Turning of Microgrooves Both With and Without Aid of Ultrasonic Elliptical Vibration

Abstract

Microgroove, as a form of surface texturing, has a wide array of industrial applications. However, the use of conventional methods to machine microgrooves leads to a number of problems including large burrs, high cutting forces, and poor machining quality. In this paper, ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting is used to assist microgrooves turning on cylindrical workpiece surfaces. The elliptical locus in the cutting process is generated by a newly designed 2D resonant ultrasonic vibrator. A series of microgrooves cutting experiments without and with the ultrasonic elliptical vibration-assistance is performed to verify the effects of the ultrasonic elliptical vibrations as compared to the ordinary cutting method. The generated cutting forces, burr suppression action, and microgroove surface quality are compared for the two classes of processes. Comparison results show the effectiveness of elliptical vibration-assisted microgroove cutting in reducing cutting forces and improving microgrooves machining quality for difficult-to-cut materials. The results also show that ultrasonic elliptical vibration-assisted cutting improves the microgroove turning process with respect to cutting forces, microgroove surface roughness, and burr formation for difficult-to-cut materials.