Non Traditional Machining Processes

(Mechanical, Electrical)
Manufacturing Processes
ME-3401
 Lecture Outline
• Comparison between Conventional and Non-Traditional
Machining
• Non-Traditional Machining
• Types of Non-Traditional Machining
• NTM Processes Using Mechanical Energy
– Ultrasonic Processes
– Water Jet Cutting (WJC)
– Abrasive Water Jet Cutting (AWJC)
– Abrasive Jet Machining (AJC)
• NTM Processes Using Electrical Energy
– Electro Chemical Machining
 Solidification processes

Particulate processing
Shaping processes
Deformation processes

Material removal
Processes
operations Property enhancing
Heat treatment
processes
Cleaning & surface treatment
Surface enhancement &
protection Processes
Manufacturing Coating and deposition processes
processes
Welding
Permanent joining
Brazing and soldering
processes
Assembly Adhesive bonding
operations
Threaded fasteners
Mechanical fastening
Permanent fastening methods
 Turning and related operations

Drilling and related Operations

Conventional Machining
Milling Operations

Other Machining Operations

Grinding Operation
Material Removal Processes Abrasive Machining
Other abrasive Operations

Mechanical energy processes

Electrochemical machining
Nontraditional Machining
Thermal energy process

Chemical machining
Comparison between Conventional and Non-
Traditional Machining
Conventional Machining
• Macroscopic chip formation
• There may be a physical tool present
• Energy domain can be classified as
mechanical
• It involves the direct contact of tool
and workpiece
Non-Traditional Machining
• Microscopic chip formation
• There may not be a physical tool
present
• May Use Mechanical, Electrical,
Thermal, Chemical or a combination of
these energies
• It does not require the direct contact
of tool and workpiece
Comparison between Conventional and Non-
Traditional Machining (cont.)
Conventional Machining
• Lower accuracy and surface finish
• Suitable for every type of material
economically
• Usually higher tool wear
• Noisy operation mostly cause sound
pollution
• Lower capital cost
• Skilled or un-skilled operator may
required
Non-Traditional Machining
• Higher accuracy and surface finish
• Not Suitable for every type of material
economically
• Usually lower tool wear
• Quieter operation mostly no sound
pollution
• Higher capital cost
• Skilled operator required
 Non-Traditional Machining
The term non traditional machining refers to the group of
processes that remove excess material by various techniques
involving;
– Mechanical energy
– Thermal energy
– Electrical energy
– Chemical energy
 Types of Non-Traditional Machining
The NTM processes are often classified according to principal
form of energy used to effect material removal. By this
classification, there are four types:
1. Mechanical: Erosion of the work material by a high velocity
stream of abrasives or fluid is the typical form of mechanical
action in these processes.
2. Electrical: These non traditional processes use electro
chemical energy to remove material.
 Types of Non-Traditional Machining
3. Thermal: These processes use thermal energy to cut or
shape the workpart. The thermal energy is generally applied
to a very small portion of the work surface, causing that
portion to be removed by fusion and/or vaporization of the
material.
4. Chemical: Most materials(metals) are susceptible to
chemical attack by certain acids or other corrosive chemicals.
In chemical machining, chemicals selectively remove material
from portions of the workpart, while other portions of the
surface are protected by a mask.
 NTM Processes Using Mechanical Energy
Some of the NTM processes that utilizes mechanical energy for
material processing are:
1. Ultrasonic Processes
2. Water Jet Cutting (WJC)
3. Abrasive Water Jet Cutting (AWJC)
4. Abrasive Jet Machining (AJC)
1. Ultrasonic Machining
 1. Ultrasonic Machining
• Ultrasonic machining (USM) is a non traditional machining
process in which abrasives contained in a slurry are driven at
high velocity against the work by a tool vibrating at low
amplitude (around 0.075mm) and high frequency (ultrasonic)
approximately 20 kHz.
• The tool oscillates in a direction perpendicular to the work
surface, and is fed slowly into the work, so that shape of the
tool is formed in the part.
• It is the action of the abrasive, impinging against the work
surface, that performs the cutting.
1. Ultrasonic Machining
 1. Ultrasonic Machining
• Common tool materials used in USM include soft steel and stain less steel.
• Abrasive materials in USM include boron nitride, boron carbide, aluminum
oxide, silicon carbide and diamond
• Grit sizes ranges between 100 and 2000 microns
• To a significant degree grit size determines the surface finish on the new work
surface
• The vibration amplitude should be set approximately equal to grit size
• 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.
Concentration of abrasives in water ranges from 20% to 60%
• The cutting action in USM operates on the tool as well as the work. As the
abrasive particles erode the work surface, they also erode the tool, thus
effecting its shape
2. Water Jet Cutting (WJC)
 2. Water Jet Cutting (WJC)
• WJC uses a fine, high pressure, high-velocity stream of water
directed at the work surface to cause cutting of the work. (also
called hydrodynamic machining)
• To obtain the fine stream of water a small nozzle opening of
diameter 0.1 to 0.4 mm is used.
• To provide the stream with sufficient energy for cutting,
pressures up to 400 MPa are used and the jet reaches a
velocity up to 900 m/s. The fluid is pressurized to the desired
level by a hydraulic pump.
 2. Water Jet Cutting (WJC)
• Important process parameters includes;
– Stand off distance
– Nozzle opening diameter
– Water pressure
– Cutting feed rate
• The stand off distance is the
separation between the nozzle opening
and the work surface. It is generally
desirable for this distance to be small to
minimize dispersion of the fluid stream
before it strikes the surface.
 2. Water Jet Cutting (WJC)
• Size of the nozzle orifice affects the precision of the cut;
smaller opening is used for finer cuts on thinner materials.
• The cutting feed rate refers to the velocity at which WJC
nozzle is traversed along the cutting path.
• The WJC process is usually automated using computer
numerical control or industrial robots to manipulate the nozzle
unit along the desired trajectory.
• Water jet cutting can be used effectively to cut narrow slits in
flat stock such as plastic, textiles, composites, floor tile,
carpet, leather and cardboard.
 3. Abrasive Water Jet Cutting (AWJC)
• When WJC is used on metallic parts, abrasive
particles are added to the water jet stream to
facilitate cutting. This process is called abrasive
water jet cutting (AWJC).

