AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON THE BASIC MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN ULTRASONIC MACHINING

Ultrasonic machining is used for machining hard and brittle materials. The mechanism of removal is complex, but it is generally accepted that for nonporous materials the most important constituent processes are the direct hammering of abrasives by the tool and high-velocity impact of free moving abrasive particles on the work surface. This paper deals with a simple but effective approach using a profile relocation technique to study the relative role of the two processes. A mild steel tool was used with boron carbide abrasive to machine high-speed steel, tungsten carbide and plate workpieces the design of which enables the two processes to be separated. Removal is found to be primarily by hammering.