Non-Traditional Machining

MODULE 2

ULTRASONIC MACHINING (USM)

INTRODUCTION

USM is mechanical material removal process or an abrasive process used to erode

holes or cavities on hard or brittle workpiece by using shaped tools, high frequency
mechanical motion and an abrasive slurry. USM offers a solution to the expanding
need for machining brittle materials such as single crystals, glasses and
polycrystalline ceramics, and increasing complex operations to provide intricate
shapes and workpiece profiles. It is therefore used extensively in machining hard
and brittle materials that are difficult to machine by traditional manufacturing
processes.

Ultrasonic Machining is a non-traditional process, in which

abrasives contained in a slurry are driven against the work by a tool oscillating at
low amplitude (25-100 μm) and high frequency (15-30 KHz):
The process was first developed in 1950s and was originally used for finishing
EDM surfaces. The basic process is that a ductile and tough tool is pushed against
the work with a constant force. A constant stream of abrasive slurry passes
between the tool and the work (gap is 25-40 μm) to provide abrasives and carry
away chips. The majority of the cutting action comes from an ultrasonic (cyclic)
force applied.

The basic components to the cutting action are believed to be,

• brittle fracture caused by impact of abrasive grains due to the tool vibration;
• cavitation induced erosion;
• chemical erosion caused by slurry.

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USM working principle

Material removal primarily occurs due to the indentation of the hard abrasive
grits on the brittle work material.
Other than this brittle failure of the work material due to indentation some
material removal may occur due to free flowing impact of the abrasives
against the work material and related solid-solid impact erosion,
Tool’s vibration – indentation by the abrasive grits.
During indentation, due to Hertzian contact stresses, cracks would develop
just below the contact site, then as indentation progresses the cracks would
propagate due to increase in stress and ultimately lead to brittle fracture of
the work material under each individual interaction site between the
abrasive grits and the work piece.
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USM Machine

USM Equipment

The basic mechanical structure of an USM is very similar to a drill press.

However, it has additional features to carry out USM of brittle work material. The
work piece is mounted on a vice, which can be located at the desired position
under the tool using a 2 axis table. The table can further be lowered or raised to
accommodate work of different thickness. The typical elements of an USM are
• Slurry delivery and return system.
• Feed mechanism to provide a downward feed force on the tool during
machining.
• The transducer, which generates the ultrasonic vibration.

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• The horn or concentrator, which mechanically amplifies the vibration to the

required amplitude of 15 - 50 μm and accommodates the tool at its tip.

Working of horn as mechanical amplifier of amplitude of vibration

The ultrasonic vibrations are produced by the transducer. The transducer is driven
by suitable signal generator followed by power amplifier. The transducer for
USM works on the following principle:

• Piezoelectric effect
• Magnetostrictive effect
• Electrostrictive effect

Magnetostrictive transducers are most popular and robust amongst all. Figure
shows a typical magnetostrictive transducer along with horn. The horn or
concentrator is a wave guide, which amplifies and concentrates the vibration to
the tool from the transducer.

The horn or concentrator can be of different shape like

• Tapered or conical
• Exponential

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• Stepped

Machining of tapered or stepped horn is much easier as compared to the

exponential one. Figure shows different horns used in USM

PROCESS VARIABLES:
• Amplitude of vibration (ao) - 15 - 50 μm
• Frequency of vibration (f) - 19 - 25 kHz
• Feed force (F) - related to tool dimensions
• Feed pressure (p)
• Abrasive size - 15 μm - 150 μm
• Abrasive material - Al2O3
SiC B4C
• Boronsilicarbide
• Diamond
• Flow strength of work material
• Flow strength of the tool material
• Contact area of the tool - A
• Volume concentration of abrasive in water slurry - C
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Applications of USM
• Used for machining hard and brittle metallic alloys, semiconductors, glass,
ceramics, carbides etc.
• Used for machining round, square, irregular shaped holes and surface
impressions.
• Machining, wire drawing, punching or small blanking dies.

