ME 350 Lecture 22 Chapter 26

NONTRADITIONAL MACHINING PROCESSES

1. Mechanical Energy Processes (USM, WJC, AJM)
2. Electrochemical Processes (ECM)
3. Thermal Processes (EDM, Wire EDM, EBM, LBM, PAC)
4. Chemical Processes (CHM, Chemical Blanking, PCM)
Nontraditional machining is characterized by material
removal that:
ME 350 Final Exam Update
Location:
DCL 1320

Date:
Friday May 13
th
, 2011

Time:
1:30 pm 4:30 pm

Nontraditional Processes Used When:
1. Material is either very hard, brittle or both; or
material is very ductile:
2. Part geometry is complex or geometric
requirements impossible with conventional
methods:
3. Need to avoid surface damage or contamination
that often accompanies conventional machining:
1. Mechanical Energy Processes
Ultrasonic machining (USM)
Water jet cutting (WJC)
Abrasive jet machining (AJM)
1a) Ultrasonic Machining (USM & UW)
Abrasives in a slurry are driven at high velocity against
work by a vibrating tool (low amplitude & high frequency)
Tool oscillation is perpendicular to work surface
Abrasives accomplish material removal
Tool is fed slowly into work
Shape of tool is formed into part
USM Applications
Used only on hard and brittle work materials:
ceramics, glass, carbides, and hard metals.
Shapes include non-round holes, holes along a
curved axis
Coining operations - pattern on tool is
imparted to a flat work surface
Produces virtually stress free shapes
Holes as small as 0.076 mm have been made
Uses high pressure, high
velocity stream of water
directed at work surface
for cutting
1b) Water Jet Cutting (WJC)
WJC Applications
Usually automated using CNC or industrial robots
Best used to cut narrow slits in flat stock such as:
plastic, textiles, composites, tile, and cardboard
Not suitable for:
When used on metals, you need to add to the
water stream:
Smallest kerf width about 0.4 mm for metals, and
0.1mm for plastics and non-metals.
More info: http://www.waterjets.org/index.html
WJC Advantages
No crushing or burning of work surface
Minimum material loss
No environmental pollution
Ease of automation

High velocity gas stream containing abrasive
particles (aka: sand blasting or bead blasting)





Normally used as a finishing process rather than
cutting process (e.g. gas sandpaper)
Applications: deburring, cleaning, and polishing.
1c) Abrasive Jet Machining (AJM)
2. Electrochemical Machining Processes
Electrical energy used
in combination with
chemical reactions to
remove material
Reverse of:

Work material must be
a:
Feature dimensions
down to about 10 m
Courtesy of AEG-Elotherm-Germany
Material removal by anodic dissolution, using
electrode (tool) in close proximity to work but
separated by a rapidly flowing electrolyte
Electrochemical Machining (ECM)
ECM Operation
Material is deplated from anode workpiece (
pole) and transported to a cathode tool (
pole) in an electrolyte bath
Electrolyte flows rapidly between two poles to
carry off deplated material, so it does not:

Electrode materials: Cu, brass, or stainless steel
Tool shape is the:
Tool size must allow for the gap
ECM Applications
Die sinking - irregular shapes and contours for
forging dies, plastic molds, and other tools
Multiple hole drilling - many holes can be
drilled simultaneously with ECM
No burrs created no residual stress
Trimmer et al, APL 2003
Schuster et al, Science 2000
Material Removal Rate of ECM
Based on Faraday's First Law: rate of metal dissolved is
proportional to the current
M
RR
= A
r
= CI
where I = current; A = frontal area of the electrode (mm
2
),

r
= feed rate (mm/s), and = efficiency coefficient
= specific removal rate with work material;
M = atomic weight of metal (kg/mol)
r = density of metal (kg/m
3
),
F = Faraday constant (Coulomb)
n = valency of the ion;
F n
M
C
r
=
Equations for ECM (Cont)
Resistance of Electrode:
R =
g
A
Gap, g
Area, A
is the resistivity of the
electrolyte fluid (Ohmm)
Example: ECM through a plate
Aluminum plate, thickness t = 12 mm;
Rectangular hole to be cut:
L = 30mm, W = 10mm
Applied current: I = 1200 amps.
Efficiency of 95%,
M
RR
= A
r
= CI

Determine how long it will take to cut the hole?

30mm
10mm
Ideal C
Al
= 3.4410
-2
mm
3
/amps
- other C values in Table 26.1
3. Thermal Energy Processes - Overview
Very high temperatures, but only:
Material is removed by:
Problems and concerns:
Redeposition of vaporized metal
Surface damage and metallurgical damage to the
new work surface
In some cases, resulting finish is so poor that
subsequent processing is required
3. Thermal Energy Processes
Electric discharge machining (EDM)
Electric discharge wire cutting (Wire EDM)
Electron beam machining (EBM)
Laser beam machining (LBM)
Plasma arc cutting or machining (PAC)
3a) Electric Discharge Machining (EDM)
One of the most widely used nontraditional processes
Shape of finished work is inverse of tool shape
Sparks occur across a small gap between tool and work
Holes as small as 0.3mm can be made with feature
sizes (radius etc.) down to ~2m
Work Materials in EDM
Work materials must be:
Hardness and strength of work material are:
not factors
Material removal rate depends primarily on:
melting point of work material
Applications:
Molds and dies for injection molding and forging
Machining of hard or exotic metals
Sheetmetal stamping dies.
EDM uses small diameter wire as electrode to
cut a narrow kerf in work similar to a: bandsaw
3b) Wire EDM
Material Removal Rate of EDM
Weller Equation (Empirical);
Maximum rate: R
MR
=
where K = 664 (C
1.23
mm
3
/amps);
I = discharge current; T
m
= melt
temp of work material
Actual material removal rate:
M
RR
= v
f
hw
kerf

where v
f
= feed rate; h = workpiece
thickness; w
kerf
= kerf width
23 . 1
m
T
KI
While cutting, wire is
continuously advanced
between supply spool
and take-up spool to:
Wire EDM Applications
Ideal for stamp and die
components
Since kerf is so narrow, it is
often possible to fabricate
punch and die in a single cut
Other tools and parts with
intricate outline shapes,
such as lathe form tools,
extrusion dies, and flat
templates
Part loaded inside a
vacuum chamber
Beam is focused through
electromagnetic lens,
reducing diameter to as
small as 0.025 mm
Material is vaporized in a
very localized area
3c) Electron Beam Machining (EBM)
EBM Applications
Ideal for micromachining
Drilling small diameter holes - down to 0.05 mm
(0.002 in)
Cutting slots only about 0.025 mm (0.001 in.)
wide
Drilling holes with very high depth-to-diameter
ratios
Ratios greater than 100:1
Disadvantage: slow and expensive
Generally used for:
drilling, slitting,
slotting, scribing,
and marking
operations
Holes can be
made down to
0.025 mm
Generally used on
thin stock material
3d) Laser Beam Machining (LBM)
Uses plasma stream at
very high temperatures to
cut metal 10,000C to
14,000C
Plasma arc generated
between electrode in torch
and workpiece
The plasma flows through
water-cooled nozzle that
constricts and directs
plasma stream to desired
location
3e) Plasma Arc Cutting (PAC)
Applications of PAC
Most applications of PAC involve
cutting of metal sheets and plates
Hole piercing and cutting along a
defined path
Can be operated by hand-held torch
or automated by CNC
Can cut any:
Hole sizes generally larger than 2 mm
4. Chemical Machining (CHM)
CHM Process:
Cleaning - to insure uniform etching
Masking - a maskant (resist, chemically resistant to etchant)
is applied to portions of work surface not to be etched
Patterning of maskant
Etching - part is immersed in etchant which chemically
attacks those portions of work surface that are not masked
Demasking - maskant is removed
Maskant - Photographic Resist Method
Masking materials contain photosensitive chemicals
Maskant is applied to work surface (dip coated, spin
coated, or roller coated) and exposed to light through a
negative image of areas to be etched
These areas are then removed using photographic
developing techniques
Remaining areas are vulnerable to etching
Applications:
Small parts on thin stock produced in high quantities
Integrated circuits and printed circuit cards
Material Removal Rate in CHM
Generally indicated as penetration rates, i.e. mm/min.
Penetration rate unaffected by exposed surface area
Etching occurs downward and under the maskant
In general, d u 2d, Etch Factor: F
e
=
(see Table 26.2 pg 637)
u
d
Chemical Blanking
Uses CHM to cut very thin
sheetmetal parts - down to
0.025 mm thick and/or for
intricate cutting patterns
Conventional punch and
die does not work because
stamping forces damage
the thin sheetmetal, or
tooling cost is prohibitive
Parts made by chemical
blanking (photo courtesy of
Buckbee-Mears St. Paul).
CHM Possible Part Geometry Features
Very small holes
Holes that are not round
Narrow slots in slabs and plates
Micromachining
Shallow pockets and surface details in flat
parts
Special contoured shapes for mold and die
applications