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UNCONVENTIONAL
MACHINING
PROCESSES
Unit - I INTRODUCTION
Syllabus
References
Conventional machining is uneconomical for such materials and the degree of accuracy
and surface finish attainable is poor.
Why it is unconventional?
The newer machining processes developed are often called “modern machining
processes” or unconventional machining process
These are unconventional in the sense that conventional tools are not employed for metal
cutting instead energy in its direct form is utilized
Process selection
These methods cannot replace conventional machining
A particular machining method found suitable under given conditions may not be equally
efficient under other conditions.
Physical parameters
Properties of work material
Shape to be obtained
Process capability
Economic considerations
Compiled by Dr.S.Satishkumar, St. Joseph’s College of Engineering , Chennai - 119 2009
ECM is an excellent method for drilling long slender holes (Length /diameter >20)
Material applications
EDM and ECM are unsuitable for electrically non conducting materials. Mechanical methods
can achieve desired results
Process capability
It can be noted that ECM results in excellent surface finish , but cause extensive surface damage.
Compiled by Dr.S.Satishkumar, St. Joseph’s College of Engineering , Chennai - 119 2009
Comparison
Compiled by Dr.S.Satishkumar, St. Joseph’s College of Engineering , Chennai - 119 2009
Process Summary
Compiled by Dr.S.Satishkumar, St. Joseph’s College of Engineering , Chennai - 119 2009
Compiled by Dr.S.Satishkumar, St. Joseph’s College of Engineering , Chennai - 119 2009
Review Questions
Part A
6. Name the unconventional machining processes which has maximum material removal
rate and minimum material removal rate.
7. Name the unconventional machining process for machining the following materials.
b. Refractoriness
c. Titanium
d. Super alloys
e. Steel
9. Name the unconventional machining process used for making deep slender holes
10. Name the unconventional machining process used for making shallow holes
11. Name the unconventional machining process which produces good surface finish.
13. State the type of energy source used in electro chemical grinding
14. State the type of energy source used in Electric discharge machining
15. State the type of energy source applied in Electron beam machining
16. State the type of energy source applied in abrasive jet machining
Compiled by Dr.S.Satishkumar, St. Joseph’s College of Engineering , Chennai - 119 2009
17. Name the unconventional machining process which produces excellent surface finish?
18. Name the unconventional machining process that causes extensive damage during
machining?
19. Which unconventional machining process has the minimum tool wear ratio?
20. Which unconventional machining process has the maximum tool wear ratio?
Part B
5. What are the aspects must be considered for selecting a process? Also compare the
physical parameters of the modern machining processes.
7. List the various shape applications of modern machining process and also rate the
processes in terms of machining quality.
8. What is tool wear ratio? Rate the various unconventional processes in terms of machining
medium contamination.
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Compoled by
UNCONVENTIONAL
MACHINING PROCESSES
Unit II Mechanical Processes
References:
Introduction
Material is removed by the action of abrasive grains
Abrasive particles are driven into the work surface by the tool oscillating normal
to the work surface at high frequency
The tool is shaped as approximate mirror image of the configuration of the cavity
desired in the work .
Elements
Work Material
Tool Cone
Tool cone also called as “HORN” amplifies and focuses the mechanical energy
produced by transducer and imparts this to the work piece
Material of the cone should be of adequate strength to withstand the stress at the
nodal plane.
Titanium is the good material for tool cone
Tool tip is attached to the base of the cone by silver brazing, soft soldering or
screws.
