20ME21 - MODERN MACHINING PROCESSES

• PREREQUISITES: Machine Tools and Metrology

• COURSE EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this course is to
familiarize with unconventional machining processes and rapid prototyping.
• COURSE OUTCOMES: After completion of the course student will be able to CO 1:
Assort appropriate unconventional machining processes for machining materials and
to develop relevant industrial solutions for machining materials. (Understanding - L2)
• CO 2: Understand the principles of Electro Chemical Machining Process for
machining of materials. (Understanding - L2)
• CO 3: Comprehend Electrical Discharge Machining principles for machining intricate
components. (Understanding - L2)
• CO 4: Differentiate the basic principles and applications of thermal machining
processes like EBM, LBM and PAM. (Understanding - L2)
• CO 5: Identify the appropriate Rapid Prototyping Processes for manufacturing
various components. (Understanding - L2)
 UNIT - I

• INTRODUCTION: Need for unconventional machining methods-Classification of

unconventional machining processes – considerations in process selection.

• MECHANICAL PROCESSES: Basic principle, equipment, process variable and applications

of ultrasonic machining, abrasive jet machining and water jet machining.
 UNIT - II

• ELECTROCHEMICAL PROCESSES: Introduction, principles, equipment and material removal

rate in electrochemical machining, electrochemical grinding, electrochemical deburring and
electrochemical honing-Chemical machining: principle, maskants, etchants, advantages and
applications.
 Unit-iii

• ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE MACHINING: Introduction, Principle of Electrical Discharge

Machining– Power circuits for EDM, Advantages, Limitations, and applications.
• PROCESS PARAMETERS OF EDM: Mechanics of metal removal in EDM, Process
parameters, selection of tool electrode and dielectric fluids, Electric discharge wire
cutting principle and applications.
 Unit-iv

• ELECTRON BEAM, LASER BEAM AND PLASMA ARC MACHINING:

Introduction, Principle, equipment and applications of electron beam
machining, laser beam machining, plasma arc machining and hot
machining.
 Unit-v

• RAPID PROTOTYPING: Introduction, Prototype fundamentals, historical

development, fundamentals of Rapid Prototyping, Advantages of Rapid
Prototyping, classification of Rapid prototyping. Rapid Prototyping process chain,
types of RP: Liquid based Rapid Prototyping, Stereo Lithography Apparatus (SLA),
Solid Ground Curing (SGC), Solid based Rapid Prototyping, Powder based Rapid
Prototyping: Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Applications of Rapid Prototyping
 TEXT BOOKS:

1.Pandey P.C. and Shah H.S, Modern Machining Process / TMH.

2.Chua C.K, Leong K.F and Lim C.S, Rapid Prototyping principles and applications,
second edition, world scientific publishers. 2003.
•
• REFERENCES
1.M.K.Singh, Unconventional Manufacturing Processes / New age international.
2.VK Jain, Advanced Machining Processes/ / Allied publishers.
3.N.Hopkinson, R.J.M Haque & P.M.Dickens Rapid Manufacturing, John Wiley &
Sons, 2006.
Machining processes
 Non-Traditional Machining
• Traditional machining is mostly based on removal of materials
using tools that are harder than the materials themselves.
• New and novel materials because of their greatly improved
chemical, mechanical and thermal properties are sometimes
impossible to machine using traditional machining processes.
• Traditional machining methods are often ineffective in
machining hard materials like ceramics and composites
or machining under very tight tolerances as in
micromachined components.
• The need to a avoid surface damage that often accompanies
the stresses created by conventional machining.
Example: aerospace and electronics industries.
• They are classified under the domain of non traditional
processes.
 Classification of Non-Traditional Machining
These can be classified according to the source of energy used to
generate such a machining action: mechanical, thermal, chemical and
electrochemical.

Mechanical: Erosion of the work material by a high velocity stream

of abrasives or fluids (or both)

Thermal: The thermal energy is applied to a very small portion of the work
surface, causing that portion to be removed by fusion and/or vaporization
of the material. The thermal energy is generated by conversion of electrical
energy.

