UNIT IV

Electron Beam machining(EBM)- introduction, principle, equipment, process parameters

Laser Beam Machining(LBM)- introduction, principle, process parameters, types of lasers
Plasma Arc Machining(PAM)- introduction, principle
PAM- plasma, non-thermal generation of plasma, mechanism of metal removal, PAM parameters,
equipment, safety precautions, advantages, limitations and applications
Ion Beam Machining(IBM)- introduction, principle, process parameters

(I) Electron Beam Machining (EBM)

a) Principle:
Electron Beam Machining (EBM) is a thermal process considering the mechanisms of
material removal. When high power density with high kinetic energy of electron beam hits
the surface, it is converted in to heat energy. This heat energy melts and evaporates the metal
where it is focused.

Localized Heating Hole Forming Penetration Removal due to high Pr

b) Construction and Working:

  Electron beam is generated in an electron beam gun
 Electron beam gun provides high velocity electrons over a very small spot size. Electron
Beam Machining is required to be carried out in vacuum. Otherwise the electrons would
interact with the air molecules, thus they would loose their energy and cutting ability.
Thus the work piece to be machined is located under the electron beam and is kept
under vacuum.
 High energy electron beam is made hit the work piece in a focused spot and this kinetic
energy is converted in to heat energy which melts and evaporates the materials.
 Level of vacuum within the gun is in the order of 10 -4 to 10 -6 Torr. {1 Torr = 1mm
of Hg}
 Functions of Electron Beam;
o Generating free electrons at the cathode
o Accelerating them with the help of bias grid and anode
o Focus them to a small spot size with the help of electromagnetic lenses
 At 25000C, Tungsten or Tantalum cathode filaments emit electrons due to themo-ionic
effect
 Highly negative biased cathode, repel the electron strongly and push them away from
cathode
 The electron beam further travelled through the bias grid which is also highly negative
biased. When this is attracted by the anode that gives good acceleration. This gives
speed to the beam (half of the speed of light)
 Then the beam passes through series of magnetic lens and apertures. The magnetic
lenses shape the beam. Apertures on the other hand allow only the convergent electrons
to pass.
 Finally the beam passes through the electromagnetic lenses and deflectors where the
beam is focused to the required spot.

c) Process Parameters:

 The accelerating voltage

 The beam current
 Pulse duration
 Energy per pulse
 Power per pulse
 Lens current
 Spot size
 Power density

d) Advantages:

 Very high drilling rates for small holes with large aspect ratio
 It can machine almost any material irrespective of their mechanical properties
 Work holding and fixturing cost is very less
 Fragile and brittle materials can also be machined

e) Disadvantages:

 High capital cost of the equipment

 Regular maintenance is difficult due to vacuum system
  Recast layer formation cannot be avoided

Application:

 It is used to produce very small size hole about 100 micro meters to 2 millimeter.
 It is used to produce holes in diesel injection nozzle.
 Used in aerospace industries for producing turbine blade for supersonic engines and in
nuclear reactors

II) Laser Beam Machining (LBM)

a) Principle:

Laser Beam Machining (LBM) is a thermal process considering the mechanisms of material
removal. It uses the light energy from a laser to remove material by vaporization and ablation

b) Construction and Working:

 Production of Laser is done with the help of flash lamp, 100% reflecting and partially
reflecting mirrors
 High intense coherent laser beam is acting as tool. It can machine any type of materials
 Laser beam which comes out of laser discharge tube is focused towards the work piece
with the help of lenses

Advantages
  In laser machining there is no physical tool. Thus no machining force or wear of the
tool takes place.
 Large aspect ratio in laser drilling can be achieved along with acceptable accuracy or
dimension, form or location
 Micro-holes can be drilled in difficult–to–machine materials
 Though laser processing is a thermal processing but heat affected zone especially in
pulse laser processing is not very significant due to shorter pulse duration.

Disadvantages:

 High initial capital cost

 High maintenance cost
 Not very efficient process
 Presence of Heat Affected Zone – specially in gas assist CO 2 laser cutting

Applications:
 Welding of non-conductive and refractory material.
 Cutting complex profiles for both thin and hard materials.
 Used to make tiny holes
 Mass-micro machining
 Can be used for dynamic balance of rotating parts.
 Some special heat treatment of materials.
 For producing fine and minute holes

Types of Laser:

1. Solid state 2. Gas 3. Excimer 4.Dye or semiconductor.

Solid state lasers have lasing material distributed in a solid matrix, e.g., the ruby or
neodymium-YAG (yttrium aluminum garnet) lasers. The neodymium-YAG laser emits
infrared light at 1.064 micrometers.