The tool tip geometry governs the shape or impression or cavity to be produced
A 11.98 mm dia tool tip may produce 12 +/ - 0.005 mm hole when 600 grit is
used
Smaller the contact area, the better the abrasive flow under the tool and higher the
penetration rate
Tool tip has to withstand vibrations and it should not fail or wear out quickly
Wear occurs at end and wear at sides is 10 times less
Tough malleable materials such as alloy steels and stainless steel prove
satisfactory
Tungsten carbide is the best one but presents many problems in shaping. Cost is
high
Abrasive slurry
Some abrasives used are
o Alumium oxide ( Alumina)
o Boron Carbide
o Silicon carbide
o Diamond dust
Boron is the most expensive abrasive material but is best suited for tungsten
carbide , tool steel and precious stones
Silicon finds the maximum application
Diamond dust ensures good accuracy, surface finish and cutting rates
The size of abrasive vary from 200 and 2000 grit
Course grades are good for roughing, whereas finer grades (1200 to 2000) are
used for finishing
In actual practice the surface roughness of the machined face is governed by work
material, roughness on toll surface, vibration amplitude, fineness of abrasive grit,
efficient slurry circulation
Energy is being drawn and in electrical form and is converted to mechanical form
by transducer
2 types of transducers Piezoelectric and magnetostriction
Magnetostriction means a change in dimension occurring in ferromagnetic
materials subject to an alternating magnetic field.
The connecting body is attached to the transducer receives and transmits this
change in length and its further amplified by a horn
The piezo electric crystal transducer is made either from ceramic or natural
crystals like quartz.
Concentrator
Rigid system should be made without any loss in the mounting . So damped at the
nodal points
To reduce the loss and fatigue failure clamping is made in the nodal points (Refer
diagram under Acoustic head (page 3)
The abrasive grains are thrown onto the work surface and then the surface is
chipped
The abrasive grains are hammered on to the work surface
Erosion or cavitation occurs under the tool and causes material removal
Effect of parameters
Operational Summary
Applications
Abrasives
Grain size
Kinetic Energy of the abrasive jet is utilized for metal removal by erosion.
Erosion to occur the jet must impinge the work surface with a certain minimum
velocity
Jet velocity is a function of nozzle pressure, nozzle design, abrasive size, mean
number of abrasives per unit volume of carrier gas. (M)
Vol. Flow rate of abrasives / unit time
M= -------------------------------------------
Vol. flow rate of the carrier gas/ unit time
Jet Pressure
Stand off is defined as the distance between face of the nozzle and the work
surface
A large SOD results in the flaring up of jet which leads to poor accuracy
Small MRR at low SOD is due to reduction in nozzle pressure with decrease in
distance
Small MRR at large SOD is due to reduction in jet velocity with increase in
distance.
Nozzle Wear
Employs a fine jet of water with a high pressure ( 1500-4000MN/sq.m) and high
velocity ( upto twice the speed of sound)
When fine jet bombarded on the work piece erodes the material.
High velocity flow is virtually stopped, then the KE is converted to pressure
energy ( called stagnation pressure)
Process Details
Effect of parameters
Part A
Part B
1. How do operating parameters affect the machining process in AJM process
2. Define “ultrasonics” and describe the process in which these are used to machine
the material
References
1. Modern machining Processes - P.C. Pandey & H.S Shan
2. Unconventional machining - P.K. Mishra
UNIT III
Syllabus
History of EDM
• In 1970 , the English scientist Priestley first detected the erosive effect of
electrical discharges on metals.
• EDM has found ready in the machining of hard metals or alloys which cannot be
machined easily by conventional methods.
• Application seen in machining of dies, tools made of tungsten carbides, Stellites
or hard steels.
Popularity of EDM
• Consider the case of a discharge between two electrodes (tool cathode and work
anode) through a gaseous or liquid medium
• The momentum with which positive ions strike the cathode (tool) is much less
than the momentum with which the electron stream impinges on the anode surface
• A compressive force is generated on the cathode surface by the spark which helps
reduce tool wear
Sinking by EDM
Grinding by EDM
Di-electric fluids
Flushing
• Correct circulation of dielectric fluid between electrode and work piece to obtain
highest machining accuracy
• Flushing in EDM can be achieved by anyone of the following methods
(i) Injection flushing
(ii) Suction flushing
(iii) side flushing
(iv) Flushing by dielectric pumping
Side flushing
When flushing holes cannot be drilled either in the work piece or the tool side flushing is
employed
ELECTRODES
Selection of electrodes
Four main factors determine the suitability of a material for use as an electrode
• Maximum possible material removal rate
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• Wear ratio
• ease with which it can be shaped or fabricated to the desired shape
• Cost
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Operating conditions on side clearance during boring
Process parameters
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Pulse energy at a constant voltage is varied by changing the size of the capacitors
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Machine tool selection
A variety of EDM machines ranging from small machines to large machines are available
The factors that have to be considered are
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Rotary pulse generators
The capacitor is charged using a diode. The circuit permits high metal removal rates.