Figure: A non-round hole made by USM

• Drilling and machining cavities or holes in conductive and non-conductive
materials like glass, ceramics etc.
• Used to machine hard materials like tool steel, tungsten and hard carbides.
• Threading of various glass and ceramic materials.
• Used for making tools and dies.
• Soft materials like non-ferrous metals and alloys and brittle materials can be
machined.
• Removing flash and parting lines from injection moulded parts.
• Deburring and polishing plastic, nylon and Teflon components.
• To produce high quality surface.
• Hard materials and precious stones such as synthetic ruby for the preparation
of jewels for watch and timer movements are successfully machined by this
method.
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Advantage of USM
USM process is a non-thermal, non-chemical, creates no changes in the
microstructures, chemical or physical properties of the workpiece and offers
virtually stress free machined surfaces. The main advantages are;
• Any materials can be machined regardless of their electrical conductivity.
• Especially suitable for machining of brittle materials.
• Machined parts by USM possess better surface finish and higher structural
integrity. · USM does not produce thermal, electrical and chemical
abnormal surface.
• No burrs and no distortion of workpiece.
• Hard and brittle metals can be machined.
• Stresses are minimum.
• Thin sheets can be machined.
• Investment cost is low.
• Power consumption is low.
Some disadvantages of USM
• USM has higher power consumption and lower material-removal rates than
traditional fabrication processes.
• Tool wears fast in USM
• Machining area and depth is restraint in USM
• Depth of holes and cavities produced are small. Usually the depth of hole
is limited to 2.5 times the diameter of the tool. There is a tendency for holes
to break out at the bottom owing to high amplitude of vibrations of the
tool.
• Not suitable for soft workpiece material.

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• Machining accuracy is poor.

• Nozzle wear rate is high.
• Suitable only for small workpieces.

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ABRASIVE JET MACHINING(AJM)

INTRODUCTION

Abrasive water jet cutting is an extended version of water jet cutting; in which the
water jet contains abrasive particles such as silicon carbide or aluminium oxide in
order to increase the material removal rate above that of water jet machining.
Almost any type of material ranging from hard brittle materials such as ceramics,
metals and glass to extremely soft materials such as foam and rubbers can be
cut by abrasive water jet cutting. The narrow cutting stream and computer
controlled movement enables this process to produce parts accurately and
efficiently. This machining process is especially ideal for cutting materials that
cannot be cut by laser or thermal cut. Metallic, nonmetallic and advanced
composite materials of various thicknesses can be cut by this process. This
process is particularly suitable for heat sensitive materials that cannot be
machined by processes that produce heat while machining.

Working principle

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In Abrasive Jet Machining (AJM), abrasive particles are made to impinge on the
work material at a high velocity. The jet of abrasive particles is carried by carrier
gas or air. The high velocity stream of abrasive is generated by converting the
pressure energy of the carrier gas or air to its kinetic energy and hence high
velocity jet. The nozzle directs the abrasive jet in a controlled manner onto the
work material, so that the distance between the nozzle and the work piece and the
impingement angle can be set desirably. The high velocity abrasive particles
remove the material by micro-cutting action as well as brittle fracture of the
work material.

AJM Equipment

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In AJM, air is compressed in an air compressor and compressed air at a pressure of

around 5 bar is used as the carrier gas. Figure also shows the other major parts of
the AJM system. Gases like CO2, N2 can also be used as carrier gas which may
directly be issued from a gas cylinder. Generally oxygen is not used as a carrier gas.
The carrier gas is first passed through a pressure regulator to obtain the desired
working pressure. To remove any oil vapour or particulate contaminant the same is
passed through a series of filters. Then the carrier gas enters a closed chamber
known as the mixing chamber. The abrasive particles enter the chamber from a
hopper through a metallic sieve. The sieve is constantly vibrated by an
electromagnetic shaker. The mass flow rate of abrasive (15 gm/min) entering the
chamber depends on the amplitude of vibration of the sieve and its frequency.
The abrasive particles are then carried by the carrier gas to the machining
chamber via an electro-magnetic on-off valve. The machining enclosure is
essential to contain the abrasive and machined particles in a safe and eco-friendly
manner. The machining is carried out as high velocity (200 m/s) abrasive
particles are issued from the nozzle onto a work piece traversing under the jet.

