Effects of tool feed rate in single point diamond turning of aluminium-6061 alloy

During single point diamond turning, the effects of tool feed rate on surface figure and finish of aluminium-606 alloy are evaluated. The studies arc conducted on 60 mm diameter optical flat surfaces. Twenty-six specimensare diamond turned for varying tool feed rates (0.3 μm/rev to 30.0 μm/rev) keeping all the other machining parameters constant. The aluminium surfaces thus machined, show. a typical roughness of 15 nm, and surface figure of better than a half wave peak-to-valley (PV) for optimum tool feed rate. The tool feed rate between of 1.5-8.0 μm/rev is found to be optimum for a given set of other machining parameters to get the acceptable surface figure: as well as roughness values. An empirical formula with best fit has been formulated to find out the practical roughness achievable for the machining conditions under study.