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Static pulse generator (Controlled pulse circuit)
These circuits offer the advantage of faster rate of metal removal and low tool electrode
wear; The RC circuits are replaced with vacuum tubes and oscillators.
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Wire Cut EDM
The electrode wire is used only once, then discarded because the wire looses its form
after one pass through the workpiece
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Operational summary
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Review Questions
Part A
Part B
1. How gas, stacks and slugs and debris are formed during machining by EDM?
What are the provisions to be made for their removal?
2. What are the ways of gap flushing used in EDM? Explain in detail.
3. What are the functions of dielectric used in the machine? List its properties.
20 | P a g e Compiled by Dr.S.Satishkumar
4. In an EDM operation employing relaxation circuit, discuss the effects of
(i) charging resistance (ii) gap setting (iii) capacitance on the rate of metal
removal How does this type of machine compared with pulse generator
5. Discuss the factors influencing the choice of electrode material in EDM. Name
the best electrode material for finish machining a small die made of WC by EDM
process
6. Discuss the advantages of EDM as compared to other non traditional methods
with regard to (i) material removal rate (ii) accuracy (iii) surface finish
7. Explain with a neat sketch the working of Wire cut EDM.
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LASER BEAM MACHINING (LBM)- UNIT -5
Along with coherence, lasers are well collimated with beams that often
diverge with angles of less than 1 to 2 m.rad. The low divergence rate of
laser is important factor in achieving a high intensity in the work-piece.
1
1.5 x 104 to 1.5 x 106 w/cm2
For cutting and drilling Power density required
1.5 x 106 to 1.5 x 108 w/cm2
For more than 1.5 x 108 w/cm2 material is removed by sublimation
(i.e solid to direct vapour stage)
APPARATUS
The most important point of laser apparatus is the laser crystal. Many
materials with laser actions have been developed.
1. Calcium Fluoride crystal doped with neodymium (Ca + F 2 + Nd)
2. Glass doped with various Rare earths.
3. Most commonly used laser crystal is a man made Ruby
MATERIAL REMOVAL
2
CUTTING SPEED AND ACCURACY OF CUT
The latest commercially available laser unit of 800 w capacity can cut
most metal plates up to 3 mm thick at speed of about 1 to 1.25 m/ min
ADVANTAGES
LIMITATION
3
GENERAL PROCESS PRINCIPLE OF LBM
STIMULATED EMISSION
N2
E2
E1 N1
4
The Key principle behind the operation of laser has explained by Albert
Einstein is that under proper conditions light energy of a particular
frequency could be used to stimulate the electron in an atom to emit
additional light with exactly the same characteristic as the original
stimulating light source.
From the above sketch it can be seen that if an atom or molecule is
raised to a high energy level E2 by an out side energy source (e.g heat,
light, chemical energy etc) and is allowed to decay back to its ground
state energy level E 1 a photon (unit of light) is released. If the photon
contacts another atom or molecule that has been raised to high energy
level, the second atom or molecule will be triggered back to its ground
state. The return back to ground stage makes it release the second
photon along with the trigger photon. The pair of electron released is
identical in wave length, phase, direction & energy. This sequence of
triggering “clone” photons from stimulated atoms or molecules is known
as stimulated emissions.
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EQUIPMENT
Lasers that are used for material processing applications must be high -
power, reliable and a relatively low acquisition cost. The table shows five
types of lacer meeting the above criteria.
