Nontraditional Machining and

Thermal Cutting Processes

• Nontraditional machining refers to a group a processes
which removes excess material by various techniques
involving mechanical, thermal, electrical or chemical
energy
• These processes do not use a sharp cutting tool in the
conventional sense
• Nontraditional processes have been developed in
response to new and unusual machining requirements,
including
– The need to machine newly developed materials with special
properties (high strength, high hardness, high toughness)
– The need for unusual and/or complex geometries
– The need to avoid surface damage
• Classification of nontraditional manufacturing
processes by principle form of energy
– Mechanical - mechanical energy in some form different from
the action of a conventional cutting tool; erosion of the
workpiece material is typical
– Electrical - electrochemical energy to remove material
– Thermal - thermal energy generally applied to a small portion
of the work surface, causing removal by fusion and/or
vaporization; thermal energy is generated by conversion of
electrical energy
– Chemical - most materials are susceptible to chemical attack
by certain acids or other etchants; chemicals selectively
remove material from portions of the workpiece, while other
portions of the surface are protected
• Available nontraditional material removal processes
– Mechanical
• AFM - abrasive flow machining
• AJM - abrasive jet machining
• HDM - hydrodynamic machining
• LSG - low stress grinding
• RUM - rotary ultrasonic machining
• TAM - thermally assisted machining
• TFM - total form machining
• USM - ultrasonic machining
• WJM - water jet machining
– Electrical
• ECD - electrochemical deburring
• ECDG - electrochemical discharge grinding
• ECG - electrochemical grinding
• ECH - electrochemical honing
• ECM - electrochemical machining
• ECP - electrochemical polishing
• ECS - electrochemical sharpening
• ECT - electrochemical turning
• ES - electro-stream
• STEM - shaped tube electrolytic machining
– Thermal
• EBM - electron beam machining
• EDG - electrical discharge grinding
• EDM - electrical discharge machining
• EDS - electrical discharge sawing
• EDWC - electrical discharge wire cutting
• LBM - laser beam machining
• LBT - laser beam torch
• PBM - plasma beam machining
 – Chemical
• CHM - chemical machining
• ELP - electropolish
• PCM - photochemical machining
• TCM - thermochemical machining
• TEM - thermal energy machining
• While many processes are available, only the most
commercially important processes are discussed here
 Mechanical Energy Processes

• Ultrasonic machining (USM)

