31-12-2019

Advanced Abrasive Machining Processes

Dr. Mamilla Ravi Sankar

Assistant Professor,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati
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Overview of the lecture

 Advanced Abrasive Machining Processes
 Introduction to Abrasive Jet Machining

 Abrasive Jet Machining Process Parameters

 Effect of input parameters on output responses

 Material Removal Models for Brittle and Ductile Materails

 Applications of Abrasive Jet Machining

 Abrasive Jet Polishing

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Advanced Abrasive Machining Processes

 Abrasive Jet Machining

 Abrasive Water Jet Machining

 Ultrasonic Machining

 Elastic Emission Machining

Abrasive Jet Machining

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ABRASIVE JET MACHINING (AJM)

D1 D2
F1 F2

SOFT WALL SOFT WALL

• A person hits a ball twice on the wall with F1 & F2.

• The ball makes a crater of size D1& D2 such that D2>D1 if F2>F1.
• D2& D1 size = ø (kinetic energy of the ball when hitting the wall).
• Abrasive jet machining (AJM) works on the same principle.
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If F2>F1, then D2>D1
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ABRASIVE JET MACHINING (AJM)

INTRICATE SHAPES CUT BY ABRASIVE JET MACHINING

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PRINCIPLE OF AJM
 Fine particles (0.025mm) are accelerated in a gas stream (commonly
air at a few times atmospheric pressure).

 The particles are directed towards the focus of machining ( less than
1mm from the tip ).

 As the particle impacts the surface , it causes a small fracture , and

the gas stream carries both the abrasive particles and the fractured
( wear ) particles away.
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HOW AJM WORKS?

NOZZLE

NOZZLE TIP DISTANCE(NTD) FINE ABRASIVE

PARTICLE + AIR
CRATER
DIAMETER
CRATER DEPTH

CRATER
DIAMETER
CRATER DEPTH
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SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF AJM SYSTEM

AIR FILTER/DRIER ABRASIVE
PRESSURE FEEDER
RELIEF VALVE GAUGE
OPENING
COMPRESSOR VALVE MIXING
CHAMBER

PRESSURE
GAUGE
PRESSURE
REGULATOR NOZZLE
DRAIN
NOZZLE TIP DISTANCE
WORK PIECE
AIR/GAS ABRASIVE
FIXTURE

NTD
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ABRASIVE JET MACHINING (AJM)

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AJM: Experimental Set up

1 8
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2 7
4
3
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1 –HOPPER FOR ABRASIVE, 2 –PR REGULATOR, 3 –FLOW METER, 4 –MIXING

CHAMBER, 5 –AIR DRIER, 6–RPM MEASURING INSTRUMENT FOR VIBRATOR
INSIDE THE MIXING CHAMBER, 7–PRESSURE GAUGE FOR ABRASIVE JET,
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8 –ABRASIVE JET TUBING, 9 –NOZZLE, 10 –W/P AND W/P FIXTURE.
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GAS • Supplier clean & dry air to propel abrasive particles

• compressor or cylinder field with gas (9.5 l/hr.)
PROPULSION
• Gases are non-toxic, cheap & easily available, no excess
SYSTEMS spreading / diverging

ABRASIVE
• Quantity controlled by vibration
FEEDER

MACHINING • Well closed abrasive particles content should be below harmful

limit.
CHAMBER • Vacuum dust collector should be attached

• WC/ sapphire (≈300hr)

• Circular / rectangular x –section
AJM NOZZLE • Nozzle pressure = 2 –8.5 kg f / cm2 (w/p material, MRR
requirements)
• Increased wear stray cutting & higher inaccuracy

ABRASIVES Controlled by masking the work piece

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Mechanism of Material Removal in AJM

AIR+ABRASIVE
PARTICLES
VELOCITY(300-500 m/s)

NOZZLE
WEAR
ABRASIVE PARTICLE
NOZZLE PARTICLE
DIAMETER
NTD≈1mm (≈0.3mm-0.5mm)

CAVITY

WORK PIECE FEED

WORK PIECE
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Fish Bone Diagram For Process Parameters Of Ajm

