During machining of thin aluminium parts and/or thin walls typical of the aeronautics sector, the complexity of the process interacts with the need to obtain high dimensional tolerances together with excellent mechanical properties of the final part. A common problem that these types of parts have is the appearance of significant distortion once they are machined. This is principally due to the parts not having been fully stabilised, and from the start there is a significant level of residual stresses. Once the material is removed and the part is taken out of its clamping system, the stresses go to a new equilibrium state which induces a geometric change in the part. In this work, the development of an analytical model is proposed that would allow the final distortions of machine components to be calculated. With the aim of obtaining data for feeding the model, experimental milling tests were carried out on different Al parts. Finally, the capability of the model to predict the final distortion in these types of parts was validated by comparing it with distortion results obtained on experimental test pieces.