– Abrasives contained in a slurry are driven at high velocity
against the work by a tool vibrating at low amplitude (.003in)
and high frequency (20-100khz)
– The tool oscillates in a direction perpendicular to the
workpiece surface and is fed slowly into the workpiece so that
the shape of the tool is formed in the part
– The action of the abrasives impinging against the work surface
performs the cutting
– Tool materials - soft steel, stainless steel
– Abrasive materials - boron nitride, boron carbide, aluminum
oxide, silicon carbide and diamond
– The vibration amplitude should be set approximately equal to
the grit size, and the gap size should be maintained at about
two times the grit size
– The ratio of work material to tool material removed during
the cutting process ranges from ~100:1 for cutting glass down
to ~1:1 for cutting tool steel
– Workpiece materials: hard and brittle such as ceramics, glass
and carbides; successfully used on certain metals such as
stainless steel and titanium
– Shapes obtained by USM include nonround holes, holes along
a curved axis and coining operation, in which an image
pattern on the tool is imparted to a flat work surface
• Water jet cutting (WJC)
– Nozzle diameter: 0.004-0.016 in
– Pressure: up to 60,000psi
– Jet velocity: up to 3000 ft.Sec
– Nozzle made of sapphire, ruby or diamond
– Cutting fluids: polymer solutions; preferred because of their
tendency to produce a coherent stream
– Important process parameters: standoff distance, nozzle
operating diameter, water pressure and cutting feed rate
– Typical feed rates: 12 in/min to well over 1200 in/min
– The water jet cutting process is usually automated using CNC
robots to manipulate the nozzle unit along the desired
trajectory
– Materials cut by water jet: plastic, textile, composites, tiles,
carpet, leather and cardboard
– Advantages: no crushing or burning of the work surface,
minimum material loss because of the narrow cut slit, no
environmental pollution, and easy automating the process
– Limitation: not suitable to cut brittle material because of their
tendency to crack during cutting
• Abrasive water jet cutting (AWJC)
– Introduction of abrasive particles into the stream adds to the
number of parameters that must be controlled; among these
are: abrasive type, grit size and flow rate
– Type of abrasive materials: aluminum, oxide, silicon dioxide
and garnet (a silicate mineral)
– Grit size: ranges between 60 and 120
– Flow rate: approximately 0.5 lb/min
– Nozzle orifice diameter: 0.010 - 0.025in; somewhat larger that
in water jet cutting to permit higher flow rates and more
energy to be contained in the stream prior to the infection of
abrasives
• Abrasive jet machining (AJM)
– A high velocity stream of gas containing small abrasive
particles
– Pressure: 25 - 200 psi
– Nozzle orifice diameter: 0.003 - 0.040 in
– Velocities: 500 - 1000 ft/min
– Gases: dry air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and helium
– The process is usually carried out manually by an operator
– AJM is normally used as a finishing process
– Applications: deburring, trimming and deflashing, cleaning
and polishing
– Applied on hard, brittle materials (glass, silicon, mica and
ceramics) that are in the form of thin flat stock
– Typical abrasives: aluminum oxide (for aluminum and brass),
silicon carbide (for stainless steel and ceramics), and glass
beads (for polishing)
– Grit sizes are small, 15-40m in diameter and must be very
uniform in size for a given application
– No recycling of abrasives; abrasive grains are fractured, worn
and contaminated
Electrochemical Machining Processes

• Electrochemical machining (ECM)

– It removes metal from an electrically conductive workpiece by
anodic dissolution, in which the shape of the workpiece is
obtained by a formed electrode tool in close proximity to, but
separated from the work by a rapidly flowing electrolyte
– Underlying principle: material is deplated from the anode and
deposited onto the cathode in the presence of an electrolyte
bath
– The difference in ECM is that the electrolyte bath flows
rapidly between the two poles to carry off the deplated
material
– The electrode tool, usually made of copper, brass or stainless
steel, is designed to posses approximately the inverse of the
desired final shape of the part
– Gap distance: usually from 0.003 - 0.030 in
– A water solution of sodium chloride is commonly used as the
electrolyte
– Electrolyte serves for:
• Carrying off the material that has been removed from the
workpiece
• Removing hear and hydrogen bubbles created in the
chemical reactions of the process
– Removed material in the form of microscopic particles must be
separated from the electrolyte through centrifuge,
sedimentation or other means
– Large amount of electrical power is required to perform ECM
– Voltage is kept relatively low to minimize arcing across the
gap
– Use when:
• The material is very hard or difficult to machine or
• Where the workpiece geometry is difficult or impossible
to accomplish by conventional machining methods
– Typical ECM applications
• Die sinking
• Multiple hole drilling
• Holes that are not round
• Deburring
– Advantages:
• Little surface damage to the work part
• No burrs as in conventional machining
• Low tool wear
• Relatively high metal removal rates for hard and
difficult to machine metals
– Disadvantages
• Significant cost of electrical power to drive the
operation
• Problems of disposing of the electrolyte sludge
• Electrochemical deburring (ECD)
– An adaptation of ECM designed to remove burrs or round
sharp corners
– The same ECM principles of operation apply to ECD
– Much less material is removed in ECD, thus cycle times are
much shorter
• Electrochemical grinding (ECG)
– Special form of ECM
– A rotating grinding wheel with a conductive bond material is
used to augment the anodic dissolution of the metal workpart
surface
– Bond material: metallic (diamond abrasives) or resin bond
impregnated with metal particles (aluminum oxide)
– Most of the machining is accomplished by electrochemical
action, therefore the grinding wheel lasts much longer
– Applications:
• Sharpening of cemented carbide tools
• Grinding of surgical needles, other thin wall tubes and
fragile parts
 Thermal Energy Processes

