Material Removal Research Articles

Investigation on the material removal mechanism in ion implantation-assisted elliptical vibration cutting of hard and brittle material

Ductile-regime machining has been used to generate damage-free surface of hard and brittle materials by setting the cutting depth to be smaller than the ductile-brittle transition depth (DBTD). However, the ductile-regime cutting of sapphire remains challenging owing to its extreme hardness, small DBTD, serious surface fractures, and severe tool wear. To solve this problem, ion implantation-assisted elliptical vibration cutting (Ii-EVC) has been proposed in this study to enhance the machinability of hard and brittle materials. Taking sapphire as an example, high-energy phosphorus ions were implanted into the workpiece to modify its surface. Nanoindentation tests revealed that the modified materials undergo plastic and elastic deformation more easily due to the decrease in hardness and modulus. Compared with nanocutting without implantation assistance, the DBTD of implanted sapphire has been increased by more than five times. The advantageous effects of Ii-EVC achieve great enhancement in machinability, including surface fractures suppression, tool-wear reduction, chips morphology transformation from discontinuous to continuous, and cutting force decrease. Furthermore, even near the cracks in the brittle region after Ii-EVC, the subsurface microstructure showed a more complete lattice arrangement and a strain distribution close to zero, indicating that crack propagation was effectively suppressed. Due to the promoted localized plastic deformation, the stress distribution in the implanted material is much smaller than that in pristine workpiece. Implantation-induced defects not only serve as a core for absorbing external energy from the high-frequency vibration and improving the in-grain deformation but also facilitate the formation of shear bands. The interface with high distortion between the modified layer and substrate can effectively dissipate strain energy and hinder crack propagation to the free surface. The turning experiments verified that Ii-EVC can achieve better surface quality, less tool wear and higher optical transmittance. Overall, Ii-EVC addresses the challenges of tool breakage and surface fracture caused by high-frequency collision between tool and workpiece in traditional EVC, overcomes the problem of limited modification depth in ion implantation, and increases the ductile-regime removal depth of extremely hard and brittle materials to several microns. Such findings demonstrate that Ii-EVC is a promising method for the ultra-precision manufacturing of advanced materials.

Enhanced material removal modeling in cylindrical bonnet tool polishing: Incorporating time-dependent pad wear effects

To enhance the accuracy and stability of the material removal model for cylindrical bonnet tool polishing (CBTP), this study introduces a model incorporating the time-varying wear effect of the polishing pad. Initially, the functional principles of the CBTP method are systematically outlined. An advanced material removal model is then proposed, which accounts for the impact of pad wear on pressure and velocity distributions within the contact area. Experimental methods were employed to explore how pad wear affects the pad surface morphology, polishing quality, and material removal rates. Findings reveal that pad wear considerably influences both the depth of material removal and the quality of the polished surface. Validation experiments demonstrate that the enhanced model is accurate and stable. Including the time-varying factor, the discrepancy between the predicted and experimental values of the polishing spot size was 9.29 %, while the accuracy of the predicted material removal depth reached 90.74 %. Additionally, the removal profiles generated by the improved model closely matched those observed experimentally.

Dimensional and experimental analysis for predicting the material removal rate in AJM

ABSTRACT One of the upcoming methods for machining brittle and heat-sensitive materials is abrasive jet machining (AJM) where the process of erosion aids in material removal. This is accomplished by the impact of abrasives transported using a stream of gas having high velocity onto the workpiece. The erosion mechanism is a complicated process, which involves cutting, fracturing and micro structural transformation, thereby causing the evaluation of response parameter like rate of material removed (MRR) an arduous task. In this paper, an effort has been made to develop a semi-empirical model for predicting MRR in hole machining of soda-lime glass by utilising dimensional analysis (DA) technique. In this model, the compressive stress developed during the impact of loading and velocity of the particle are considered as a function of work material, selected abrasive material properties and process parameters. The validation of the evolved model was carried out with experiments that involve process parameters such as operating pressure, stand of distance (SOD) and abrasive particle size. From the analysis, it’s found that the predicted MRR model created by the dimensional analysis method gave an average error of 11.8%. thereby giving a reasonably compatible value with experimental results.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE CUTTING PARAMETERS ON THE SURFACE ROUGHNESS AND VIBRATION SIGNAL IN THE TURNING PROCESS

