Design of ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting system for tungsten heavy alloy

Nanoscale surface roughness of tungsten heavy alloy components is required in the nuclear industry and precision instruments. In this study, a high-performance ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting (UEVC) system is developed to solve the precision machining problem of tungsten heavy alloy. A new design method of stepped bending vibration horn based on Timoshenko’s theory is first proposed, and its design process is greatly simplified. The arrangement and working principle of piezoelectric transducers on the ultrasonic vibrator using the fifth resonant mode of bending are analyzed to realize the dual-bending vibration modes. A cutting tool is installed at the end of the ultrasonic vibration unit to output the ultrasonic elliptical vibration locus, which is verified by finite element method. The vibration unit can display different three-degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) UEVC characteristics by adjusting the corresponding position of the unit and workpiece. A dual-channel ultrasonic power supply is developed to excite the ultrasonic vibration unit, which makes the UEVC system present the resonant frequency of 41 kHz and the maximum amplitude of 14.2 μm. Different microtopography and surface roughness are obtained by the cutting experiments of tungsten heavy alloy hemispherical workpiece with the UEVC system, which validates the proposed design’s technical capability and provides optimization basis for further improving the machining quality of the curved surface components of tungsten heavy alloy.     

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

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 μm_p-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.     

Machinability of single crystal calcium fluoride by applying elliptical vibration diamond cutting

Functional micro/nano structures are promising for enhancing the performance of CaF₂-based devices. However, it is still a challenge to precisely manufacture CaF₂ micro/nano structures due to their brittleness. In the present work, we demonstrated the machinability of ductile-mode diamond cutting of CaF₂ and the ability to sculpture sophisticated micro/nano structures on CaF₂ by applying elliptical vibration cutting. Firstly, the nanoindentation of CaF₂ reveals the crystal orientation-dependent interaction between dislocation slip and crack propagation, thus obtaining the optimal crystal orientation for plasticity. Subsequently, the grooving tests were conducted along the crystal orientation of (111)$\left[\bar{1}2\bar{1}\right]$. With elliptical vibration cutting, the critical depth of cut from ductile-to-brittle transition is increased by 42 times as compared with ordinary cutting. Furthermore, considering the instantaneous uncut chip thickness in each vibration cycle, the influence of vibration amplitude on the ductile machinability of CaF₂ is discussed in detail. Finally, based on these fundamental results, ultra-precision hexagonal microlenses were successfully sculptured on CaF₂ by applying the amplitude-controlled sculpturing method in elliptical vibration cutting.     

Ultra-precision nano-structure fabrication by amplitude control sculpturing method in elliptical vibration cutting

This paper studies the nano-structure fabrication on hardened steel by means of elliptical vibration cutting equipped with the ultra-precision amplitude control sculpturing method. Machining performance of the amplitude control sculpturing method is investigated, and the limitation in nano-scale machining is explored. In this proposed method, machinable part geometry is essentially restricted by vibration conditions and tool geometry. In addition, a considerable error between the amplitude command and the envelope of the tool trajectory is generated when the slope of the machining part geometry becomes steep. To overcome this error, a compensation method for the amplitude control command is proposed. In order to clarify the machining performance of the proposed technology, a series of analytical and experimental investigations are conducted. Furthermore, by applying the proposed command compensation method, nano-structures with a large ratio of structure height to wave length are machined accurately. The proposed sculpturing method is subsequently applied to the machining of nano-textured grooves and a three-dimensional grid surface, which verifies the feasibility of the proposed amplitude control sculpturing method.     

A novel method for effecting flexible guided wave propagation in elliptical vibration cutting

As a key part of elliptical vibration cutting (EVC) technology, a two-dimensional ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting (UEVC) device has become a prevalent area of importance and research interest. This paper dissects through the conventional structural design and creatively proposes the UEVC device with flexible guided wave propagation. The device resolves the problems of poor coupling efficiency of two-way excitation signal, complex structure design, non-orthogonal, and the difficulty in controlling the ellipse trajectories of the tool tip. It has been confirmed that a flexible guided wave exhibits an effective unidirectional propagation and lateral load decoupling ability via establishing its system dynamic response and frequency impedance characteristics. Here, we explain the coupling mechanism of the two-way flexible guided wave in the UEVC device. Results suggested that the experimental measurement of the impedance for the cutting device and the individual transducer shows that the cutting device with the transducer and the tool bar connected by the flexible guided wave has a lower impedance increase ratio compared to the individual transducer, and hardly influence the tool bar mode of the cutting device. At the same time, the tool tip trajectory of the cutting device having a phase difference of 90° showed a satisfactory “elliptical” shape, while the microstructure processed by the tool tip ellipse trajectory with a phase difference of 60° reached a burr-free state. Theoretical and experimental findings reveal that the flexible guided waves exhibit excellent weak coupling characteristics in the non-transmitting direction. This is convenient to the independent, orthogonal and stable propagation of signals in the two directions. Based on flexible guided wave propagation technology, our findings provide theoretical foundation and application value for the design of a two-dimensional UEVC device.     

