Effect of Topography on Glossiness and Surface Color for a 5052 Aluminum Alloy * 1

Abstract

The effect of topography on the glossiness and surface color of aluminum alloy A5052 specimens was experimentally investigated. The surfaces of the specimens were machined using either a vertical milling machine, a horizontal milling machine or a shaping machine. Four specimens were produced by each machine so that the arithmetical mean roughness value, Ra, was less than 1 mm under four different cutting conditions. The experimental results revealed that the vertical and horizontal milling glossiness values were nearly the same, while the glossiness values of the shaped surface was less than half of this value. The surface color of all of the specimens was gray, although the lightness value of the surface color, L Ã , for the horizontal milling surface had the highest value. Based on the experimental results, it was determined that the surface texture of specimens produced by these machines could be characterized by their glossiness and surface color. These results could prove an effective indicator for choosing the most appropriate machining method by providing surface texture values