Ultrasonic Machining

Processes
USM Equipment

Min Components

1) Power Supply
2) Transducer
3) Tool holder
4) Tool
5) Abrasives & Slurry
Mechanism for Material Removal
 Occurs when the abrasive particles, suspended in the slurry between the
tool and workpiece, are struck by the down stroke of the vibration tool.
 The impact propels the particles across the cutting gap, hammering them
into the surface of both tool and workpiece.
 Collapse of the cavitation bubbles in the abrasive suspension results in
very high local pressures.
 Under the action of the associated shock waves on the abrasive particles,
micro cracks are generated at the interface of the workpiece – brittle
fracture.
 The brittle fracture lead to chipping of particles from the workpiece.
Mechanics of USM
The metal removal in an USM process is

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.
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 to the
proportional
frequency (no. of cycles per unit time).
4. All impacts are identical.
5. All abrasive grains are identical and spherical in shape.
USM
Mechanics of USM
1. The position 'A' indicates the instant the tool face touches the abrasive
grain.
2. The period of movement from 'A' to 'B' represents the impact.
3. 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 'h' (the total indentation).
 Process Parameters and their Effects:
During discussion and analysis as presented in the previous section, the process
parameters which govern the ultrasonic machining process have been identified and
the same are listed below along with material parameters

a) Amplitude of vibration– 15 – 50 μm
b) Frequency of vibration – 19 – 25 kHz
c) Feed force – related to tool dimensions
d) Feed pressure
e) Abrasive size – 15 μm – 150 μm
f) Abrasive material – Al2O3 , SiC, B4C , Boron Silioncarbide, Diamond
g) Flow strength of work material
h) Flow strength of the tool material
i) Contact area of the tool
j) Volume concentration of abrasive in water slurry
 MRR vs Frequency and Amplitude

 With an theor
y
increase in
f increases
frequency of the tool actua
l
head the

MR

MR
R

R
Material Removal
Rate (MRR)
should increase Frequency ( f Amplitude ( A
) )
proportionally. The nature of the variation with respect to MMR
with frequency and amplitude is shown in the
However, there is a figure

slight variation in
 When the amplitude of the vibration increases the
the MRR with
MRR is expected to increase.
frequency.
 MRR vs Abrasive Diameter and Concentration
 MRR also B4C
theor
rise y
should
with
proportionatel
mean grain diameter
the d'.
'
actua Si

MR

MR
R

R
l C
 y
When ' d' becomes too

large,
the tendency
crushing d C (abrasive conc.
%)
increases. of the The nature of the variation with respect to MMR
Vs Abrasive diameter and Concentration of
 Concentration control abrasives

abrasives s
directly the
producing impact per grain
cycle.
number of
 MRR is proportional to s 4'C1/ so after 'C’ rises to 30% MRR increase is
‘

not
very fast.
MRR vs Feed Force
theor
y

actua

MRR
l

(Q)
Feed force ( f
)

 MRR increases with increasing feed force but

after a

certain critical feed force it decreases because

the abrasive grains get crushed under heavy load.

 USM, Dependence of Surface Finish on Grain Size

avg,. Surface roughness (micro m)

100 glass

75

50
tungsten
carbide
25

50 150
100
Mean grain dia, (micro
 M)
The figure shows that the surface finish is more sensitive to grain size in case of glass

which is softer than tungsten carbide.

i.e. 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.
Recap….
 Various Work Samples Machined by USM

Grooving by Complex detailing by

USM USM

Coin are grooved by

USM
Various Work Samples Machined by USM

Holes by
USM

Complex Designs by
USM
USM
 Applications
 USM best suited for hard, brittle materials, such as
is ceramics,
carbides, glass, precious stones, and hardened steels.

 Capability
 With fine abrasives, tolerance of 0.0125 mm or better can be held.
Ra varies between 0.2 – 1.6 µm.

 Pros & Cons:

 Pros: precise machining of brittle materials; makes tiny holes (0.3 mm);
does not produce electric, thermal, chemical damage because it removes
material mechanically.
 Cons: low material removal rate (typically 0.8 cm3/min); tool wears rapidly;
machining area and depth are limited.
 Advantages of USM
 It can be used to machine
hard,brittle, fragile and non conductive material.
 No heat is generated in work, therefore no significant
changes in physical structure of work material.
 Non-metal (because of the poor electrical
conductivity) that

cannot be machined by EDM and ECM can very

well be machined by USM.
 It is burr less and distortion less processes.
 like
It canEDM, ECG, ECM.
be adopted in conjunction with other new
Disadvantages of USM
 Low metal removal rate.

 It is difficult to drill deep as slurry movement is restricted.

 Tool wear rate is high due to abrasive particles.

 Tools made from brass, tungsten carbide, MS or tool steel will

wear from the action of abrasive grit with a ratio that ranges

from 1:1 to 200:1.

 USM can be used only when the hardness of is

work more
than 45 HRC.
Applications of USM
 Machining of cavities in electrically non-conductive ceramics
 Used to machine fragile components in which otherwise the
scrap rate is high.
 Used for multistep processing for fabricating silicon
nitride (Si3N4) turbine blades.
 Used for machining hard, brittle metallic
alloys, semiconductors, glass, ceramics, carbides etc.
 Used for machining round, square, irregular shaped
holes
and surface impressions.
 Used in machining of dies for wire drawing, punching
and blanking operations.
 USM has been used for piercing of dies and for
parting off and blanking operations.

 USM enables a dentist to drill a hole of any shape on

teeth without any pain.

 Ferrites and steel parts, precision mineral stones

can be
machined using USM.

 USM can be used to cut industrial diamonds.

 USM is used for grinding Quartz, Glass, ceramics.

 Cutting holes with curved or spiral centre lines and cutting

threads in glass and mineral or metallo-ceramics.

 USM can perform machining operations like drilling,

grinding and milling operations on all materials which can

be treated suitably with abrasives.

 Large number of holes of small diameter. 930 holes with

0.32mm has been reported (Benedict, 1973) using

hypodermic needles.