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5. ABLATION
6. POPULATION INVERSION
7. PUMPING
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MAIN PROCESS DETAILS
Solid state units have laser rods made of any one of a number of
solid materials including Ruby, Neodymium – doped glass and
neodymium – doped Yttrium – Aluminium – Garnet (Called YAG), gas
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units has glass tubes filled with CO 2, (usually a mixture of CO2, helium
and nitrogen) but called CO2 Laser, Helium – Neon, Cadmium gas or
Argon.
RUBY LASER
CO2 LASER
CO2 laser has a wavelength of 10-6 microns, CO2 laser is especially used
for machining non metals as non metals have high energy absorption at
the wave length of CO2
ALCOHOL LASER
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DETAILS COMPONENT OF SOLID LASER
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DETAIL COMPONENTS OF GAS LASER
100 %
REFLECTIVE MIRROR
LASER
MECHANISM
FEED BACK
MATERIAL
(GAS
MIXTURE)
ENERGY SOURCE
ELECTRICITY
PARTIALLY
REFLECTIVE MIRROR
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Flash lamp requires frequent replacement; their life mainly depends
upon the energy input and current pulse shape. Flash lamp life can vary
from as short as a few hundred shots. In general, pulsed laser system is
designed to provide a flash lamp life of between 10000 to 100000
operations betweens lamp replacements.
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Pulse duration is not a major factor for laser machining. However a long
pulse produces a large heat affected Zone (HAZ) and a large amount of
molten material surrounding the hole.
KP
Material Removal Rate R= in mm3/second
60 E A t
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APPLICATIONS
ADVANTAGES
15
6. The process has ability to drill in inaccessible locations.
7. It is possible to drill at shallow angles (15º)
8. It can weld & machine through glass or any optically
transparent materials.
9. No direct contract between tool & work piece.
10. It can easily well dissimilar materials.
11. Because of small HAZ; it can easily work close to heat sensitive
components.
12. Refractory, brittle, non-metallic & hard surfaces on easily to
work with.
13. Work piece need not be electrically conductive.
14. A laser beam can be split in to several beams; each beam can
be used to perform same operations or different operations.
15. Material wastage is minimum amount.
16. The only material impervious to the concentrated energy would
be substance with 100% reflectability but there is no such
material. Even the highly reflective surface of Al and SS can be
treated for faster cutting with laser.
LIMITATIONS (DISADVANTAGES)
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6. Not suitable for machining Blind Holes in metal.
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PLASMA ARC MACHINING (PAM)
Plasma Arc was initially employed to cut metals that are difficult to
machine by conventional methods. Now days Plasma Arc has been
successfully employed for spraying, surfacing and welding metals like
Aluminium, stainless steel and titanium etc.,
PLASMA
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by recombination & loss of free charges to the walls & electrodes. The
actual heating of the gas takes place due to energy liberated when free
ions & electrons recombine into atoms or recombine into molecules.
The bonding energy thus liberated is in the form of kinetic energy
of atoms or molecules formed by the recombination. So it is clear the
heat content of the molecular gases is higher than that of mono-
atomic gases.
The energy input of such mechanism is determined by the
enthalpy of the gas at the required temperature, thermal conductivity
of the gas, loss of energy in the forms of radiation.
The electrical conductivity of the gas is a relevant parameter for
ascertaining the current density in the plasma for the given field.
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The principle of plasma generation is that the high velocity electron of
the arc collides with gas molecules and produce dissociation of
diatomic molecules followed by ionization of the beam. The plasma
forming gas is forced through the nozzle duct in such a manner as to
stabilize the arc. Much of the heating of the gas takes place in the
constricted region of the nozzle duct, resulting in the relatively high
exit of gas velocity and very high core temperature upto 16000º C
PHYSICAL CONFIGURATION
In PAM, variables such as torch standoff, angle, depth of cut, feed and
speed of the work to wards the torch are important. The following
sketch shows metal removal as a function of torch angle.