MIXING CHAMBER WORK PIECE

NOZZLE PARAMETERS
LENGTH OF CHAMBER HARDNESS
DIAMETER TYPE
OF NOZZLE
CROSSECTION OF OUTPUT
NOZZLE
BORE DIAMETER RESPONSES
NOZZLE GEOMETRIC
TYPE DETAILS 1.MACHINING RATE
2.DEPTH OF CUT
MIXING
FLOWABILITY
RATIO 3.KERF QUALITY
VOLUME
FRACTION TRAVERSE SPEED
TYPE PRESSURE
TYPE
SIZE
STAND OF PRESSURE
DISTANCE(SOD)

ABRASIVE
CARRIER MEDIUM PROCESS PARAMETERS

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AJM Process Parameters

Three main Process Parameters are

 Abrasive Particles: Composition, strength, size, mass flow rate

 Carrier gas: Composition, pressure and velocity

 Nozzle: Geometry, material, stand off distance (sod), feed rate,

inclination to work.
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AJM Process Parameters: Abrasive Particles

ABRASIVE PARTICLES:
 The abrasive should have a sharp and irregular shape.
 Fine enough to remain suspended in the carrier gas.
 It should have excellent flow characteristics.
Al2O3 : for cleaning , cutting & deburring
SiC : similar applications as al2o3 but for harder material
Glass beads : matter finish
Sodium bicarbonate: cleaning, cutting & deburring of soft
materials.
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ABRASIVES SIZE and FUNCTION

 Size →10 –15 μm
Small → Cleaning & polishing
Large →Cutting

 Reuse → Not recommended

Contamination with chips = may block nozzle passage
Lower cutting ability
Low cost

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AJM Process Parameters: Abrasive Particles

S. ABRASIVE GRAIN SIZE MACHINING
NO. OPERATION

1 ALUMINIUM OXIDE 10, 20, 50 μm CUTTING AND

(AL2O3) GROOVING
2 SILICON CARBIDE 25, 40 μm CUTTING AND
(SIC) GROOVING
3 SODIUM BI 27 μm LIGHT FINISHING
CARBONATE
4 DOLOMITE ≈ 200 mesh ETCHING + POLISHING
5 GLASS BEADS 0.635 –1.27 μm LIGHT POLISHING AND
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FINE DEBURRING

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AJM PROCESS PARAMETERS: Carrier Gas

Carrier Gas:
 It should be nontoxic, cheap, easily available.

 It must not flare excessively when discharged from the nozzle.

 Commonly used gases are co2, nitrogen, and air.

 Air is mostly preferred due to universal availability and its non-

toxic nature.
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AJM PROCESS PARAMETERS: Nozzle

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AJM PROCESS PARAMETERS: Nozzle Materials

NOZZLE MATERIALS:
 It has to withstand the erosive action of abrasive particles .
 High resistance to wear.
 Circular or rectangular cross section tungsten carbide (wc) and
sapphire .
S. No. NOZZLE ROUND RECTANGULAR NOZZLE LIFE
MATERIAL (mm) (mm)
1 WC 0.2 -1.0 0.7x0.5 -0.15x0.25 12 –30 h
2 SAPPHIRE 0.2 -0.8 -- 300 h
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Mechanism of Material Removal: Ductile Materials

In the case of ductile materials, material is removed by plastic deformation and cutting
wear, or plastic strain and deformation wear.
 During impact ,when the yield strength of the material is locally exceeded, plastic
deformation takes place in the vicinity of the impact.
 After multiple impacts, a plastically deformed surface layer may form near the
eroded surface, and, therefore, the yield strength of the material increases due to
strain hardening.
 Upon further deformation, the yield strength at the surface of the material will
eventually become equal to its fracture strength, and no further plastic deformation
will occur.
 At this point, the material surface becomes brittle and its fragments may be removed
by subsequent impacts.
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Mechanism of Material Removal

 BRITTLE FRACTURE:
 During brittle material erosion process, particle impact produces different types of
cracks and chipping due to brittle fracture, with negligible plastic deformation.

