ABSTRACT
This article provides a comprehensive overview of the machining of aluminum alloys, composites, and ceramics at micro scale. All major aspects of the micromachining of aluminum alloys including process descriptions, key research findings, applications, major challenges, and guidelines for future research have been covered in this article. Based on the literature, conventional micromachining processes, such as turning, milling, grinding, and drilling, have been found to be suitable for machining most of the cast and wrought aluminum alloys. On the other hand, nonconventional micromachining processes were approached for the micromachining of aluminum metal matrix composites and alumina ceramics. Some challenges and aspects in the area of micromachining of aluminum alloys that need future considerations are burr formation, tool wear, surface finish, microstructures and properties changes, and process development for advanced and hybrid micromachining.