Electrochemical: Mechanism is reverse of electroplating.

Chemical: Most materials (metals particularly) are susceptible to chemical

attack by certain acids or other etchants. In chemical machining,
chemicals selectively remove material from portions of the workpart, while
other portions of the surface are protected by a mask.
Classification of Non-Traditional Machining
 Mechanical Machining
• Ultrasonic Machining (USM) and Waterjet Machining (WJM) are typical
examples of single action, mechanical non traditional machining processes.
• The machining medium is solid grains suspended in an abrasive slurry in the
former, while a fluid is employed in the WJM process.
• The introduction of abrasives to the fluid jet enhances the machining
efficiency and is known as abrasive water jet machining. Similar case
happens when ice particles are introduced as in Ice Jet Machining.
Thermal Machining

 Thermal machining
removes materials by
melting or vaporizing the
work piece material.
 Many secondary
phenomena occur during
machining such as
microcracking, formation of
heat affected zones,
striations etc.
 The source of heat could
be plasma as during EDM
and PBM or photons as
during LBM, electrons in
EBM, ions in IBM etc.
Chemical and Electrochemical Machining

• Chemical milling and

photochemical machining or
photochemical blanking all use a
chemical dissolution action to
remove the machining allowance
through ions in an etchant.
• Electrochemical machining uses
the electrochemical dissolution
phase to remove the machining
allowance using ion transfer in an
electrolytic cell.
 Ultra Sonic Machining(USM)
• Balamuth first discovered USM in 1945.
• Ultrasonic machining (USM) is the removal of hard and brittle materials using an
axially oscillating tool at ultrasonic frequencies [18–20 kilohertz(kHz)].
 USM

• During the oscillation, the abrasive slurry of B4C or SiC is

continuously fed into the machining zone between a soft tool
(brassor steel) and the workpiece.
• The abrasive particles are, therefore, hammered into the
workpiece surface and cause chipping of fine particles from it.
• The oscillating tool, at amplitudes ranging from 10 to 40 μm,
imposes a static pressure on the abrasive grains and feeds
down as the material is removed to form the required tool
shape
Main Elements of an USM
Magnetostrictor
• It has a high-frequency winding wound on a magnetostrictor core
and a special polarizing winding around an armature.
• Magnetostriction (cf. electrostriction) is a property of magnetic
materials that causes them to change their shape or dimensions
during the process of magnetization. The variation of materials'
magnetization due to the applied magnetic field changes the
magnetostrictive strain until reaching its saturation value, λ.
• This Magnetostriction effect is used to oscillate the USM tool, which
is mounted at the end of a magnetostrictor, at ultrasonic
frequencies (18 to 20 kHz).
• The coefficient of magnetostriction elongation is
• where Δl is the incremental length of the magnetostrictor core and l
is the original length of the magnetostrictor core, both in
millimeters.
• Materials having high magnetostrictive elongation are
recommended to be used for a magnetostrictor.
 Concentrator(Amplifier)
• The elongation obtained at the resonance frequency fr using a
magnetostrictor of length l = 0.5l is usually 0.001 to 0.1 μm, which is
too small for practical machining applications.
• The vibration amplitude is increased by fitting an amplifier (acoustic
horn) into the output end of the magnetostrictor. Larger amplitudes,
typically 40 to 50 μm, are found to be suitable for practical
applications.
• Depending on the final amplitude required, the amplitude
amplification can be achieved by one or more acoustic horns.
• Exponential and stepped types are frequently used because they are
easily designed and produced compared to the conical and
hyperbolic horns.
Two-step amplification
in USM.
 Tools
• During USM,tools are fed toward, and held against, the workpiece by
means of a static pressure that has to overcome the cutting
resistance at the interface of the tool and workpiece.
• Tool tips must have high wear resistance and fatigue strength.
• For machining glass and tungsten carbide, copper and chromium
silver steel tools are recommended. Silver and chromium nickel steel
are used for machining sintered carbides.
 Abrasive slurry