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REMOVAL RATE 20
MM3 /S X 102
15
10
0 20 10 0 -10
0
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Accuracy and surface finish
KERF
PROCESS PRINCIPLES
23
energy necessary for rapid melting and vaporization of any material.
Invented in Germany by Dr. K.H Steigerwald. EBM can drill material
upto 10mm thick at perforation rates that far exceed other
manufacturing processes. It is most often applied for high speed
drilling of round holes in metals, ceramics and plastics of any
hardness.
The EBM process begins after the work Pc is placed in the work
chamber and a vaccum is achieved. To create a hole by an electron
beam, occurs in 4 stages. First the electron beam is focused on the
work piece to a dia that is slightly smaller than the final desired
diameter,.Power is adjusted that the electron beam will generate a
power density at the work piece in excess of 10 8 W/Cm2 .
The Power density of that magnitude is more than enough to
instantly melt any material regardless of thermal conductivity or
melting point.
Drilling is accomplished through the combination of electron beam
pulse and an synthetic or organic backing material which is applied to
the exit side of the surface being drilled.
When the focused beam strikes the surface of work Pc, local
heating,melting and vapoursation takes place instantly. Only about
5% of the affected material is actually vapourised. The pressure of the
escaping vapour is sufficient to form and maintain a small capillary
channel in the material. The beam & capillary rapidly penetrate the
work piece and a finite distance to the backing material.
The volume of backing material that is contacted by the beam is
almost totally vapourised resulting in the explosive release of backing
material vapor the molten wall of the capillary is expelled in a shower
of sparks leaving a hole in the work piece and a small cavern in the
backing material.
A single pulse is used to produce a single hole. However, if the
material is very thick then multiple pulses may be required. Any hole
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which is not round the beam, pulsing rates up to 1000 pulses / sec is
deflected by computer to cut out the shape along the perimeter. Using
this technique, almost any hole shape can be generated.
25
At this point the Bombarding high speed stream of electrons impinges
on the work piece and its K.E is transformed into thermal Energy.
Note : An electron beam having a cross – sectional diameter of
0.00127 to 0.00254 cm will result in a power density of 1.6 billion
watts / sq.cm; this extremely high power density of immediately
vaporizes any material on which the beam impinges.
26
piece and thus obtain an extremely high power density on the work
piece.
27
The Four steps that lead to material removal by electron Beam
drilling)
EQUIPMENT:
28
SCHEMATIC OF ELECTRON BEAM GUN
High Voltage
Plug
High Voltage
Insulator
Cathode
Anode
Vacuum
Pump
Electromagnetic
Lens
Deflection
system
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In application the filament or the cathode provides the source of
electron emission. The filament is made of shaped strip of Tungsten or
Tantalum and is inductively heated to a temperature of approximately
2480º C. Because the filament is in a high vacuum environment.
Heating to this high temperature caused thermoionic emissions of
electrons. The filament acting as hot cartridge cathode emitter is
maintained at a high – ve potential to repel the negatively charged
electrons towards the ground potential anode. As the newly formed
beam of electron begins its acceleration to the anode, it passes
through a hole in the bias grid. A (-ve) biasing voltage applied to the
grid controls the flow of electrons to the anode. By varying the
neagative potential difference between the grid an cathode the flow of
elcteons in the beam can be completely suppressed or precisely
ramped to various discreet levels. As the beam passes through the
grid it continues accelerating until the maximum velocity is reached
as it passes through a hole in the anode.
The well formed high velocity electron beam then travels through
an electromagnetic focusing coil that forces the beam to converge to a
focal point at the work piece.
PROCESS PARAMETERS
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Beam current is continuously adjusted from 100 µ amp to 1 µ amp
PROCESS CAPABILITY
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EBM MACHINE
AC SUPPLY MAIN
TUNGSTEN
FILAMENT
ELECTRON
HIGH GUN ASSY
VOLATAGE
SUPPLY FOCUSSED
ELECTRON BEAM
COMPONENT
TABLE
BEARING
BEARNI
VARIABLE
SPEED DRIVE
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