• Electric discharge machining (EDM)

– One of the most widely used nontraditional processes
– Shape of the finished work surface is produced by a formed
electrode tool
– EDM process must take place in the presence of a dielectric
fluid
– Discharge region heated to extremely high temperature so that
a small portion of the work surface is melted and removed
– Individual discharges occur hundreds or thousands of times
per second to give a gradual erosion of the entire surface
– Process variables:
• Discharge current
• Frequency of discharges
– The high spark temperature causes the tool to melt, resulting
in a small cavity opposite the cavity produced in the work
– Wear ratio:
• Work material removed/tool material removed
• Ranges from 1.0 - 100 depending on the combination of
work and electrode materials
– Electrode materials: graphite, copper, brass, copper tungsten,
silver tungsten, etc.
– Metal removal rate:
• MRR = KI/Tm1.23
– Dielectric fluids used: hydrocarbon oils, kerosene and distilled
or deionized water
– Applications:
• tool fabrication and parts production
• delicate parts
• hole drilling with hole axis at an acute angle to the surface
• production machining of hard and exotic metals
• Electric Discharge Wire Cutting (EDWC or wire EDM)
– special form of EDM using a wire as the electrode
– cutting action achieved by thermal energy from electric
discharges between the electrode wire and the workpiece
– Workpiece fed continuously and slowly past the wire to
achieve cutting path
– NC used to control workpart motions
– Wire EDM must be carried out in the presence of a dielectric
– Wire diameters: 0.003 - 0.012 in.
– Wire materials: brass, copper, tungsten and molybdenum
– Dielectric fluids: deionized water or oil
– Overcut ranges from 0.0008 - 0.002in. And remains fairly
constant and predictable once cutting conditions are
established
• Electron Beam Machining (EBM)
– A high velocity stream of electrons is focused on the workpiece
surface to remove material by melting and vaporization
– Electron beam gun accelerates a stream of electrons to ~3/4 c
and focused through an electromagnetic lens
– Kinetic energy of beam converted to thermal energy of
extremely high density, melting or vaporizing material in a
very localized area
– EBM must be carried out in a vacuum
– Can be used on any known material
– Applications:
• drilling of extremely small diameter holes - down to 0.002
in
• drilling holes with high depth/diameter ratios, greater than
100:1
– Limitations:
• need of a vacuum
• high energy required
• expensive equipment
• Laser Beam Machining (LBM)
– Uses light energy from a laser to remove materials by
vaporization and ablation
– Types of lasers:
• CO2
• solid-state
– Energy is concentrated optically and in terms of time
– Light beam pulsed so that the released energy results in an
impulse against the work surface, producing evaporation and
melting
– Used for:
• drilling - down to 0.001 in
• slitting
• slotting
• scribing
• marking
– Not considered a mass production process; generally used on
thin stock
– Range of work materials virtually unlimited
• Plasma Arc Cutting (PAC)
– Plasma - a superheated, electrically ionized gas
– PAC uses a plasma stream operating at temperatures in the
range from 18,000o - 25,000o F to cut metal
– The high-velocity plasma stream is directed at the workpiece,
melting it and blowing the molten metal through the kerf
– Plasma arc generated between an electrode inside the torch
– Plasma flows through a water-cooled nozzle, which constricts
and directs the stream
– Hot enough to cut through metal 6 in thick
– Gases used:
• nitrogen, argon-hydrogen or a mixture (primary gases)
• secondary gases or water directed to surround the plasma
jet to confine the arc and clean the kerf
– Most applications consist of cutting flat metal sheets and plates
– Can be used to cut nearly any electrically conductive metal
– Feed rates:
• as high as 430 in/min for 1/4 in. aluminum
• 200 in/min for 1/4 in. steel
• 20 in/min for 4 in. aluminum
– Advantage: high productivity
– Disadvantages: rough cut surface, metallurgical damage
• Air Carbon Arc Cutting
– arc generated between a carbon electrode and the metallic
work
– High-velocity air jet used to blow away the melted portion of
the metal
– Used to form a kerf for severing the piece or to gouge a cavity
in the pat
– Used on a variety of metals, including cast iron, carbon steel,
low alloy and stainless steels
– Sputtering of molten metal is a hazard
• Other Arc Cutting Processes
– Gas metal arc cutting
– Shielded metal arc cutting
– Gas tungsten arc cutting
– Carbon arc cutting
 Chemical Machining