• Abrasive slurry is usually composed of 50 percent (by volume) fine

abrasive grains (100–800 grit number) of boron carbide (B4C),
aluminum oxide (Al2O3), or silicon carbide (SiC) in 50 percent water.
The abrasive slurry is circulated between the oscillating tool and
workpiece.
• Under the effect of the static feed force and the ultrasonic vibration,
the abrasive particles are hammered into the workpiece surface
causing mechanical chipping of minute particles. The slurry is
pumped through a nozzle close to the tool-workpiece interface at a
rate of 25 liters per minute (L/min).
 Mechanics of USM

The reasons for material removal in an USM process are believed to be:

1. The hammering of the abrasive particles on the work surface by the

tool.

2. The impact of free abrasive particles on the work surface.

3. The erosion due to cavitation.

4. The chemical action associated with the fluid used.

Many researchers have tried to develop the theories to predict the characteristics
of ultrasonic machining. The model proposed by M.C. Shaw is generally well
accepted and explains the material removal process well.
 M.C. Shaw’s Model of USM Mechanics

In this model the direct impact of the tool on the grains in contact
with the work piece is taken into consideration. Also, the
assumptions made are:
1. The rate of work material removal is proportional to the
volume of the work material per impact.

2. The rate of work material removal is proportional to the no. of

particles making impact per cycle.

3. The rate of work material removal is proportional to the

frequency (no. of cycles per unit time).

4. All impacts are identical.

5. All abrasive grains are identical and spherical in shape.

 USM
process
Thus, volume of work material removal rate (Q)
Qα

VZν
where, V = volume of the work material removal
per impact
Z = number of particles making impact
per cycle
ν = frequency
 Mechanics of USM
Various Tool Position
during a USM
cycle.

• The position ‘A’ indicates the instant the tool face touches the abrasive grain.
• The period of movement from ‘A’ to ‘B’ represents the impact.
• The indentations, caused by the grain on the tool and the work surface at
the extreme bottom position of the tool from the position ‘A’ to position ‘B’ is
(the total indentation).
‘h’ Tool

Indentations on tool and work surface Abrasive grain

at bottom position of the tool
Work
Plot Between MRR and Feed
Force

MRR increases with increasing feed force but after a certain critical
feed force it decreases because the abrasive grains get crushed
under heavy load.
 Process Parameters
The important parameters which affect the process are the:
1. Frequency,
2. Amplitude,
3. Static loading (feed force),
4. Hardness ratio of the tool and the workpiece,
5. Grain size,
6. Concentration of the abrasive in the slurry.

(a) (b)

 With an increase in frequency of the tool head the MRR should increase
proportionally. However, there is a slight variation in the MRR with frequency.
 When the amplitude of the vibration increases the MRR is expected to
increase. The actual nature of the variation is shown in Fig. (b). There is some
discrepancy in the actual values again. This arises from the fact that we
calculate the duration of penetration Δt by considering average velocity.
 Process Parameters
 We already said that with an increase in static loading, the MRR tends to increase.
However, at higher force values of the tool head due to grain crushing the MRR
decreases.

 The ratio of workpiece hardness and tool hardness affects the MRR quite
significantly, and the characteristics is shown below.
 Apart from the hardness the brittleness of the work material plays a very
dominant role. The table below shows the relative MRR for different work
materials. As can be seen the more brittle material is machined more rapidly.
Relative material removal rates (frequency = 16.3 kHz,
amplitude = 12.5 um grain size = 100 mesh)

Work material Relative MRR

Glass 100.0
Brass 6.6
Tungsten 4.8
Titanium 4.0
Steel 3.9
Chrome steel 1.4
 Process Parameters

 MRR should also rise proportionately with the mean grain diameter ‘d’.
When ‘d’ becomes too large, the crushing tendency increases.
 Concentration of the abrasives directly controls the number of grains
producing
impact per cycle. MRR is proportional to C1/4 so after C rises to 30% MRR
increase is not very fast.
 Apart from the process parameters some
physical properties (e.g. viscosity) of the fluid
used for the slurry also affects the MRR.
Experiments show that MRR drops as viscosity
increases.
 Although the MRR is a very important
consideration for judging the USM but so is
the surface finish.
 Dependence of Surface Finish on Grain Size

 The figure shows that the surface finish is more sensitive to

grain size in case of glass which is softer than tungsten carbide.

