A REPORT ON: ABRASIVE JET MACHINING

BY:AKSHAY GUPTA 10BME0345 G1 SLOT

Abrasive Jet Machine

Introduction
Abrasive jet machining (AJM) is a non-traditional machining process that can machine material without generating heat and shock. Abrasive jet machining (AJM) is commonly used for Cutting, Cleaning, Drilling and Etching operation

Mechanism of AJM
Fine particles are accelerated in gas stream.

The particles are directed towards the focus of machining.

As the particle impacts the surface, it causes a small fracture, and the gas stream carries both the abrasive particles and the fractured (wear) particles away.

Conventional Abrasive Jet Machine:

Compresso CDDRRRR

Constructional Details
Equipments involved in the construction of the Abrasive Jet Machine are as follows 1. COMPRESSOR 2. VIBRATOR 3. MIXING CHAMBER 4. NOZZLE 5. MACHINE TABLE 6. PRESSURE GAUGE & REGULATOR

Process Parameters
The variables that influence the rate of metal removal are as follows : 1.Carrier Gas : Carbon dioxide, nitrogen & air. Air is most widely used 2.Abrasive : Aluminum oxide, Silicon carbide, Sodium bicarbonate etc. 3.Velocity of abrasive : The jet velocity is a function of nozzle pressure & design. The range of jet velocity is 150-300 m/min 4. Work Material : It is recommended for processing of brittle material 5. Nozzle Tip Distance (NTD) : It is the distance between the nozzle tip & work material

Effect of Process Parameters on Machining (a)Effect of Pressure of carrier gas on Material Removal Rate (MRR)

S.No.

Gas Pressure 2 (Kgf/cm ) 5 6 7 8

Material Removal Rate (MRR) (mg/min)

1 2 3 4

18 21 23 26

Effect of Pressure on MRR

(b) Effect of Nozzle Tip Distance (NTD) on Diameter of Cut.

S. No.

Nozzle Tip Distance Diameter of Cut (NTD) (mm) (mm)

1 2 3 4

0.79 5.00 10.01 14.99

0.46 0.64 1.5 2.01

Effect of Nozzle Tip Distance on Diameter of Cut.

Block Diagram of Fabricated Abrasive Jet Machine

Air

Hopper

Compressor

Regulating Valve

Mixing Chamber

Nozzle

Nozzle Tip Distance (NTD)

Workpiece Table

Abrasive Jet Machine

Experimental Procedure:
Glass was used as a test specimen, was cut into square and rectangular shape for machining on AJM.

Specimens were cleaned using air jet and weighed on a sensitive scale, accurate to 0.001 gram .

Each test sample was placed on the work chamber and machined by abrasive jet machine by varying various process parameters

The machine work piece was then removed, cleaned and weighed again to determine the amount of material removed from the work piece.

The size of hole at the top surface and bottom surface was measured and the results were tabulated.
PROCESS ADVANTAGES & LIMITATIONS: ADVANTAGES OF ABRASIVE JET:

(a) Extremely fast setup and programming No tool changes required, so there is no need to program tool changes or physically qualify multiple tools. For some systems, programming simply involves drawing the part. If you customer gives you that drawing on disk, half the battle is won. This means that (for some machines) you can make good money off single part and low volume production! (b)Very little fixturing for most parts Flat material can be positioned by laying it on the table and putting a couple of 10 lb weights on it. Tiny parts might require tabs, or other fixturing. At any rate, fixturing is typically not any big deal. Machine virtually any 2D shape (and some 3D stuff)

Including tight inside radii, Make a carburetor flange with holes drilled and everything. (c)Very low side forces during the machining This means you can machine a part with walls as thin as .025" (0.5 mm) without them blowing out. This is one of the factors that make fixturing is so easy. Also, low side forces allow for close nesting of parts, and maximum material usage.

