ABRASIVE JET MACHINING
PRINCIPLE OF AJM
In abrasive jet machining process, a high speed stream of
abrasive particles mixed with high pressure air or gas
are injected through a nozzle on the workpiece to be
machined
ABRASIVE JET MACHINING
In the machining system shown in Fig. a gas (nitrogen, CO2, or air) is
supplied under a pressure of 2 to 8 kg/cm2.
Oxygen should never be used because it causes a violent chemical
reaction with workpiece chips or abrasives.
After filtration and regulation, the gas is passed through a mixing
chamber that contains abrasive particles and vibrates at 50 Hz.
From the mixing chamber, the gas, along with the entrained abrasive
particles (10–40 μm), passes through a 0.45-mm-diameter
Nozzle is subjected to a great degree of wear , it is made up of hard
materials such as tungsten carbide nozzle at a speed of 150 to 300 m/s.
NOZZLE MATERIAL AVERAGE LIFE JET VELOCITY
in (Hours) (m/s)
Tungsten carbide 12 to 20 hours 150 to 300 m/s
Synthetic sapphire 300 hours
Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and Silicon Carbide powders are used for
heavy cleaning, cutting, and deburring.
Magnesium carbonate is recommended for use in light cleaning and
etching, while sodium bicarbonate is used for fine cleaning and the
cutting of soft materials.
Commercial-grade powders are not suitable because their sizes are not
well classified. They may contain silica dust, which can be a health
hazard.
It is not practical to reuse the abrasive powder because contaminations
and worn grit will cause a decline of the machining rate.
The abrasive powder feed rate is controlled by the amplitude of vibrations
in the mixing chamber.
The nozzle standoff distance is 0.81 mm.
The relative motion between the workpiece and the nozzle is manually or
automatically controlled using cam drives, pantographs, tracer mechanisms,
or using computer control according to the cut geometry required.
Masks of copper, glass, or rubber may be used to concentrate the jet stream
of abrasive particles to a confined location on the workpiece. Intricate and
precise shapes can be produced by using masks with corresponding
contours.
Dust removal equipment is incorporated to protect the environment.
ABRASIVE JET MACHINING PROCESS CHARACTERISTICS
METAL REMOVAL RATE PROCESS PARAMETERS
The abrasive particles from the nozzle follow parallel paths for a
short distance and then the abrasive jet flares outward like a narrow
cone.
When the sharp-edged abrasive particles of Al2O3 or SiC hit a brittle
and fragile material at high speed, tiny brittle fractures are created
from which small particles dislodge.
The lodged out particles are carried away by the air or gas. The
material removal rate VRR, is given by
where K = constant
N = number of abrasive particles impacting/unit area
da = mean diameter of abrasive particles, μm
ra = density of abrasive particles, kg/mm3
Hw = hardness number of the work material
v = speed of abrasive particles, m/s
The material removal rate is mainly depends upon the following parameters
Mass flow rate
Abrasive grain size
Gas pressure
Velocity of abrasive particles
Mixing ratio
Nozzle tip clearance
MASS FLOW RATE
At particular pressure , the MRR increases with abrasive flow rate
But after reaching an optimum value the material removal rate
decreases with further increase in abrasive flow rate.
The mass flow rate of gas or air decreases with the increases of
abrasive flow rate.
Mass Flow Rate of Gas
MRR
Abrasive Flow Rate
Abrasive Mass Flow Rate
ABRASIVE GRAIN SIZE
SL. ABRASIVE PARTICLES ABRASIVE USES
NO SIZE (microns)
1 Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) 10, 25 and 50 General purpose
2 Silicon Carbide 25 and 50 Faster cutting
Extremely hard cutting
3 Dolomite 200 grit size Light cleaning and etching
4 Glass powder 0.30 to 0.60 mm Light polishing and
deburring
Grain size 50 microns
25 microns
MRR
10 microns
Abrasive Flow Rate
GAS PRESSURE
The MRR increases with increase in gas or air pressure
MRR
Gas Pressure
VELOCITY OF ABRASIVE PARTICLES
The MRR increase with increase of velocity of abrasive particles
MRR
Velocity of Abrasive Particles
MIXING RATIO
Mixing ratio is defined as the ratio of mass flow rate of abrasive to
the mass flow rate of gas.
MRR 1st increases with increase of mixing ratio upto certain limit
after that it decreases gradually.
MRR
Mixing ratio
NOZZLE TIP CLEARANCE OR STAND – OFF DISTANCE
The distance between the nozzle tip and the workpiece has great
influence on the diameter of cut , its shape, size and also on the rate of
material removall.
MRR 1st increases with increase of tip clearance from workpiece upto
certain limit after that it decreases gradually.
MRR
Nozzle Tip Clearance
NOZZLE STANDOFF DISTANCE
ADVANTAGES OF AJM
o The process is used for machining super alloys and refractory materials.
o It is not reactive with any workpiece material.
o No tool changes are required.
o Intricate parts of sharp corners can be machined.
o The machined materials do not experience hardening.
o No initial hole is required for starting the operation as required by wire
EDM.
o Material utilization is high.
o It can machine thin materials
LIMITATIONS OF AJM
The removal rate is slow.
Stray cutting can’t be avoided (low accuracy of ±0.1mm)
The tapering effect may occur especially when drilling in metals.
The abrasive may get impeded in the work surface.
Suitable dust-collecting systems should be provided.
Soft materials can’t be machined by the process.
Silica dust may be a health hazard.
Ordinary shop air should be filtered to remove moisture and oil.
