Abstract: With the leap forward in the manufacturing demand for composite parts in high-precision equipment in aerospace, biomedical and other fields, the research on the machinability of metal matrix composites (MMCs) has become one of the hot spots of continuous attention in academia and industry. In recent years, in the study of MMCs cutting process, many academics have done extensive research and produced a wealth of findings. However, not enough study has been done to summarize the material removal mechanism and machining process modeling from the perspective of the material microstructures and properties, especially for the micro-scale machining of MMCs. This paper will focus on the influence of the characteristic parameters of reinforcements on the MMCs removal mechanism at different machining scales and explore the micro-removal mechanism of MMCs. In addition, a review of cutting process modeling studies is also presented, including analytical modeling of the constitutive relationship and cutting forces, finite element simulations of chip formation process and in-situ observation analysis. The emphasis is on outlining how the material multiphase structure, reinforcement debonding and fracture behavior, as well as strengthening mechanisms and size effects and other mechanisms reflected in modeling, which provide important guidance for modeling of micro-scale machining process. Finally, the research on the MMCs cutting process is summarized and prospected to provide theoretical and data support for solving the difficulties in micro-scale/precision machining of MMCs.

Key words: metal matrix composites, material removal mechanism, cutting process modeling, ceramic reinforcements, microstructure and properties