Machining of magnesium matrix composites

Several magnesium alloys with different particle and short fibre reinforcements have been machined for the investigations reported here. The main problem when machining metal matrix composites (MMC) is tool wear, which is caused by the very hard and abrasive reinforcements. Therefore it is necessary to find suitable cutting tools for the MMC and the different machining operations. In addition it is required to investigate the cutting conditions considering tool wear, surface quality, accuracy and surface integrity. In this papaer the results of investigations concerning drilling and reaming of different MMC are presented.