 This is because in case of a harder material the size of the

fragments dislodged through a brittle fracture does not depend
much on the size of the impacting particles.
Factors affecting USM performance
 Applications
Drilling and coring
• A modified version of USM is shown in Fig. where a tool bit is rotated against the
workpiece in a similar fashion to conventional drilling. The process is, therefore,
called rotary ultrasonic machining (RUM).
• used this process for machining nonmetallic materials such as glass, alumina,
ceramic, ferrite, quartz, zirconium oxide, ruby, sapphire, beryllium oxide, and
some composite materials.
 Applications
• Ultrasonic sinking and contour machining

• Production of EDM electrodes

• Ultrasonic polishing
• Micro-ultrasonic machining
 Other applications

• Cutting off parts made from semiconductors at high removal

rates compared to conventional machining methods
• Engraving on glass as well as hardened steel and sintered
carbide
• Parting and machining of precious stones including diamond
 water Jet machining
• The key element in water jet machining (WJM) is a water jet, which
travels at velocities as high as 900 m/s (approximately Mach 3). When
the stream strikes a workpiece surface, the erosive force of water
removes the material rapidly. The water, in this case, acts like a saw
and cuts a narrow groove in the workpiece material.
 Components in WJM
• Hydraulic pump. The hydraulic pump is powered from a 30-kilowatt
(kW) electric motor and supplies oil at pressures as high as 117 bars
in order to drive a reciprocating plunger pump termed an intensifier.
• Intensifier. The intensifier accepts the water at low pressure
(typically 4 bar) and expels it, through an accumulator, at higher
pressures of 3800 bar. The intensifier converts the energy from the
low pressure hydraulic fluid into ultrahigh-pressure water.
• Accumulator. The accumulator maintains the continuous flow of the
high-pressure water and eliminates pressure fluctuations. It relies on
the compressibility of water (12 percent at 3800 bar) in order to
maintain a uniform discharge pressure and water jet velocity, when
the intensifier piston changes its direction.
 Components in WJM
• High-pressure tubing. High-pressure tubing transports pressurized
water to the cutting head. Typical tube diameters are 6 to 14 mm.
The equipment allows for flexible movement of the cutting head. The
cutting action is controlled either manually or through a remote-
control valve specially designed for this purpose.
• Jet cutting nozzle. The nozzle provides a coherent water jet stream
for optimum cutting of low-density, soft material that is considered
unmachinable by conventional methods. Nozzles are normally made
from synthetic sapphire
• Catcher. The catcher acts as a reservoir for collecting the machining
debris entrained in the water jet. Moreover, it reduces the noise
levels [105 decibels (dB)] associated with the reduction in the velocity
of the water jet from Mach 3 to subsonic levels.
 Process parameters
• Jet nozzle. The standoff distance, shown in Fig., is the gap between
the jet nozzle (0.1–0.3 mm diameter) and the workpiece (2.5–6 mm).
However for materials used in printed circuit boards, it may be
increased to 13 to 19 mm.
 Process parameters
• Jet fluid. Typical pressures reported are 150 to 1000 MPa, which
provide 8 to 80 kW of power. For a given nozzle diameter, the
increase in pressure allows more power to be used in the machining
process, which in turn increases the depth of the cut. Jet velocities
range between 540 to 1400 m/s. The quality of cutting improves at
higher pressures by widening the diameter of the jet and by lowering
the traverse speed.
• Target material. Brittle materials will fracture, while ductile ones will
cut well. Material thicknesses range from 0.8 to 25 mm or more.
 Applications
• WJM is used on metals, paper, cloth, leather,
rubber, plastics, food, and ceramics.
• It is a versatile and cost-effective cutting process
that can be used as an alternative to traditional
machining methods.
• It completely eliminates heat-affected zones, toxic
fumes, recast layers, work hardening, and thermal
stresses.
• It is the most flexible and effective cleaning solution
available for a variety of industrial needs
 Applications
• Cutting. WJM is limited to fiberglass and
corrugated wood.Figure below shows a typical
example of water jet cutting of marble.