The performance of the final part of the turning process, a topic of practical importance, heavily depends on the cutting parameters. Surface quality, a crucial product attribute in manufacturing, often tops consumer demands during machining due to its significant influence on product functionality. This paper assesses the correlation between the detected vibration signal, statistical parameters (Crest, Kurtosis and I-kaz3D coefficient) and surface roughness and provides valuable insights for practical applications. When the tool experiences vibrations during material removal, these oscillations leave a ripple effect on the surface of the workpiece. We aim to determine the impact of cutting parameters on surface roughness while turning 42CrMo4 steel using a carbide tool insert. Cutting parameters, such as spindle speed, feed, and depth of cut, were used. Signal processing is carried out using different techniques to identify the effect of the cutting parameters on vibration signals. Finally, we delve into the interaction effects between the cutting parameters, vibration signals and surface roughness, offering a comprehensive understanding of real-world manufacturing scenarios. Higher I-kaz3D coefficients correspond to higher surface roughness values. The I-kaz3D coefficient decreases as the surface roughness measurements decrease, indicating that the I-kaz3D technique can accurately indicate an increase or decrease in surface roughness. On the other hand, the cutting force Fc was the component most strongly correlated with surface roughness (Ra), yielding the best results across all indices (adjusted R²adj = 95.1%, er=.8 ± 2.3%).

Cutting mechanism of reaction-bonded silicon carbide in laser-assisted ultra-precision machining

Reaction-bonded silicon carbide (RB-SiC) is an important material used in aerospace optical systems. Due to the property mismatch between Si and SiC phases, the underlying cutting mechanism in ultra-precision machining of RB-SiC remains relatively unclear. Recently, laser-assisted machining (LAM) has emerged as an effective technique to improve the machinability of hard and brittle materials, which brings the question that how the high temperature affects the machining mechanism of RB-SiC. To elucidate these aspects, a series of grooving experiments and MD simulations were conducted in this study. The interaction mechanism between phases on material removal and subsurface damage was revealed and the effect of cutting temperature on Si-SiC interaction was explored. The results indicate that in conventional ultra-precision machining, SiC grains could affect the deformation of Si phase, whereas the influence of Si phase on SiC deformation is limited. As the cutting temperature increases, the Si-SiC interaction is less apparent and the deformation of Si and SiC becomes more independent. Meanwhile, the prominence of phase property mismatch on subsurface damage are reduced while the extension of disordered phases into boundaries merges as an important mechanism in subsurface damage formation. This research helps to understand the thermal effect on material interaction between phases during machining and aid to improve the performance of LAM on RB-SiC.

Differential Hall Effect Metrology for Electrical Characterization of Advanced Semiconductor Layers

Semiconductor layers employed in fabricating advanced node devices are becoming thinner and their electrical properties are diverging from those established for highly crystalline standards. Since these properties also change as a function of depth within the film, accurate carrier profiling solutions are required. The Differential Hall Effect (DHE) technique has the unique capability of measuring mobility and carrier concentration (active carriers) through the depth of a semiconductor film. It comprises making successive sheet resistance and sheet Hall coefficient measurements as the thickness of the electrically active layer at a test region is reduced through successive material removal steps. Difference equations are then used to process the data and plot the desired depth profiles. The fundamentals of DHE were established in 1960s. Recently, the adaption of electrochemical processing for the material removal steps, and the integration of all other functionalities in a Differential Hall Effect Metrology (DHEM) tool, has made this technique more practical and accurate and improved its depth resolution to a sub-nm range. In this contribution, we review the development history of this important technique and present data from recent characterization work carried out on Si, Ge and SiGe layers.