Gas lasers (helium and helium-neon, HeNe, are the most common gas lasers) have a primary
output of a visible red light. CO2 lasers emit energy in the far-infrared, 10.6 micrometers, and
are used for cutting hard materials.

Excimer lasers (the name is derived from the terms excited and dimers) use reactive gases
such as chlorine and fluorine mixed with inert gases such as argon, krypton, or xenon. When
electrically stimulated, a pseudomolecule or dimer is produced and when lased, produces
light in the ultraviolet range.

Dye lasers use complex organic dyes like rhodamine 6G in liquid solution or suspension as
lasing media. They are tunable over a broad range of wavelengths.

Semiconductor lasers, sometimes called diode lasers, are not solid-state lasers. These
electronic devices are generally very small and use low power. They may be built into larger
arrays, e.g., the writing source in some laser printers or compact disk players.
Plasma Arc Machining (PAM)

Principle:

When a free flowing gas is heated to a very high temperature it becomes partially ionized. This
ionized gas is called as plasma. In this process metal is removed from the surface of the work
piece with the help of high temperature plasma. Metal is also moved as a result of electron
bombardment

Construction and Working:

 The plasma arc machining has a gas chamber which is fitted with a copper nozzle at the
bottom.
 A tungsten electrode is held vertically in the gas chamber. The tungsten carbide is
connected to the negative terminal of the D.C supply and the nozzle is connected to the
positive terminal of the power supply
 When the power supply is given, an arc is produced between the tungsten electrode and
the copper nozzle.
 A di-atomic gas is passed through the gas chamber. Hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen are the
generally used di-atomic gases. This gas is permitted through the arc.
 The arc heats up the gas and it gets ionized due to high temperature. This ionized gas
flows out of the nozzle in the form of a flame known as plasma flame.
 This plasma flame is forced on to the surface of the work piece. The high temperature
of the plasma flame melts down the metal.
 As a result of the action of bombardment of the ions on the surface of the work piece
the metal is eroded.
 The metal removal rate is controlled by controlling the flow of the di-atomic gas.
 Vast using of the tungsten electrode in the same position leads to the erosion of the
electrode so it has to be frequently adjusted. Wear of the nozzle is minimized by cooling
with the help of water.
Advantages:

 Faster Production rate

 Very hard and brittle materials could be machined
 Small cavities could be machined with good dimensional accuracy

Disadvantages:

 Initial cost is very high

 It is uneconomical for bigger cavities formation
 Inert gas consumption is high

Application:

It is used for cutting stainless steels and aluminium alloys. Profile cutting and slitting in hard
materials can be done using this method.
Ion Beam Machining (IBM)

Principle:

Removal of atoms from the work-piece surface by the kinetic momentum transfer from incident
ion to the targeted ions.

Removal of atoms will occur when the actual energy transferred exceeds the binding energy.

At sufficient high energy, the cascading events will penetrate more deeply in to the solid,
several atoms or molecules will be ejected

Construction and Working:

• A plasma source is normally generating the ions by heating.

• Extraction grids are used for removing the ions from the plasma, and accelerating them
towards the substrate (or specimen)
• In a table, the specimen is fixed
 • High intense ion beam is hitting the specimen and initiate cascade reaction which
removes the materials by bombardment as shown in the figure

 Removal of atoms from the work-piece surface by the kinetic momentum transfer from
incident ion to the targeted ions.
 Removal of atoms will occur when the actual energy transferred exceeds the binding
energy.
 At sufficient high energy, the cascading events will penetrate more deeply in to the
solid, several atoms or molecules will be ejected

Applications of IBM :

 It is applied mostly in micro-machining of electronic components.

 Typical materials that can be etched included glass, alumina, quartz, crystal, silica,
agates, porcelains, numerous metals, cermets and oxides.
 It is also be used to deposit materials such as platinum, tungsten and silicon oxide
insulators on other material substrate.

Advantages of IBM :

 IBM is almost universal.

 No chemical reagents or etching are required.
 Etching rates are easily controlled.
 There is no undercutting as with other chemical etching process.

Disadvantages of IBM :

 IBM is relatively expensive.

 Etching rates are slow.
 No heat is generated so there is little possibility of some thermal or radiation damage