(d)Almost No heat generated on your part

You can machine without hardening the material, generating poisonous fumes, recasting, or warping. You can machine parts that have already been heat treated with only a tiny, tiny decrease in speed. On piercing 2" (50mm) thick steel, temperatures may get as high as 120 degrees F (50 C), but otherwise machining is done at room temperature. Aerospace companies use abrasive jets a lot because of this. (e)No start hole required Wire EDM, eat your heart out. Start holes are only required for impossible to pierce materials. (Some poorly bonded laminates are about the only materials I can think of off hand) (f)Machine thick stuff This is one huge advantage Abrasive jets have over lasers. While most money will probably be made in thickness' under 1" (25mm) for steel, It is common to also machine up to 4" (100mm). I don't know the actual limit to thickness, but cutting speed is a function of thickness, and a part twice as thick will take more than twice as long. I have heard of people making low tolerance parts and roughing out metal up to 510" thick (125mm-250mm), but those people are very patient, and probably have no other way to do it. Typically, most money is made on parts 2" (50mm) thick or thinner. (g)Environmentally friendly

Green Peace does not like some of those other tools in your shop. Not much of an issue now, but in the future I would expect the pressure will be on. Short of hand tools, abrasive jets provide the most environmentally friendly machining around. (Some of the pumps even use vegetable oil for assembly lube because water jets are used in the food industry). As long as no hazardous material is machined, the spent abrasive and waste material become suitable for landfill. The red color of garnet abrasive also looks nice in your garden. If lots of lead or other hazardous materials are machined, you will still need to dispose of

your waste appropriately, and recycle your water. Very little metal is actually removed in the cutting process. This keeps the environmental impact relatively low, even if you do machine the occasional hazardous material. (h)Your clippings are valuable When machining or roughing out expensive materials such as titanium, your scrap still has value. This is because you get chunks, not chips. You can also get more parts from the same material because of the abrasive jets low kerf width.

(i)There is only 1 tool There is no need to qualify multiple tools, or deal with programming tool changes. Programming, Setup and Clean up time is reduced significantly, meaning you make more money because you can turn more parts faster. LIMITATIONS OF ABRASIVE JET:

Despite their simple design, abrasive jet nozzles can be troublesome at times. There are many designs, but they share the same problems: Short life of an expensive wear part: The mixing tube. Like I said, the abrasive jet can cut through just about anything - including itself. This will be a large part of your operating cost. (More on operating cost later) Occasional plugging of mixing tube: Usually caused by dirt or large particles in abrasive. (This used to be a big problem with abrasive jet nozzles, but not so much any more.) Wear, misalignment, and damage to the jewel.

Abrasive Jet Machining Applications

METALWORKING: Deburr critical areas of machined parts. Drill/cut thin, hardened metal sections. Apply trade names, markings to parts. Remove chrome or anodizing. Remove machine marks and flaws. Remove corrosion or contaminants. Prepare surfaces for bonding. MEDICAL: Removal of Laser Slag from Nitinol Components. Deburring, Drilling & Surface Modification of stents, implantables and IV components. Cleaning and deburring of surgical instruments.

Removal of coatings from catheters and guide wires. ELECTRONICS: Strip fine, critical wiring without damage. Adjust resistors and capacitors. Create conductive paths in micromodules. Prepare ceramic element plates. Machine semiconductors and substrates. Machine fragile quartz and crystalline parts. GRINDING: Expose grit on CBN resin bond wheels. Clean residue from diamond wheels. Dress wheels of any size or shape. Clean/dress during grinding cycles. Automatic-no operator needed. Induce cleaning by amperage control. Reduce heat, minimize burned parts. DEBURRING: Deburr critical areas of high precision parts, both i.d. and o.d., for pinpoint removal or excess material without affecting adjacent areas. GLASS: Cut optical fibres without altering wavelength. Cut, drill and frost precision optical lenses. Cut extremely thin sections of glass. Cut intricate, curved patterns. Cut, etch normally inaccessible internal areas. Clean/dress glass grinding wheels. PLASTICS: Adjust critical, internal mold surfaces. Remove flashing from finished, molded parts.

CONCLUSION The better performance, and the applications presented above statements confirm that ABRASIVE JET MACHINING (AJM) will continue to expand. Industry is convinced that the large aerospace segment will take off in near the future, together with other segments that are currently showing interest in AJM method. From operator experiences the abrasive jets are capable of anywhere from 0.5mm-0.025mm precision. High precision manufacturing needs can be met by using AJM method. Newer machines are capable of 3D machining thus making it an important in specialty manufacturing. The new softwares used will minimize time and investments, thereby making it possible for more manufacturers of precision parts to install AJM centres.