APPLICATIONS OF ABRASIVE JET MACHINING
o Drilling holes, cutting slots, cleaning hard surfaces, deburring, polishing, and
radiusing.
o Deburring of cross holes, slots, and threads in small precision parts that
require a burr-free finish, such as hydraulic valves, aircraft fuel systems, and
medical appliances.
o Machining intricate shapes or holes in sensitive, brittle, thin, or difficult-to-
machine materials.
o Insulation stripping and wire cleaning without affecting the conductor.
o Micro-deburring of hypodermic needles.
o Frosting glass and trimming of circuit boards, hybrid circuit resistors,
capacitors, silicon, and gallium
o Removal of films and delicate cleaning of irregular surfaces because the
abrasive stream is able to follow contours
WATER JET MACHINING
PRINCIPLE OF WJM
When the high velocity of water jets comes out of the
nozzle and strikes the material its kinetic energy is
converted into pressure energy including high stress in
the work material.
CONSTRUCTION & WORKING
Hydraulic pump.
The hydraulic pump is powered from a 30-kilowatt (kW)
electric motor and supplies oil at pressures as high as 117
bars in order to drive a reciprocating plunger pump termed
an intensifier.
The hydraulic pump offers complete flexibility for water
jet cutting and cleaning applications.
It also supports single or multiple cutting stations for
increased machining productivity
Intensifier. It accepts the water at low pressure (typically 4 bar) and expels
it, through an accumulator, at higher pressures of 3800 bar.
It converts the energy from the low-pressure hydraulic fluid into ultrahigh-
pressure water.
A limit switch, located at each end of the piston travel, signals the electronic
controls to shift the directional control valve and reverses the piston
direction.
The intensifier assembly, with a plunger on each side of the piston, generates
pressure in both directions.
As one side of the intensifier is in the inlet stroke, the opposite side is
generating ultrahigh-pressure output.
During the plunger inlet stroke, filtered water enters the high-pressure
cylinder through the check value assembly. After the plunger reverses
direction, the water is compressed and exits at ultrahigh pressure.
ACCUMULATOR.
The accumulator maintains the continuous flow of the high-pressure
water and eliminates pressure fluctuations.
It relies on the compressibility of water (12 percent at 3800 bar) in
order to maintain a uniform discharge pressure and water jet velocity,
when the intensifier piston changes its direction.
HIGH-PRESSURE TUBING.
High-pressure tubing transports pressurized water to the cutting head.
Typical tube diameters are 6 to 14 mm. The equipment allows for
flexible movement of the cutting head.
The cutting action is controlled either manually or through a remote-
control valve specially designed for this purpose.
JET CUTTING NOZZLE.
The nozzle provides a coherent water jet stream for optimum cutting of
low-density, soft material that is considered unmachinable by
conventional methods.
Nozzles are normally made from synthetic sapphire. About 200 h of
operation are expected from a nozzle, which becomes damaged by
particles of dirt and the accumulation of mineral deposits on the orifice
due to erosive water hardness.
A longer nozzle life can be obtained through multistage filtration,
which removes undesired solids of size greater than 0.45 μm.
The compact design of the water jet cutting head promotes integration
with motion control systems ranging from two-axis (XY) tables to
sophisticated multiaxis robotic installations
MATERIAL REMOVAL RATE
When the high velocity of water jets comes out of the
nozzle and strikes the material its kinetic energy is
converted into pressure energy including high stress in
the work material.
ADVANTAGES OF WJM
o It has multidirectional cutting capacity.
o No heat is produced.
o Cuts can be started at any location without the need for predrilled
holes.
o Wetting of the workpiece material is minimal.
o The burr produced is minimal.
o The tool does not wear and, therefore, does not need sharpening.
o The process is environmentally safe.
Simple fixturing eliminates costly and complicated tooling, which
reduces turnaround time and lowers the cost
It allows for more accurate cutting of soft material.
It cuts through very thick material such as 383 mm in titanium and
307 mm in Inconel.
DISADVANTAGES OF WJM
Hourly rates are relatively high.
It is not suitable for mass production because of high
maintenance requirements.
Noise of operation
APPLICATIONS
WJM is used on metals, paper, cloth, leather, rubber,
plastics, food, and ceramics.
It completely eliminates heat-affected zones, toxic
fumes, recast layers, work hardening, and thermal
stresses
DRILLING.
The process drills precision-angled and -shaped holes in
a variety of materials for which other processes such as
EDM or EBM are too expensive or too slow.
CUTTING OF ROCKS.
Water jet cutting of a 51-mm-deep slot in granite using two
oscillating jets at 275 MPa during 14 passes at a 25.4-mm/s
feed rate
CUTTING OF PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS.
Small-diameter water jet mounted near to the part edge, a
printed circuit board (PCB) can be cut at a speed that
exceeds 8 m/min, to the accuracy of ±0.13mm
Boards of various shapes for use in portable radios and
cassette players can be cut using computer numerical
control (CNC) technology
ABRASIVE WATER JET MACHINING
PRINCIPLE OF AWJM
In abrasive jet machining process, a high speed stream of
abrasive particles mixed with high pressure water are
injected through a nozzle on the workpiece to be
machined
An abrasive water jet cuts through 356.6-mm-thick slabs of
concrete or 76.6-mm-thick tool steel plates at 38 mm/min in a
single pass.
The produced surface roughness ranges between 3.8 and 6.4
μm, while tolerances of ±0.13mm
Repeatability of ±0.04mm
Squareness of 0.043 mm/m
straightness of 0.05 mm per axis are expected
ICE JET MACHINING
