1.

Mechanical Energy Processes

2. Electrochemical Machining Processes
3. Thermal Energy Processes
4. Chemical Machining
5. Application Considerations

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 The nontraditional processes have been
developed since World War II largely in
response to new and unusual machining
requirements that could not be satisfied by
conventional methods.

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 MECHANICAL ENERGY PROCESSES

• Ultrasonic machining
• Water jet cutting
• Abrasive water jet cutting
• Abrasive jet machining

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 ULTRASONIC MACHINING (USM)
Abrasives contained in a slurry are driven at high velocity
against work by a tool vibrating at low amplitude and
high frequency.
 The amplitudes are around 0.075 mm, and the
frequencies are approximately 20,000Hz
Tool oscillation is perpendicular to work surface
Abrasives accomplish material removal
Tool is fed slowly into work
Shape of tool is formed into part
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 ME 335 Manufacturing Processes

Common tool materials used in USM includes of tool steel

and stainless steel. Abrasive materials in USM include
boron nitride, boron carbide, aluminum oxide, silicon
carbide, and diamond. Grit size ranges between 100 and
2000.
The vibration amplitude should be set approximately equal
to the grit size, and the gap size should be maintained at
about two times grit size.
The slurry in USM consists of a mixture of water and
abrasive particles. The slurry must be continuously
circulated to bring fresh grains into action at the tool–
workgap. It also washes away chips and worn grits created
by the cutting process.

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 Ultrasonic Machining

Figure 26.1 Ultrasonic machining.

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USM APPLICATIONS

• Hard, brittle work materials such as ceramics,

glass, and carbides
• Also successful on certain metals, such as
stainless steel and titanium
• Shapes include non-round holes, holes along a
curved axis

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 Water Jet Cutting (WJC)

Uses high pressure,

high velocity stream
of water directed at
work surface for
cutting

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 ME 335 Manufacturing Processes

To obtain the fine stream of water a small nozzle opening of

diameter 0.1 to 0.4mm is used. To provide the stream with
sufficient energy for cutting, pressures up to 400 MPa are
used, and the jet reaches velocities up to 900 m/s.
A jewel nozzle made of sapphire, ruby, or diamond. Important
process parameters include standoff distance, nozzle opening
diameter, water pressure, and cutting feed rate.

• Used to cut narrow slits in flat stock such as plastic,

textiles, composites, floor tile, carpet, leather, and
cardboard.
• Not suitable for brittle materials (e.g., glass)

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 ABRASIVE WATER JET CUTTING
(AWJC)
• When WJC is used on metals, abrasive particles must be
added to jet stream usually
• Additional to the WJC process parameters: abrasive type,
grit size, and flow rate are other affected parameters.
• Abrasives: aluminum oxide, silicon dioxide, and garnet
(a silicate mineral)
• Grit sizes range between 60 and 120
• Grits added to water stream at about 0.25 kg/min after it
exits nozzle

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 Abrasive Jet Machining (AJM)
• High velocity stream of gas containing small abrasive
particles

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AJM APPLICATION NOTES

• Usually performed manually by operator who directs

nozzle
• Normally used as a finishing process rather than cutting
process
• Applications: deburring, trimming and de-flashing,
cleaning, and polishing
• Work materials: thin flat stock of hard, brittle materials
(e.g., glass, silicon, mica, ceramics)

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 ELECTROCHEMICAL MACHINING
PROCESSES

• Electrical energy used in combination with chemical

reactions to remove material
• Reverse of electroplating
• Work material must be a conductor
• Processes:
• Electrochemical machining (ECM)
• Electrochemical deburring (ECD)
• Electrochemical grinding (ECG)

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 Electrochemical Machining (ECM)
Material removal by anodic dissolution, using electrode
(tool) in close proximity to work but separated by a rapidly
flowing electrolyte

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ECM OPERATION
Material is deplated from anode workpiece (positive pole)
and transported to a cathode tool (negative pole) in an
electrolyte bath
• Electrolyte flows rapidly between two poles to carry off
deplated material, so it does not plate onto tool
• Electrode materials: Cu, brass, or stainless steel
• Tool has inverse shape of part
• An allowance in the tool size must be provided for
the gap that exists between the tool and the work.

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 PROCESS PHYSICS IN ECM
• Based on Faraday's First Law: amount of chemical change
(amount of metal dissolved) is proportional to the quantity
of electricity passed (current x time)
V= C I t
where V = volume of metal removed;
C = specific removal rate that depends on atomic weight,
valence, and density of the work material (mm3/amp-s)
I = current (amps); and
t= time (min)

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 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
• Holes that are not round, since rotating drill is not used
in ECM
• Deburring

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 Electrochemical Deburring (ECD)

• Adaptation of ECM to remove burrs or sharp corners

on holes in metal parts produced by conventional
through-hole drilling

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 Electrochemical Grinding (ECG)

• Special form of ECM

in which grinding
wheel with conductive
bond material
augments anodic
dissolution of metal
part surface