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Effect of Nozzle Tip Distance on Cavity Diameter

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TYPICAL CUTTING ACTION OF

0.018” DIAMETER NOZZLE

D1
G1
D2 G2

D3 G3

D4 G4

Fig. Effect of nozzle tip distance (NTD) on cavity diameter

25 G1<G2<G3<G4 and D1<D2<D3<D4.
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Effect of Nozzle Tip Distance on Cavity Diameter

 In cutting, nozzle is positioned very close to w/p, 0.8 mm.
 At Close NTD, Cutting Rates are Compromised For The Sake of
Increased Accuracy.
 Close NTD Eliminates Taper and Minimizes the Kerf Width.
 The typical divergence angle for an abrasive jet is 7°.
 Increasing NTD to 5-12.5 mm, abrasive jet stream is widened, used for
cleaning and peening.
 Light-duty Operations, Such as Glass Frosting are Accomplished With
An NTD Of 25-75 mm.
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PARMETERIC ANALYSIS

ABRASIVE FLOW NOZZLE TIP

NOZZLE PRESSURE
RATE DISTANCE
• Maxima observed • at 0.75 –1.0 mm NTD, • K. E. removes material
• high abrasive flow rate max MRR → erosive action
→ high MRR till • low NTD → higher • Certain minimum
maxima accuracy → low kerf Velocity150 m/s for
• more of cutting → width→ low taper SIC → 25µm for
higher MRR cutting glass
• lower abrasive flow
rate → lower MRR due
to less of cutting edges

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Mixing Ratio
Mixing ratio (M) also influences M R R.

An increase in the value of ‘M ’ increases MRRV but a large value of

‘M ’ may decrease jet velocity and sometimes may block the nozzle.

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MIXING RATIO

 volume flow rate abrasive / vol. flow rate of carrier gas

 maxima observed between ‘m & MRR’
 mass ratio = ma/ma+c

cf(ө)m Vn
 MRRv = (Q) = GIVEN BY FINNIE (1960)
σ
c & n → Constants ;
σ29 → f low Stress Of W/P
29 V → Velocity of impacting particle

Abrasive Flow Rate

MRRg (mg/min) increases only up to a certain
value of abrasive flow rate beyond which it starts decreasing (Fig.)

As abrasive flow rate increases, the

number of abrasive-particles cutting the
workpiece also increases thereby
increasing MRRg.

However, with a further increase in

abrasive flow rate (other parameters
remaining unchanged), the abrasive flow
velocity goes down.
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Input Parameters Vs Output Responses

Mixing ratio
MRRv

Nozzle tip distance

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Input Parameters Vs Output Responses

Mixing Ratio
MRRv

MRR

Nozzle pressure
Mixing Ratio

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Stand of distance Vs Output Responses

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Stand of distance Vs Output Responses

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Nozzle Pressure
Effect of nozzle pressure on MRRV is shown in Fig. Kinetic energy (K. E.)
of the abrasive particles is responsible for removal of material by erosion process.

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Material Removal Model for Brittle and Ductile

Materials

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Material Removal Model for Brittle Materials

For Brittle material: A model proposed by Neema & Pandey
Assumption: MR by normal impact only (abrasive particles hit the work
surface at different analysis).
0.1156 Pa MaVa2
MRR (kg/s) =
103 σf w

Pa – abrasive particles density (kg/mm3).

Ma– mass flow rate of abrasive particles (kg/s).
Va– component of particle velocity (Va) normal to the work surface.
σ f w– Flow stress of work material (Pa).

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Material Removal Model for Ductile Materials

Sheldon & kanhere proposed a model for MRR of Ductile materials

ρa 1.5
k1d3mV3a
MRR (mm3) = Hvw
104.5
Where,
k1 is constant of proportionality, dm – mean diam of abrasive grain (mm),
Va – Volume of importing particle (mm3), ρa -- abrasive particle density (kg/
mm3) and Hvw -- Vicker’s diamond pyramid hardness number of the target
material.
• Amount of material removed is related to the depth of penetration of the
particle.

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PROCESS CAPABILITIES
 Low MRR ~ 0.015 cm3/ min.

 Intricate details in hard and brittle material makes up for low MRR.

 Narrow slots (0.12 to 0.25 mm).

 Low Tolerances (+0.12 To -0.12 µm).

 Good Surface Finish 0.25-1.25 µm.

 Minimum Radius That Can Be Produced Is 0.2 µm.