 Applications
• Drilling. The process drills precision-angled and -shaped holes in a
variety of materials for which other processes such as EDM or
EBM are too expensive or too slow.
• Machining of fiber-reinforced plastics. In this case the thermal
material damage is negligible. The tool, being effectively pointed,
accurately cuts contours.
• Deburring. The method uses large pressures to remove large
burrs (3 mm height) in 12-mm-diameter drilled holes in a hollow
molybdenum-chromium steel shaft.
• Cutting of printed circuit boards. Using a small-diameter water
jet mounted near to the part edge, a printed circuit board (PCB)
can be cut ata speed that exceeds 8 m/min, with high accuracy.
 Applications
Surface treatment. The process finds many applications including:
• Removing deposits and residues without toxic chemicals, which
eliminates costly cleanup and disposal problems
• Surface cleaning of pipes and castings, decorative finishing,
nuclear decontamination, food utensil cleaning, degreasing,
polishing, preparation for precise inspection, and surface texturing
• Economical surface preparation and coating removal
• Removing corrosion, spray residue, soluble salts, chemicals, and
surface damage prior to recoating or painting
• Wire stripping. The process can remove the wire insulating
material without damaging the metal or removing the tinning on
the copper wire.
 Abrasive Jet Machining (AJM)
• In abrasive jet machining (AJM) a focused stream of abrasive grains of
Al2O3 or SiC carried by high-pressure gas or air at a high velocity is
made to impinge on the work surface through a nozzle of 0.3 to 0.5-
mm diameter.
• The workpiece material is removed by the mechanical abrasion (MA)
action of the high-velocity abrasive particles.
• AJM machining is best suited for machining holes in superhard
materials. It is typically used to cut, clean, peen, deburr, deflash, and
etch glass, ceramics, or hard metals.
AJM System
 AJM System working
• In the machining system shown in Fig., a gas (nitrogen, CO2, or air) is
supplied under a pressure of 2 to 8 kg/cm2. Oxygen should never be
used because it causes a violent chemical reaction with workpiece
chips or abrasives. After filtration and regulation, the gas is passed
through a mixing chamber that contains abrasive particles and
vibrates at 50 Hz.
• From the mixing chamber, the gas, along with the entrained abrasive
particles (10–40 μm), passes through a 0.45-mm-diameter tungsten
carbide nozzle at a speed of 150 to 300 m/s.
• Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and silicon carbide powders are used for
heavy cleaning, cutting, and deburring.
• Magnesium carbonate is recommended for use in light cleaning and
etching, while sodium bicarbonate is used for fine cleaning and the
cutting of soft materials.
 AJM System working
• Commercial-grade powders are not suitable because their sizes are not
well classified. They may contain silica dust, which can be a health
hazard.
• It is not practical to reuse the abrasive powder because
contaminations and worn grit will cause a decline of the machining
rate.
• The abrasive powder feed rate is controlled by the amplitude of
vibrations in the mixing chamber. The nozzle standoff distance is 0.81
mm. The relative motion between the workpiece and the nozzle is
manually or automatically controlled using cam drives, pantographs,
tracer mechanisms, or using computer control according to the cut
geometry required.
• Masks of copper, glass, or rubber may be used to concentrate the jet
stream of abrasive particles to a confined location on the workpiece.
Intricate and precise shapes can be produced by using masks with
corresponding contours. Dust removal equipment is incorporated to
 Mechanics of AJM
• Abrasive particle impinges on the work
surface at a high velocity and this impact
causes a tiny brittle fracture and the following
air or gas carries away the dislodged small
work piece particle.

Fracture of work surface Formation of cavity

 Mechanics of AJM
• The process is more suitable when the work
material is brittle and fragile.
• A model for the material removal rate (MRR)
is available from Sarkar and Pandey, 1980.
The MRR (Q) is given as
 Process Parameters
 The process characteristics can be evaluated by judging

(1) the MRR,

(2) the geometry of the cut,

(3) the roughness of the surface produced, and

(4) the rate of nozzle wear.