Longitudinal torsional ultrasonic vibratory assistant milling of borosilicate glass material removal mechanism based on the thickness of undeformed chips

Borosilicate glass is an ideal material for microfluidic chip substrates due to its excellent light transmittance and stable chemical properties. However, it is also prone to brittle fracture during processing, making it a typical difficult-to-machine material. As an emerging processing technology, longitudinal torsional ultrasonic assistant milling (LTUVAM) can effectively reduce the surface damage of glass materials and improve the proportion of plastic removal of materials. The mechanism of LTUVAM of borosilicate glass was studied in this paper. Critical undeformed chip thickness (hc) is a key factor in achieving plastic material removal. At present, the influence of LTUVAM on the hc is not clear. Therefore, in this paper, the material-specific cutting energy model in the LTUVAM process was established to predict the hc. Firstly, the motion path of LTUVAM was analyzed, and the undeformed chip thickness model and the tool-workpiece separation rate model were established. Then, based on the above model, the material-specific cutting energy model was established according to the material removal principle. Finally, an LTUVAM orthogonal experiment was carried out to study the surface quality of the material. The experimental results showed that with the increase of ultrasonic power, the roughness and side damage area increased first and then decreased. With the increase of spindle speed, it showed that the roughness and side damage area decreased first and then increased. With the increase of feed per tooth, it showed that the roughness increased first and then decreased, and then increased, and the side damage area increased first and then decreased. Through the analysis of the experimental and model results, the increase of the separation rate between the tool and the workpiece contributes to the increase of the hc and the improvement of the processing quality.

A distinctive material removal mechanism in the diamond grinding of (0001)-oriented single crystal gallium nitride and its implications in substrate manufacturing of brittle materials

Single crystal gallium nitride (GaN) substrates are highly demanded for fabricating advanced optoelectronic devices. It is thus essential to develop high efficiency machining technologies for this difficult-to-machine material, which in turn necessitates a thorough understanding of its deformation mechanism. In this study, the deformation and removal characteristics of (0001)-oriented single crystal GaN involved in diamond grinding were systematically investigated. The material removal exhibited a brittle mode when using relatively coarse diamond abrasives of 2000 in mesh size, while ductile removal was achieved when diamond abrasives of 6000 in mesh size were utilized. A novel peeling phenomenon was observed along (0001) lattice plane (c-plane) in the coarse grinding, as the crystal has a hexagonal crystal structure with c-planes serving as the preferable slip/cracking planes. Peeling observed in material removal agrees well with the findings that lateral planar defects were prone to initiate in nanoscratching in comparison to nanoindentation in the ductile regime, indicating that the effect of tangential grinding force is significant. The application of Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, employing smaller indentation/scratching models, provided additional confirmation of the crucial role played by lateral force in initiating planar defects on c-planes. Furthermore, larger-scale MD scratching models substantiated the occurrence of peeling in the deformation process on c-plane, a finding corroborated by scratching experiments conducted in the brittle regime. Conversely, such peeling is absent on m- and a- planes. Complementary to the simulations, specifically designed grinding experiments were conducted to empirically demonstrate that peeling phenomena were intensified with elevated rotational wheel speeds. This enhancement was attributed to the increased tangential grinding force associated with higher speeds. These findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the intricate relationship between rotational wheel speed, tangential grinding force, and the observed peeling mechanisms in the context of single crystal GaN machining.

Research on Textured Polishing Wheel (TPW) patterns for polishing dental ceramic materials in anhydrous environments

Abstract Dental ceramics commonly utilize high-hardness fused silica materials for the fabrication of inlays, crowns, and artificial dental implants, with their processing efficiency and surface roughness (Ra) directly influencing manufacturing costs and product quality. This study presents the development of a Textured Polishing Wheel (TPW) featuring three distinct surface patterns (spiral, linear, and radial), achieved through single-point diamond and pulsed laser processing techniques. It investigates the effects of these patterns on the removal rate and surface roughness (Ra) of dental ceramics during the polishing process. Results indicate that while TPW demonstrates comparable material removal depth to non-textured polishing wheels, it marginally increases surface roughness (Ra). Moreover, TPW significantly reduces burning and wear on the wheel surface during polishing. Pulsed laser ablation of TPW leads to further improvement in surface roughness, thereby enhancing the processing of dental ceramics. Experimental findings highlight the superior performance of spiral TPW, achieving a material removal rate of 4.2 μm/h and a surface roughness (Ra) of approximately 2.2 nm , thus meeting the manufacturing and functional requirements of dental ceramics.

