A Review on Conventional and Laser Assisted Machining of Aluminium Based Metal Matrix Composites

Article history: Received: 27.6.2013. Received in revised form: 14.11.2013. Accepted: 19.11.2013. Aluminum based Metal Matrix Composites (AlMMC) have been found in different industrial applications due to their excellent properties compared to conventional materials. Machining of these composites is difficult due to their hard particle reinforcements. The wider usage of these composites is limited because of high machining cost and excessive tool wear caused by conventional machining. Because of increasing demands in industries, any improvement of conventional machining process or any other deployment of additional technique is directly related to higher productivity. Laser Assisted Machining has become an effective alternative to the conventional machining of these difficulttocut materials. This paper provides an overview of the conventional machining of MMCs and the potential of LAM. An attempt is made to give a better understanding of the operating conditions such as machining parameters and Laser parameters. Finally, the summary of the review is discussed and the scope for future research is presented.