Microturning of landing gear components used in miniature unmanned aircraft vehicles

Abstract The microturning of landing gear components used in miniature unmanned aircraft vehicles is described in this article. The finite element method (FEM) is used to predict variables such as microturning forces and temperatures at two different levels of roughing cut (1 and 3 mm depth of cut) with variable geometry cutting tool inserts. The predicted results are compared to experimentally determined magnitudes of forces and temperatures using a dynamometer and an infrared thermal camera. The results show that tool inserts with novel chip breaker functions reduce the magnitude of the machining forces and temperatures predicted using the FEM and validated by performing controlled experiments using Al-380 aluminum alloys machined with polycrystalline diamond-coated cutting tool inserts