Efficient abrasive water jet milling for near-net-shape fabrication of difficult-to-cut materials

Eckart Uhlmann,Thomas Braun,Constantin Männel

doi:10.1007/s00170-020-06074-3

Abstract

The utilization of materials with high strength to density ratio enables efficiency improvements and is therefore demanded for many applications, particularly in the aerospace and other mobility sectors. However, the machining of these typically difficult-to-cut materials poses a challenge for conventional manufacturing technologies due to the high tool wear. Abrasive water jet (AWJ) machining is a promising alternative manufacturing technology for machining difficult-to-cut materials, since the tool wear is low and material independent. However, AWJ machining is limited regarding the producible geometries when conducting cuts through a material. This limitation can be resolved with AWJ milling operations which on the other hand are time-consuming. To approach this challenge, an enhanced AWJ milling operation is presented and investigated in this paper with the aim to expand the producible geometries. This operation consists of two kerfs, inserted from different sides of the workpiece, which intersect at their kerf ground. Consequently, a piece of material is separated without the cut material being entirely chipped. Thus, the operation possesses a high aggregated material removal rate. The investigations presented in this paper show and evaluate the effects that occur during the milling of kerfs with variable depths on titanium aluminide TNM-B1. Furthermore, a method to compensate these effects is introduced and thus the producible geometries for effective AWJ milling could be enhanced.

Highlights

The Abrasive water jet (AWJ) technology inheres some desirable advantages over the conventional cutting processes milling, drilling and turning
The convex geometry shows an opposite behaviour compared with the concave geometry, considering the position on the workpiece pW
The application of the geometry factors allows the manufacturing of precise variable kerf depths using the feed speed vf as control parameter. The objective of this investigation was to identify and evaluate the effects that occur during the cutting of variable kerf depths dK(x) using abrasive water jet machining

Summary

Introduction

The AWJ technology inheres some desirable advantages over the conventional cutting processes milling, drilling and turning. These are, for example, the independence of the tool wear from the workpiece material, the absence of repercussions of the material surface on the cutting ability of the AWJ and the possibility to cut almost all kinds of materials brittle [1] and ductile [2]. Since the application of such materials is continuously increasing due to the demands of light weight design and efficiency requirements, the AWJ technology has attracted further attention and the market is continuously growing over the last years. The attainable surface quality of AWJ machining is limited. If a very high surface roughness is required for example for aerodynamic parts, AWJ machining might not fulfil these requirements. The investigated AWJ technology is considered to be a near-netshape fabrication technology

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion