Abrasive water jet review and parameter selection by AHP method.

Abstract

An Abrasive Water Jet is one of the most recently developed non-traditional manufacturing processes. Abrasive water jet offers the potential for the development in cutting which is less sensitive to material properties, has virtually no thermal effects, and imposes minimal stresses. As it is a cold process has also important applications where heat-affected zones are to be avoided. In this work, a deep study of this newer non-conventional technique of machining i.e., abrasive water jet machining is done. In this paper more focus is on selection of various process parameters like-angle of impact, Pressure inside the pumping system, abrasive material type, Stand-off distance, focusing tube diameter, nozzle speed, abrasive mass flow rate and target material properties for getting the required output like- depth of cut and cut quality. For cutting Stainless steel (Grade 304), important task is to find out a few parameters which influence more. With the help of Analytical Hierarchy Process technique the selection of a few parameters are done which are comparatively more influencing. Weighteges are given to parameters on the basis of previous study and experience of owner of the company who is dealing with abrasive water jet technology since many years. Keyword-AHP Technique, process parameter, Quality of cut, Weight ages. I. Inroduction Cutting of stainless steel plates without losing its metallurgical properties for the purpose of making fixtures part was the problem. Literature review provided solution and abrasive waterjet technique suited best for the given practical problem. Abrasive waterjet (AWJ) machining technology has been found to be one of the most recent developed advanced non-traditional methods used in industry for material processing with the distinct advantages of no thermal distortion, high machining versatility, high flexibility and small cutting forces. Various machining technologies of high-speed cutting by using of liquid jets can be included in this category. High speed of the out flowing stream of water containing abrasives makes it possible to machine many industrial materials such as paper, paperboard, wood, plastic, building materials, rocks and also metals and their alloys (2).Experimental study of the surface quality produced by abrasive waterjet (AWJ) on metallic materials and measurement of surface roughness/waviness was quantitatively evaluated by using the contactless optical measurement is done by the researcher (2). The waterjet is a versatile tool and can be used in applications such as cutting, drilling, and milling, cleaning, peening, forming and coating removal. It can machine almost any material and competes with other technologies since there is minimal force, no heat damage and it is an environmentally friendly process. The drive for flexibility, speed and harder to process materials has meant that the uptake of waterjet technology in recent years has risen significantly. The process can be used with or without the addition of abrasive media and new applications are being continuously found (1).Researcher reported effect of abrasive material type on surface cut quality (4). Abrasive waterjet cutting has been proven to be an effective technology for processing various engineering materials. Surface roughness of machined parts is one of the major machining characteristics that play an important role in determining the quality of engineering components (5). In this paper aim is to find important process parameter which will be use for the further experimentation. Literature review provided consequences among various process parameters which affects the cutting quality and this is solved with the help of AHP technique. Three topographical components-waviness, roughness and error of form-compose a machined parts surface texture .the irregular nature of a surface texture arises from several parameters (3).