Metal fins with complex structural surfaces play a crucial role in cooling highly
heat-intensive electronic products, and a facile method for fabricating such
metal fins is urgently needed. Herein, a simple machining method was proposed
for fabricating metal fins with novel waveform structures. The new machining
method combined plowing extrusion and cutting (PE-C) processes, enabling
one-step fabrication of wavy fins, exhibiting excellent flexibility and
efficiency. The combined PE-C tool was first designed and manufactured.
Subsequently, experiments for fabricating wavy fins were developed and
conducted. Based on this, an in-depth analysis of forming procedures was
performed using in-situ experimental insights. Moreover, forming characteristics
of wavy fins under key parameters (e.g., the tool rake angle
γ^c and the cutting velocity
V^c) were discussed. Results show that the
novel wavy fins were successfully manufactured by the proposed PE-C method. Wavy
fins exhibited excellent, well-developed surfaces with a complete corrugation
structure, and their geometric dimensions could be adjusted through processing
parameters. The new PE-C method utilized two consecutive stages (i.e., the PE
and cutting stages) to achieve the fabrication of wavy fins. The PE stage shaped
the uncut metal surface into grooved structures, while the cutting stage
transformed the groove structure into a waveform structure. Multiple folding
principles, rather than conventional shear deformation, were utilized to achieve
wavy fins. Reducing the γ^c and
V^c would contribute to obtaining fins with the
larger waveform structures. PE-C exhibited excellent potential in the field of
heat exchange metal fin manufacturing.