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PROCESS CAPABILITIES (Conti…)

 Steels up to 1.5, glass up to 6.3 mm thick is possible to cut.

 Thin sectioned, brittle material, inaccessible areas.

 Almost no surface damage.

 In thinner materials, taper is 0.005 in./in. Of material thickness.

 If no taper can be tolerated on the cut edge, the nozzle or the work

piece can sometimes be tilted to compensate. This has the effect of

negative taper on the part and doubling the taper on the scrap.
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AJM: Advantages
 Ability to machine heat sensitive, brittle & fragile materials

with thin sections which are inaccessible by ordinary methods.

 Very little or no heat generation due to non contact cutting and

microscopic material removal.

 Low capital investment and low power consumption.

 No part chatter or vibration.

41  Machines very hard materials

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AJM: Disadvantages
Nozzle wear rate is high. So, nozzle life is limited so it needs frequently
replacement.
Abrasive particle cannot be reuse in this process.
It cannot use for machine soft and ductile material. So, restricted to
brittle material because lower MRR in case of ductile materials
Some time additional cleaning operation is required to machined part as
particles can imbed into work piece.
Stray cutting & machining accuracy is poor i.e. taper cut.
The process tends to pollute the environment.
Low removal rate.
Short Nozzle Stand Off When Used For Cutting.
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APPLICATIONS

Final part configuration requirements for AJM- Technique used for AJM-trimmed of
trimmed electronic components silicon/tungsten disks
 AJM successfully employed to manufacture small electronic devices consisting of a 0.38-mm thick
wafer of silicon brazed to a 0.75-mm thick tungsten disk.
 After The Two Materials Are Brazed Together, The Silicon Wafer Must Be Trimmed And Beveled
Without Harming The Tungsten Disk.
 AJM nozzle is mounted at desired angle and directed at the slowly rotating part and unwanted silicon is
43trimmed off each part in less than 1 min.

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AJM: Applications

AJM Machined Egg shell, which shows

the ability of AJM to machine intricate
shapes into brittle workpieces
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AJM: Applications
•It is used in drilling and cutting of hardened metals.
•It is used for machining brittle and heat sensitive material like
glass, quartz, sapphire, mica, ceramic etc.

•It is Use to manufacture electronic devices.

•It is used in deburring small holes and some critical zones in machine parts.
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AJM: Applications

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AJM: Applications

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AJM: Applications

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APPLICATIONS
 Removing flash and parting lines from injection moulded parts.
 Deburring and polishing plastic, nylon and Teflon components.
 Cleaning metallic mould cavities which otherwise may be inaccessible.
 Cutting thin sectioned fragile components made of glass, ceramics, etc.
 Removing glue and paint from paintings and leather objects.
 Frosting interior surfaces of glass tubes.
 Manufacture of electronic devices.
 Permanent marking on rubber stencils .
 Drilling glass wafers, cutting titanium foils.
 Marking, engraving, glass frosting.
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AJM Application: Abrasive Jet Polishing

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Abrasive Jet Polishing

Abrasive Jet Polishing (AJP) process was first introduced by
Fahnle at al. (1998) Delft University of Technology.

Their research showed that it is feasible to utilize AJP process for

precision optical manufacture.

With AJP process, they polished BK7 optical glass and the rms
value decreased from 350 nanometers to 25 nanometers.

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Abrasive Jet Polishing

 In shaping of a polished sample BK7, the surface roughness
could be maintained within 1.6nm.
 Horiuchi O also made much research on abrasive jet polishing
process.
 With AJP, they polished a BK7 sample. The flatness was
improved from PV = 151nm to 29 nm.
 The surface roughness after machining was Ra = 1.53 nm and
slightly increases compared with Ra= 1.49 nm of pre-machined
surface.
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Summary
 Advanced Abrasive Machining Processes
 Introduction to Abrasive Jet Machining

 Abrasive Jet Machining Process Parameters

 Effect of input parameters on output responses

 Material Removal Models for Brittle and Ductile Materails

 Applications of Abrasive Jet Machining

 Abrasive Jet Polishing

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Thank You

Acknowledgement: Figures are taken to explain the students in a better way (teaching purpose only).
Author thankful to all the authors of the papers from where I have taken some figures and Google
(Thorugh which I have taken)
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