Process Parameters and Machining Characteristics.

The process parameters are listed below:

• Abrasive
_ Material - AL2O3 / SiC / glass beads
_ Shape - irregular / spherical
_ Size - 10 ~ 50 μm
_ Mass flow rate - 2 ~ 20 gm/min

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• Carrier gas
• Composition - Air, CO2, N2
• Density - Air ~ 1.3 kg/ m3
• Velocity - 500 ~ 700 m/s
• Pressure - 2 ~ 10 bar
Flow rate - 5 ~ 30 lpm
• Abrasive Jet
_ Velocity - 100 ~ 300 m/s
_ Mixing ratio - mass flow ratio of abrasive to gas
_ Stand-off distance - 0.5 ~ 5 mm

_ Impingement Angle - 60° ~ 90°

• Nozzle
_ Material - WC / sapphire
_ Diameter - (Internal) 0.2 ~ 0.8 mm
_ Life - 10 ~ 300 hours

The important machining characteristics in AJM are

• The material removal rate (MRR) /min or gm/min
• The machining accuracy
• The life of the nozzle

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(a) lb\ son M (ti\

Effect of process parameters MRR
Parameters of Abrasive Jet Maching (AJM) are factors that influence its Metal
Removal Rate (MRR). In a machining process, Metal Removal Rate (MRR) is the
volume of metal removed from a given work piece in unit time. The following
are some of the important process parameters of abrasive jet machining:
1. Abrasive mass flow rate.
2. Nozzle tip distance.

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3. Gas Pressure.
4. Velocity of abrasive particles.
5. Mixing ratio.
6. Abrasive grain size.

Abrasive mass flow rate:

Mass flow rate of the abrasive particles is a major process parameter that
influences the metal removal rate in abrasive jet machining.
In AJM, mass flow rate of the gas (or air) in abrasive jet is inversely
proportional to the mass flow rate of the abrasive particles.
Due to this fact, when continuously increasing the abrasive mass flow rate,
Metal Removal Rate (MRR) first increases to an optimum value (because of
increase in number of abrasive particles hitting the work piece) and then
decreases.
However, if the mixing ratio is kept constant, Metal Removal Rate (MRR)
uniformly increases with increase in abrasive mass flow rate.

Nozzle tip distance:

Nozzle Tip Distance (NTD) is the gap provided between the nozzle tip and
the work piece.
Up to a certain limit, Metal Removal Rate (MRR) increases with increase in
nozzle tip distance. After that limit, MRR remains constant to some extent
and then decreases.
In addition to metal removal rate, nozzle tip distance influences the shape
and diameter of cut.
For optimal performance, a nozzle tip distance of 0.25 to 0.75 mm is
provided.

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Gas pressure:
Air or gas pressure has a direct impact on metal removal rate.
In abrasive jet machining, metal removal rate is directly proportional to air
or gas pressure.

Velocity of abrasive particles:

Whenever the velocity of abrasive particles is increased, the speed at which the
abrasive particles hit the work piece is increased. Because of this reason, in
abrasive jet machining, metal removal rate increases with increase in velocity
of abrasive particles.

Mixing ratio:
Mixing ratio is a ratio that determines the quality of the air-abrasive mixture
in Abrasive Jet Machining (AJM).
It is the ratio between the mass flow rate of abrasive particles and the mass
flow rate of air (or gas).
When mixing ratio is increased continuously, metal removal rate first increases
to some extent and then decreases.

Abrasive grain size:

Size of the abrasive particle determines the speed at which metal is removed.
If smooth and fine surface finish is to be obtained, abrasive particle with small
grain size is used.
If metal has to be removed rapidly, abrasive particle with large grain size is
used.