Influence of cold plasma on material removal behavior during diamond grit scratching single crystal silicon

As a typical brittle crystal material, single crystal silicon has high hardness and brittleness, which makes the machined surface prone to microscopic cracks and other subsurface damage. In addition, the anisotropic crystal structure may cause large differences in the material removal behavior along different crystal orientations. To solve these problems, researchers have proposed the methods of machining along the easy-to-cut direction and inducing external energy fields assisted machining, but there remain problems like cracks and surface thermal damage. In this study, we propose to modulate the deformation process of single crystal silicon by atmospheric pressure cold plasma and elucidate the influence of plasma on the material removal behavior based on diamond grit scratching experiments along different directions. The results show that before plasma treatment, the toughness along <110> direction is higher than that along <100> direction, and plasma has significant improvement effects on the plastic deformability in both directions. The critical load for plastic-brittle transition along <110> direction can be increased from 76.2 mN to 107.1 mN, and from 69.6 mN to 109.8 mN along <100> direction. The plasticity regulation mechanism is that the interaction of multiple shear bands dissipates the energy of crack propagation and inhibits the premature generation of cracks. Compared with the conventional scratching along <110> direction, the material removal rate of plasma-assisted scratching under normal loads of 20 mN, 40 mN and 80 mN can be increased by 30.2%, 24.2% and 21.9%, respectively; while that along <100> direction can also be increased by 33.7% and 19.5% under 20 mN and 40 mN, respectively. This study may provide a novel approach for realizing high-quality and efficient processing of hard and brittle materials.

Anisotropic mechanism of monocrystalline silicon on surface quality in precision diamond wire saw cutting

The surface quality of wire-saw cut monocrystalline silicon is affected by its anisotropy. This work investigates the effect of anisotropy on the surface quality of monocrystalline silicon (100), (110), and (111) crystalline surfaces in wire-saw cutting processing. The material properties of monocrystalline silicon in different crystal directions are analyzed, and the expressions of elastic modulus of monocrystalline silicon (100), (110), and (111) crystal surfaces are derived, and the influences of material properties and process parameters on macroscopic sawing force and material removal are investigated. The single abrasive grains scratching the surface of monocrystalline silicon and the wire saw cutting and processing process were simulated, and the diamond wire saw cutting and processing of monocrystalline silicon experiment was carried out. The experiment results show that: When the wire saw cuts and processes the (100), (110), and (111) crystal surfaces, the cutting angle with better sawing performance is 30°. The macroscopic normal and tangential average sawing forces on the crystalline surface of monocrystalline silicon (110) differed by 7.22N and 2.54N. The average error between the experiment value of surface warpage and the simulation value is 5.47 %, which indicates the accuracy of the surface morphology prediction model.

Unsupervised detection and mapping of sparks in the Electrochemical Discharge Machining (ECDM) process

Material removal in electrochemical discharge machining is caused by sparks generated in a tool immersed in an electrolytic solution. Being the primary machining agent in this non-contact machining process, mapping the locations of microscopic sparks is of great interest. The distribution of sparks around the tool surface could give insights into the machined hole properties like the size, surface finish, and depth as compared to the machining parameters such as applied voltage, tool size, rotation speed, and feed rate. This paper is focused on detecting sparks in photographs of the ECDM process captured using a high-speed camera. A novel approach of using a tri-planar reflective surface for capturing the location of sparks in 3D space using a 2D camera output is attempted. Traditional spark detection methods use neural network classifiers that need labeled data for training. This labeled data often comes from human intervention and contains inherent biases that could lead to misclassification. In this paper, an unsupervised spark detection methodology is demonstrated, which eliminates the need for human intervention and relies on the number of neighboring pixels detected in regions of interest (ROIs). The feasibility of using adaptive background modeling to classify thousands of images and identify the ones with sparks is demonstrated in this work. The masking technique combining effects of erosion followed by dilation is used to determine the exact boundaries of the spark contours in every image. Centroids for each of these contours are then transformed from the skewed coordinate system as observed in camera images, to a three-dimensional orthogonal coordinates system centered around the tool. The same procedure is repeated for various voltages to benchmark the distribution of sparks around a tool tip in an ECDM process.