 The major parameters which control these quantities are:

1. The abrasive (composition, strength, size and mass flow rate).

2. The gas (composition, pressure and velocity).

3. The nozzle (geometry, material, distance from and inclination to

the work surface).
 The Abrasive
 Mainly two types of abrasives are used (1) Aluminum oxide and (2) Silicon
carbide. (Grains with a diameter 10-50 microns are readily available)
 For good wear action on the surfaces, the abrasive grains should have
sharp edges.
 A reuse of the abrasive powder is normally not recommended because of
a decrease of cutting capacity and clogging of the nozzle orifices due to
contamination.
 The mass flow rate of the abrasive particles depends on the pressure and
the flow rate of the gas.

 There is an optimum mixing ratio

(mass fraction of the abrasive in
the jet) for which the metal
removal rate is the highest.

 When the mass flow rate of the

abrasive increases the material
removal rate also increases.
 The Gas
 The AJM unit normally operates at a pressure of 0.2-1.0 N/mm2 .
 The composition of gas and a high velocity has a significant impact on the
MRR even if the mixing ratio is not changed.

The Nozzle
 The nozzle is one of the most vital elements controlling the process
characteristics.
 The nozzle material should be hard to avoid any significant wear due to the
flowing abrasive. [Normally WC (avg. life: 12-30 hrs.) or Sapphire (Appr. =
300 hrs.) are used]
 For a normal operation the cross-sectional area of the orifice can be either
circular or rectangular and between 0.05- 0.2mm2 .
 Nozzle to Tip Distance (Stand off distance)
 The nozzle tip distance (NTD) or the stand off distance is a critical
parameter in AJM.
 The NTD not only affects the MRR from the work surface but also the
shape and size of the cavity produced.
 As shown in the figure below, when the NTD increases, the velocity of the
abrasive particles impinging on the work surface increases due to their
acceleration after they leave the nozzle. This increases the MRR.
 With a further increase in the NTD, the velocity reduces due to the drag of
the atmosphere which initially checks the increase in MRR and then
decreases it.
Photographs of the Actual Machined Cavity
Profile at Different NTD

Profile of the machined

cavity at different
stand off distances

(a) 2mm (b) 6mm

(c) 10mm (d) 14mm
(e) 16mm (f) 20mm
 Applications
1. Drilling holes, cutting slots, cleaning hard surfaces, deburring,
polishing, and radiusing
2. Deburring of cross holes, slots, and threads in small precision parts
that require a burr-free finish, such as hydraulic valves, aircraft fuel
systems, and medical appliances
3. Machining intricate shapes or holes in sensitive, brittle, thin, or
difficult-to-machine materials
4. Insulation stripping and wire cleaning without affecting the conductor
5. Micro-deburring of hypodermic needles
6. Frosting glass and trimming of circuit boards, hybrid circuit resistors,
capacitors, silicon, and gallium
7. Removal of films and delicate cleaning of irregular surfaces because
the abrasive stream is able to follow contours
 Advantages and Limitations
Advantages
• Because AJM is a cool machining process, it is best suited for
machining brittle and heat-sensitive materials like glass, quartz,
sapphire, and ceramics
• The process is used for machining superalloys and refractory
materials.
• It is not reactive with any workpiece material.
• No tool changes are required.
• Intricate parts of sharp corners can be machined.
• The machined materials do not experience hardening.
• No initial hole is required for starting the operation as required by
wire EDM.
• Material utilization is high.
• It can machine thin materials.
 limitations

• The removal rate is slow.

• Stray cutting can’t be avoided
• The tapering effect may occur especially when drilling
in metals.
• The abrasive may get impeded in the work surface.
• Suitable dust-collecting systems should be provided.
• Soft materials can’t be machined by the process.
• Silica dust may be a health hazard.
• Ordinary shop air should be filtered to remove
moisture and oil