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Applications
• Abrasive water jet cutting is highly used in aerospace, automotive and
electronics industries.
• In aerospace industries, parts such as titanium bodies for military aircrafts, engine
components (aluminium, titanium, heat resistant alloys), aluminium body parts
and interior cabin parts are made using abrasive water jet cutting.
• In automotive industries, parts like interior trim (head liners, trunk liners, door
panels) and fibre glass body components and bumpers are made by this process.
Similarly, in electronics industries, circuit boards and cable stripping are made by
abrasive water jet cutting.

Figure: Steel gear and rack cut with an abrasive water jet

Advantages of abrasive water jet cutting

• In most of the cases, no secondary finishing required
• No cutter induced distortion
• Low cutting forces on workpieces
• Limited tooling requirements

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• Little to no cutting burr

• Typical finish 125-250 microns
• Smaller kerf size reduces material wastages
• No heat affected zone
• Localises structural changes
• No cutter induced metal contamination
• Eliminates thermal distortion
• No slag or cutting dross
• Precise, multi plane cutting of contours, shapes, and bevels of any angle.

Limitations of abrasive water jet cutting

• Cannot drill flat bottom
• Cannot cut materials that degrades quickly with moisture
• Surface finish degrades at higher cut speeds which are frequently used for
rough cutting.
• The major disadvantages of abrasive water jet cutting are high capital cost and
high
• noise levels during operation.

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WATER JET MACHINING (WJM)

INTRODUCTION
Abrasive water jet cutting is an extended version of water jet cutting; in which the
water jet contains abrasive particles such as silicon carbide or aluminium oxide in
order to increase the material removal rate above that of water jet machining.
Almost any type of material ranging from hard brittle materials such as ceramics,
metals and glass to extremely soft materials such as foam and rubbers can be cut
by abrasive water jet cutting. The narrow cutting stream and computer
controlled movement enables this process to produce parts accurately and
efficiently. This machining process is especially ideal for cutting materials that
cannot be cut by laser or thermal cut. Metallic, nonmetallic and advanced
composite materials of various thicknesses can be cut by this process. This
process is particularly suitable for heat sensitive materials that cannot be
machined by processes that produce heat while machining.
The schematic of abrasive water jet cutting is shown in Figure which is similar to
water jet cutting apart from some more features underneath the jewel; namely
abrasive, guard and mixing tube. In this process, high velocity water exiting the
jewel creates a vacuum which sucks abrasive from the abrasive line, which
mixes with the water in the mixing tube to form a high velocity beam of abrasives.

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Figure: Abrasive water jet machining

Applications
Abrasive water jet cutting is highly used in aerospace, automotive and
electronics industries. In aerospace industries, parts such as titanium bodies for
military aircrafts, engine components (aluminium, titanium, heat resistant
alloys), aluminium body parts and interior cabin parts are made using abrasive
water jet cutting.
In automotive industries, parts like interior trim (head liners, trunk liners, door
panels) and fibre glass body components and bumpers are made by this process.
Similarly, in electronics industries, circuit boards and cable stripping are made by
abrasive water jet cutting.

Advantages of abrasive water jet cutting

• In most of the cases, no secondary finishing required
• No cutter induced distortion
• Low cutting forces on workpieces
• Limited tooling requirements
• Little to no cutting burr
• Typical finish 125-250 microns

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• Smaller kerf size reduces material wastages

• No heat affected zone
• Localises structural changes
• No cutter induced metal contamination
• Eliminates thermal distortion
• No slag or cutting dross
• Precise, multi plane cutting of contours, shapes, and bevels of any angle.

Limitations of abrasive water jet cutting

• Cannot drill flat bottom
• Cannot cut materials that degrades quickly with moisture
• Surface finish degrades at higher cut speeds which are frequently used for
rough cutting.
• The major disadvantages of abrasive water jet cutting are high capital cost and
high noise levels during operation.

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