Optimizing power generation in sediment microbial fuel cells through multi-electrode configurations

BackgroundSediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) are efficient platforms for electricity generation and organic/inorganic material removal from sediment. The use of multi-electrode systems is vital for enhancing power and current generation while ensuring stability under bioturbation processes. MethodsThis study investigates the influence of anode and cathode configurations on the performance of various SMFCs with constant total electrode area and identical sediment. We specifically analyzed the impact of one, two, four, and eight graphite electrodes as anodes and cathodes in four SMFC setups. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and impedance tests were conducted to assess performance. Significant findingsResults show that the four-anode configuration exhibited increased current generation, while having four cathodes improved performance according to impedance tests. However, using eight cathodes led to decreased power and increased ohmic resistance due to cathodic restriction. SMFC A, with eight anodes and four cathodes, achieved a peak power output of 394 μW, while SMFC B, with four anodes and cathodes, reached a maximum current of 1600 μA. These values represent significant enhancements compared to single-anode setups with the same electrode surface area. This study highlights the potential for improving SMFC performance through strategic multi-electrode configurations.

Grit size effect on HydroFlex polishing dynamics and performance

Controllable, adaptable internal polishing is critical to metal additive manufactured (MAM) complex channels. Conventional fluid-based internal polishing methods are challenging to control the material removal, resulting in varied surface roughness (Sa) depending on channel length, aspect ratio (AR), and complexity. HydroFlex is an internal polishing method which drives a fixed-abrasive grinding wheel via a flexible spindle to navigate complex, high AR channels controllably and predictably removing material. Key to HydroFlex performance is the orbital motion of the grinding wheel governed by the hydrodynamic and cutting forces to achieve uniform polishing. Effect of grit size on orbital motion, and corresponding performance was experimentally evaluated. 46 µm, 76 µm, and 91 µm grit sizes were tested at a rotational speed of 50,000 rpm and a channel to wheel (C/W) ratio of 0.54 and orbital frequency and consistency, grinding force, Sa, material removal rate (MRR), and wheel wear were compared. Orbital frequency was found to directly correlate with increasing grit size and consistency of orbit shown to be highest at moderate grinding forces. Sa and MRR were inversely proportional with sub-micron roughness achieved at 0.15 g/min and 0.34 g/min corresponding to 2.2 µm Sa. Wheel wear was effected by grain pullout, attrition, and capping with all grit sizes experiencing similar wear. These findings suggest that orbital motion can be controlled through manipulation of wheel kinetics enabling precise control of grinding dynamics essential to adaptable performance in complex, non-uniform MAM channels.

Material removal mechanism of TiCp/Fe composite by multi-diamond-abrasive-grinding considering the random distribution characteristics of particles

The TiC ceramics reinforced Fe matrix composite (TiCp/Fe) exhibits exceptional properties, including high hardness, strength, wear, and heat resistance. This study focuses on investigating the material removal mechanism to achieve high-quality and low-damage surfaces. A three-dimensional particle random distribution algorithm is proposed based on the random distribution characteristics of TiC particles. Furthermore, a multi-diamond-abrasive grinding finite element model is established using the Rayleigh probability distribution model to account for the randomness of undeformed chip thickness during the grinding process. This study combines experimental and simulation analyses to investigate the variations in grinding forces, stress field distributions, and surface and subsurface quality. The results reveal that the material removal process can be categorized into five stages: ploughing of the Fe matrix and TiC particle, TiC particle crack initiation, TiC particle crack extension, and TiC particle fracture. Moreover, the process of removing TiC particles can be further grouped into ductile removal, ductile-brittle removal, and brittle removal, depending on the undeformed chip thickness. This study improves the comprehension of the mechanism of TiCp/Fe composite material and establishes a significant practical guidance for the diamond grinding processing of metal matrix composites.

