Transfer of cutting material to cutting tool during machining process of aluminum alloys, is strongly related with the secondary/indirect adhesion wear mechanisms in form of Built-Up Layer (BUL) and Built-Up Edge (BUE). BUL and BUE formation and their evolution modify the physicochemical and geometry properties of the tool. Much uncertainty still exists about the relationship between surface finish and BUL-BUE intensity, mainly due to the difficulty found in characterizing and quantifying the material adhered onto the tool. In this paper, tool wear effects in dry turning of aerospace alloy UNS A92024-T3 (Al-Cu) have been analyzed from two standpoints. First, a metrological methodology based on Focus-Variation Microscopy (FVM) is proposed to evaluate the intensity of tool wear in form of BUE. Second, a set of roughness parameters is proposed to evaluate the influence of turning parameters in terms of root mean square deviation, skewness and kurtosis of the roughness assessed profile.

In a globalized marketplace, the competition in the aerospace industry has increased significantly. Producers can choose between many suppliers. These suppliers have to comply with more requirements and technical specifications, as well as take on greater responsibilities that originally fell on producers. In this context, business opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are limited, but still suppliers must try to leverage the maximum strategic advantage of the few that present. Adopting research, development and innovation (R+D+i) practices has proven to bring great benefits to companies and allows them to gain significant competitive advantages. However, the process of designing, implementing and testing R+D+i-related processes is not straightforward, nor it has been addressed in the recent research on SMEs. In this paper, a case study of a Spanish innovative small company providing industrial metrology and quality services is analyzed. Thanks to an internal decision-making process, an R+D+i management system based on the UNE 166.002:2014 standard is eventually adopted. A pilot project is closely followed up to test the robustness of the system implementation. The R+D+i management system has allowed the company to streamline its innovation activities, establish objectives to better allocate essential resources, organize high performing innovation units within the organization structure, increase the clients’ confidence, improve the company’s competitiveness, carry out technological surveillance, and get more patented technology, among many others. Adoption steps taken by this SME are generalizable to other SMEs from other industries and show how an R+D+i management system can be chosen, designed, implemented and tested in the context of Industry 4.0 (I4.0).

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The influence of the forming process in the response into service of the manufactured workpieces, in the first instance, through the surface integrity can be evaluated. The concept of surface integrity includes the assessment of geometrical aspects like shape and dimensions, and physicochemical properties like hardness and corrosion resistance. This work reports on the results of a study of the influence of the turning parameters on the Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) of turned bars of UNS A92024 Aluminium-Copper alloy.