Micro/nano sculpturing of hardened steel by controlling vibration amplitude in elliptical vibration cutting

Abstract

A new ultra-precision sculpturing method in micro/nano scale for difficult-to-cut materials is proposed in the present research. Elliptical vibration cutting technology is well-known for its excellent performance in achieving ultra-precision machining of steel materials with single crystal diamond tools. Elliptical vibration locus is generally controlled and held to a constant in practice. On the contrary, the proposed method utilizes the variations of the elliptical vibration locus in a positive manner. Depth of cut can be actively controlled in elliptical vibration cutting by controlling vibration amplitude in the thrust direction. By utilizing this as a fast tool servo function in elliptical vibration cutting, high performance micro/nano sculpturing can be attained without using conventional fast tool servo technology. A high-speed amplitude control system is developed for elliptical vibration, with a bandwidth of more than 300 Hz, where the vibration amplitude can be controlled within 4 μmp–p. The developed control system is applied to sculpturing ultra-precision nano textured grooves on hardened steel with single crystal diamond tools. It is confirmed that the textured grooves have the desired shapes, and their profiles agree well with the vibration amplitude commands input to the control system. Further, a high performance micro/nano sculpturing system for plane surfaces is developed, where the vibration amplitude is controlled in synchronization with the planing motion of an ultra-precision machine tool. Nano sculpturing experiments on hardened steel, carried out by the developed system, are reported, as well as consequent picture images and a variety of dimple patterns that were formed successfully on the hardened steel as nano-scale sculptures.