Abrasive slurry jet micro-machining of holes in brittle and ductile materials

Abstract

This paper investigated the effects of elasticity and viscosity, induced by a dilute high-molecular-weight polymer solution, on the shape, depth, and diameter of micro-holes drilled in borosilicate glass and in plates of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy, 110 copper, and 316 stainless steel using low-pressure abrasive slurry jet micro-machining (ASJM). Holes were machined using aqueous jets with 1wt% 10μm Al2O3 particles. The 180μm sapphire orifice produced a 140μm diameter jet at pressures of 4 and 7MPa. When the jet contained 50wppm of dissolved 8 million molecular weight polyethylene oxide (PEO), the blind holes in glass were approximately 20% narrower and 30% shallower than holes drilled without the polymer, using the same abrasive concentration and pressure. The addition of PEO led to hole cross-sectional profiles that had a sharper edge at the glass surface and were more V-shaped compared with the U-shape of the holes produced without PEO. Hole symmetry in glass was maintained over depths ranging from about 80–900μm by ensuring that the jets were aligned perpendicularly to within 0.2°. The changes in shape and size were brought about by normal stresses generated by the polymer. Jets containing this dissolved polymer were observed to oscillate laterally and non-periodically, with an amplitude reaching a value of 20μm. For the first time, symmetric ASJM through-holes were drilled in a 3-mm-thick borosilicate glass plate without chipping around the exit edge.The depth of symmetric blind holes in metals was restricted to approximately 150μm for jets with and without PEO. At greater depths, the holes became highly asymmetric, eroding in a specific direction to create a sub-surface slot. The asymmetry appeared to be caused by the extreme sensitivity of ductile materials to jet alignment. This sensitivity also caused the holes in metals to be less circular when PEO was included, apparently caused by the random jet oscillations induced by the polymer. Under identical conditions, hole depths increased in the order: borosilicate glass>6061-T6 aluminum>110 copper>316 stainless steel. The edges of the holes in glass could be made sharper by machining through a sacrificial layer of glass or epoxy.