• Aluminum Oxide, silicon dioxide and garnet (a

silicate material) are typical abrasive materials
used, grit sizes ranging between 60 and 120
microns.
 4. Abrasive Jet Cutting (AJC)
• Abrasive jet machining (AJM) is a material removal process
that results from the action of a high velocity stream of gas
containing small abrasive particles.

• The gas is dry and pressure of 0.2-1.4 MPa is used to propel

the gas through the nozzle orifices.

• Gases include dry air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and helium.

 4. Abrasive Jet Cutting (AJC)
• AJM is normally used as a finishing operation rather than a
production cutting process. Applications include deburring,
trimming and deflashing.

• Cutting is accomplished successfully on hard, brittle materials

( glass, ceramics) that are in the form of thin flat stock.
Abrasive Jet Cutting
 Turning and related operations

Drilling and related Operations

Conventional Machining
Milling Operations

Other Machining Operations

Grinding Operation
Material Removal Processes Abrasive Machining
Other abrasive Operations

Mechanical energy processes

Electrochemical machining
Nontraditional Machining
Thermal energy process

Chemical machining
NTM Processes Using Electrical Energy
An important group of nontraditional machining processes use electrical
energy to remove material. This group is identified by the term
electrochemical processes, because electrical energy is used in
combination with chemical reactions to accomplish material removal.

• These processes are infect the reverse of electroplating.

• The work material must be a conductor in the electrochemical machining
processes.
• The main type is Electrochemical Machining
Electrochemical Machining
 Electrochemical Machining
• Electrochemical machining (ECM) removes metal from an electrically
conductive workpiece by anodic dissolution (the process of dissolving a
solid substance into a solvent to make a solution)

• The shape of the workpiece is obtained by a formed electrode tool in close

proximity but separated from the workpiece by a rapidly flowing electrolyte

• The workpiece is made anode(+) and the tool is made cathode(-)

• The workpiece material is deplated from the anode and deposited onto the
cathode in the presence of an electrolyte bath
 Electrochemical Machining
• The electrolyte bath flows rapidly between the two poles to carry off the
deplated material, so that it does not become plated on the tool

• The electrode tool, usually made of copper, brass or stainless steel is

designed to possess approximately the inverse of the desired shape of the
part

• An allowance in the tool size must be provided for the gap that exists
between the tool and the work
 Electrochemical Machining
• In addition to carrying off the material that has been removed from the
workpiece, the flowing electrolyte also serves the function of removing heat
and hydrogen bubbles created in the chemical reaction

• Electrochemical machining is generally used in applications where the

work metal is very hard or difficult to machine, or where the work part
geometry is difficult to accomplish by conventional methods.
 Electrochemical Machining
To accomplish metal removal, the electrode is fed
into the work at a rate equal to the rate of metal
removal from the work. Given by;
𝐶𝐼
𝑓𝑟 =
𝐴
Where;
fr = Feed rate
C = a constant called the specific removal rate
that depends on atomic weight, valence, and
density of the work material, mm3/amp-s NOTE: The frontal area is of the electrode
I = current, amps and not the cut!!!
A = Frontal area of the electrode, mm2 An allowance of 1% is taken per dimension
to compensate the calculation
 Expected Learning
• Comparison between Conventional and Non-Traditional
Machining
• Non-Traditional Machining
• Types of Non-Traditional Machining
• NTM Processes Using Mechanical Energy
– Ultrasonic Processes
– Water Jet Cutting (WJC)
– Abrasive Water Jet Cutting (AWJC)
– Abrasive Jet Machining (AJC)
• NTM Processes Using Electrical Energy
– Electro Chemical Machining