Ice Jet Machining: A Sustainable Variant of Abrasive Water Jet Machining

Abstract

Nowadays, the consideration of sustainability aspects in manufacturing sector is on utmost priority. Globally, the manufacturers are compelled to follow the stringent environment regulations which encourage to minimise the diverse business risks inherent in any manufacturing operation while maximising the new opportunities that arise from improving processes and products. It implies to all the important segments of manufacturing sector from extraction of raw material to supply chain. Ice jet machining is an important sustainable variant of abrasive water jet machining (AWJM) which ensures the environmentally friendly cutting, finishing, cleaning, and deburring of a variety of materials. It differs from conventional AWJM in the aspects as the frozen water; i.e., ice particles are used in place of abrasive particles to facilitate the machining. Replacement of abrasives by ice particle ensures lower cost, better machining capability, waste management, recycling and operator’s safety, and thereby overall sustainability. Ice jet machining is recognised as a clean, green, and lean technology. This chapter introduces ice jet machining technology and describes its working principle, process parameters, and mechanism. The significant benefits of using ice jet machining over other conventional processes as well as some important work done utilising this technology so far are also discussed.