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• Applications:
• Sharpening of cemented carbide tools
• Grinding of surgical needles, other thin wall
tubes, and fragile parts
• Advantages:
• Deplating responsible for 95% of metal removal
• Because machining is mostly by
electrochemical action, grinding wheel lasts
much longer

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 THERMAL ENERGY PROCESSES -
OVERVIEW
• Very high local temperatures
• Material is removed by fusion or vaporization
• Physical and metallurgical damage to the new work
surface
• In some cases, resulting finish is so poor that
subsequent processing is required

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 THERMAL ENERGY PROCESSES

• Electric discharge machining

• Electric discharge wire cutting
• Electron beam machining
• Laser beam machining
• Plasma arc machining

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 ELECTRIC DISCHARGE
PROCESSES
Metal removal by a series of discrete electrical
discharges (sparks) causing localized temperatures
high enough to melt or vaporize the metal
• Can be used only on electrically conducting work
materials
• Two main processes:
1. Electric discharge machining
2. Wire electric discharge machining

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 Electric Discharge Machining (EDM)

Electric discharge machining (EDM): (a) overall setup, and

(b) close-up view of gap, showing discharge and metal
removal.
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 EDM OPERATION

• One of the most widely used nontraditional processes

• Shape of finished work surface produced by a shape of
electrode tool
• Sparks occur across a small gap between tool and work
• Requires dielectric fluid, which creates a path for each
discharge as fluid becomes ionized in the gap

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 WORK MATERIALS IN EDM

• Work materials must be electrically conducting

• Hardness and strength of work material are not
factors in EDM
• Material removal rate depends on melting point of
work material

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 EDM APPLICATIONS
• Tooling for many mechanical processes: molds for
plastic injection molding, extrusion dies, wire drawing
dies, forging and heading dies, and sheet metal
stamping dies
• Production parts: delicate parts not rigid enough to
withstand conventional cutting forces, hole drilling where
hole axis is at an acute angle to surface, and machining
of hard and exotic metals

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 Wire EDM
• Special form of EDM uses small diameter wire as
electrode to cut a narrow kerf in work

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 Wire EDM

Figure 26.11 Definition of kerf and overcut in electric discharge

wire cutting.

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 OPERATION OF WIRE EDM
• Work is fed slowly past wire along desired cutting path,
like a band-saw operation
• CNC used for motion control
• While cutting, wire is continuously advanced between
supply spool and take-up spool to maintain a constant
diameter
• Dielectric required, using nozzles directed at tool-work
interface or submerging workpiece.

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 WIRE EDM APPLICATIONS

• Ideal for stamping 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

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 Electron Beam Machining (EBM)
• Uses high velocity
stream of
electrons focused
on workpiece
surface to remove
material by
melting and
vaporization

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 EBM OPERATION
• EB gun accelerates a continuous stream of electrons to about
75% of light speed
• Beam is focused through electromagnetic lens, reducing
diameter to as small as 0.025 mm
• On impinging work surface, kinetic energy of electrons is
converted to thermal energy of extremely high density which
melts or vaporizes material in a very localized area

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 Laser Beam Machining (LBM)

Uses the light energy from

a laser to remove material
by vaporization and
ablation

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Laser = Light amplification by stimulated emission of
radiation"
• Laser converts electrical energy into a highly coherent
light beam with following properties:
• Monochromatic (single wave length)
• Highly collimated (light rays are almost perfectly
parallel)
• These properties allow laser light to be focused, using
optical lenses, onto a very small spot with resulting
high power densities

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 LBM APPLICATIONS
• Drilling, slitting, slotting, scribing, and marking operations
• Drilling small diameter holes - down to 0.025 mm.
• Generally used on thin stock
• Work materials: metals with high hardness and strength,
soft metals, ceramics, glass and glass epoxy, plastics,
rubber, cloth, and wood

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 Plasma Arc Cutting (PAC)
• Uses plasma
stream operating at
very high
temperatures to cut
metal by melting

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 OPERATION OF PAC
• Plasma = a superheated, electrically ionized gas
• PAC temperatures: 10,000C to 14,000C (18,000F to
25,000F)
• Plasma arc generated between electrode in torch and
anode workpiece
• The plasma flows through water-cooled nozzle that
constricts and directs stream to desired location

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 APPLICATIONS OF PAC

• Most applications of PAC involve cutting of flat 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 electrically conductive metal
• Most frequently cut metals: carbon steel, stainless
steel, aluminum

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 CHEMICAL MACHINING (CHM)

Material removal through contact with a strong chemical

etchant
• Processes include:
• Chemical milling
• Chemical blanking
• Chemical engraving
• Photochemical machining
• All utilize the same mechanism of material removal

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 Undercut in CHM
• Etching occurs downward and sideways under the
maskant

Figure 26.16 Undercut in chemical machining.

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 Chemical Milling
Figure 26.17 Sequence of processing steps in chemical
milling: (1) clean raw part, (2) apply maskant, (3) scribe,
cut, and peel the maskant from areas to be etched, (4)
etch, and (5) remove maskant and clean to yield finished
part.

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 Figure 26.19 Parts made by chemical blanking (photo courtesy
of Buckbee-Mears St. Paul).

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