Removal of foreign material in the mandibular canal

Removal of foreign material in the mandibular canal

Detection and removal of excess materials in aircraft wings using continuum robot end-effectors

Detection and removal of excess materials in aircraft wings using continuum robot end-effectors

Quantitative evaluation of pyramid belt wear using light-reflection characteristic of agglomerate coating and image processing

As a new generation of coated abrasive products with a unique pyramid-shaped structure, pyramid belt offers finer and more uniform grinding effects, and has been increasingly applied in precision grinding. However, belt wear occurs inevitably, challenging the control of shape accuracy and surface quality of ground components. Current research on pyramid belt wear is relatively limited, still lacking a universal, rapid method for observing and evaluating belt wear. In response, this paper proposes a quantitative evaluation method for pyramid belt wear using light-reflection characteristic of agglomerate coating and image processing. Firstly, a detailed analysis of the wear types and characteristics of pyramid belt is conducted. Then, focusing on the agglomerate flat wear, a method utilizing the light-reflection characteristic of agglomerate coating for observing belt wear morphology is proposed, enabling clear image capture of belt wear contours. Based on this, a wear coefficient based on the geometric characteristics of agglomerate is defined, and a quantitative evaluation method for belt wear using image processing is further proposed. The wear experiment of the belt is conducted on a robotic belt grinding platform, and experimental results show that the evaluation deviation of the proposed method from the evaluation results based on optical profilometer is within 5% at a 95% confidence interval, demonstrating the effectiveness of this method. Additionally, this method has advantages such as high computational efficiency, low cost, and good usability. Finally, the temporal evolution processes and spatial distribution patterns of belt wear and material removal rate are investigated and analyzed.

High-temperature tribological evaluation of cobalt-based laser cladded disc for automotive brake systems

This study investigates the high-temperature wear behavior of laser-cladded (LC) cobalt-based Stellite 6 alloy coatings and compares the wear resistance of the cladding layer to the grey cast iron (GCI) substrate material at three different elevated temperatures: 150 °C, 250 °C, and 350 °C. Wear mechanisms at elevated temperatures were analyzed using SEM-EDS and Raman Spectroscopy to understand the material removal processes and degradation for the discs and counterpart composite friction material pins, respectively.The results indicated a significant improvement in wear resistance for cobalt-based alloy cladding at high temperatures. Wear rates were reduced by 5.0 %, 43.0 %, and 16.0 % at 150 °C, 250 °C, and 350 °C, respectively. The LC - brake pin tribo-pair exhibited a continuous increase in friction coefficients (CoF) with an increase in testing temperatures. The wear mechanism for laser-cladded discs exhibited a combination of abrasive and adhesive wear, with abrasive wear prevailing at 150 °C and increased adhesive wear at 250 °C and 350 °C. However, at 350 °C, decomposition of phenolic resin and the adhesive wear mechanism, led to brake pin failure. For GCI discs oxidative wear was identified as the predominant wear mechanism. The improved knowledge of wear mechanisms on LC Stellite 6 against composite brake pins, is set to enhance surface modification of GCI for brake disc applications.

A Study on the Manufacture of CNT Composites Bipolar Plate for the Fuel Cell Using a Nanosecond Pulsed Laser

The channels of the graphite-based bipolar plate for hydrogen fuel cells were mainly manufactured through milling due to low forming elongation and processability. However, during the milling process, the machining precision is low due to tool wear and vibration, and there is a risk of breakage. Non-traditional laser processing can solve the problems of tool wear and vibration through non-contact processing. In this study, the interaction characteristics of the nanosecond pulsed laser and CNT composites were observed, and channels and bipolar plates were manufactured. The effect of scanning speed and pulse duration was observed for interaction characteristics. Defects were observed due to high thermal effects at low scanning speed and high pulse duration. Channels were created depending on parallel pitch distance [] and Number of scans (NOS). The channel was evaluated for depth, top width, bottom width, channel angle, material removal rate, and surface roughness, and significant changes were observed depending on . The chemical composition, surface resistance, and contact angle of the laser-processed channel were measured. The laser processed channel was oxidized, and the surface resistance and contact angle increased. Finally, the manufacturability of the CNT composites bipolar plate using laser was examined.