• Mechanics and Chemistry of Chemical Machining

– Differences in applications and the ways in which the steps are
implemented account for the different forms of CHM; the
steps are
• Cleaning - to ensure that material will be removed
uniformly from the surfaces to be etched
 • Masking - maskant, chemically resistant to the etchant,
applied to portions of the work surface not to be etched
• Etching - the material removal step; part immersed in an
etchant that chemically attacks unmasked portions; part
removed and washed when desired amount of material has
been removed
• Demasking - maskant removed from the part
– Masking and etching involve significant variations in methods,
materials and process parameters
– Maskant materials: neoprene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene
and other polymers
– Masking methods
• Cut and peel - performed by hand, used for large
workparts, low production quantities and where accuracy
is not a critical factor
• Photographic resist - normally applied where small parts
are produced in high quantities and close tolerances are
required
• Screen resist - used in applications that are between the
other two masking methods in terms of accuracy, part size
and production quantity
– Etchant selection - depends on work material, desired depth
and rate of etch, and surface finish requirements
• Chemical Milling
– First CHM process to be commercialized
– Used largely in the aircraft industry
– Applicable to large parts where substantial amounts of metal
are removed
– Cut and peel maskant method employed
– As depth increases, surface finish becomes worse
– Metallurgical damage very small
• Chemical Blanking
– Uses chemical erosion to cut very thin sheet-metal parts, down
to 0.001 in. and/or for intricate cutting patterns
– Produces burr free parts
– Photoresist or screen resist method applied
– Maximum stock thickness ~0.030 in.
– Hardened or brittle materials can be processed
• Chemical Engraving
– A chemical machining process used for making flat panels that
have lettering and/or artwork on one side
– Can be used to make raised or recessed lettering by reversing
the portions of the panel to be etched
– Masking done by either photoresist or screen resist methods
– Filling operation to apply paint or other coating follows
etching
• Photochemical Machining (PCM)
– Chemical machining in which the photoresist masking method
is used
– Employed in metalworking when close tolerances and/or
intricate patterns are required
– Used extensively in electronics industry (makes VLSI possible)
– Photoresist materials in current use are sensitive to UV light,
but not other wavelengths
– No need to carry out process in a darkroom
– Anisotropy: depth of cut d divided by undercut u; reciprocal
of the etch factor
• A=1/Fe = d/u
• A: degree of anisotropy
• Fe: etch factor
 Application Considerations

• Workpart Geometry Features

– Very small holes - (below 0.005 in. in diameter) use LBM
– Holes with large depth/diameter ratios - (d/D > 20) use
ECM and EDM
– Nonround holes - use EDM and ECM
– Narrow slots that are not straight - use EBM, LBM, wire
EDM, WJC and AWJC
– Micromachining - use PCM, LBM and EBM
– Shallow pockets and surface details in flat parts - use CHM
and its variations
– Creation of special contoured shapes for mold and die
applications - (die sinking) use EDM and ECM
• Work Materials
• Performance of Nontraditional Processes
– Nontraditional processes are generally used when conventional
methods are not practical or economical