright - MMC (AMC225xe) CNC machining