Self-tuned ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting for high-efficient machining of micro-optics arrays on brittle materials

Ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting is a very promising technique for the machining of brittle materials. However, its machining performance is currently limited by the ductile machining model and the machining strategy with a constant feed rate, leading to low machining efficiency. To overcome this defect, this paper presents a novel self-tuned ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting (SUEVC) technique to achieve high-efficient ductile-regime machining of the micro-optics array on brittle materials. The proposed SUEVC includes a ductile-regime machining model and a tool path generation method. In SUEVC, the feed rate adaptively changes with respect to the local shape variation of the desired surface along the feeding direction to ensure both crack-free surface and high machining efficiency. Finally, two 1 × 3 spherical micro-optics arrays were successfully fabricated on single-crystal MgF₂ by SUEVC and the traditional machining strategy respectively. Results demonstrated that the SUEVC could enhance the machining efficiency by 30% relative to the traditional machining strategy, while maintaining similar surface roughness and a crack-free surface.     

椭圆振动切削的表面残余应力有限元模拟研究

基于ALE(Arbitrary Lagrange-Euler)网格划分方法建立了椭圆振动切削有限元仿真模型,模拟了椭圆振动切削过程中切削力的变化规律,并将模拟获得的切削力平均值与相同工艺参数下Kim等人[1]所做的超声椭圆振动切削V型槽实验获得的切削力平均值比较,验证了有限元模型的正确性。利用建立的二维有限元模型模拟了椭圆振动切削和普通切削表面残余应力的分布情况,对比结果表明,采用椭圆振动切削的工件已加工表面在一定深度内形成了分布均匀的表面残余压应力,而普通切削情况下工件已加工表面并没有形成有效的残余压应力,从而预测了椭圆振动切削不仅能够降低切削力、延长刀具使用寿命,还对提高工件表面完整性、增强疲劳寿命和抗腐蚀能力等具有显著的作用。     

Modeling of the effect of tool edge radius on surface generation in elliptical vibration cutting

The elliptical vibration cutting (EVC) technique has been found to be a promising technique for ultraprecision machining of various materials. During the EVC process, two-dimension vibration movement of the cutting tool generates consecutively overlapping EVC cycles. In each cycle, the tool position relative to the workpiece gets continuously varied, and meanwhile, cusps are left along the nominal cutting direction. Such vibration marks, which have never been found in conventional cutting process, are considered to be a critical characteristic for the EVC technique. In order to analyze this unique characteristic, an analytical model based on geometrical relationships in the EVC process was developed to calculate the theoretical roughness, where the tool edge is assumed to be perfectly sharp. However, the effect of tool edge radius is probably significant, especially in the situation where the tool edge radius is comparable to the vibration amplitudes. Hence, in the present research, an analytical surface generation model for the EVC process is developed to better understand the surface generation process and predict the surface roughness. The tool edge radius is considered and investigated in detail in this new approach. Mathematical evaluation shows that the surface roughness value along the nominal cutting direction decreases with the increase of the edge radius. In order to validate the proposed model, a series of EVC grooving tests on soft and hard work materials were conducted using a polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tool by applying the ultrasonic EVC technique. The results show that the predicted roughness based on the proposed model correlates well with the experimental results measured by a white light interferometer, and the model considering the tool edge radius performs significantly better than the one without considering the edge radius in predicting the roughness along the nominal cutting direction.     

Analysis of regenerative chatter suppression with adding the ultrasonic elliptical vibration on the cutting tool

A method is proposed to suppress regenerative chatter in turning operation, in which the ultrasonic elliptical vibration is added on the cutting tool. It results in the fact that the cutting tool is separated periodically from the chip and the workpiece, and the direction of the frictional force between the rake face of the cutting tool and the chip is reversed in each cycle of the ultrasonic elliptical vibration. The experimental investigations show that the regenerative chatter occurring in ordinary turning operation can be suppressed effectively by applying the ultrasonic elliptical vibration on the cutting tool. In order to clearify the reason of the regenerative chatter suppression, theoretical analysis and computer simulation are performed on turning with ultrasonic vibration. There is a good agreement among the experimental investigations, theoretical analysis and the computer simulation.     

Observation of three-dimensional internal structure of steel materials by means of serial sectioning with ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting

A three-dimensional (3D) internal structure observation system based on serial sectioning was developed from an ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting device and an optical microscope combined with a high-precision positioning device. For bearing steel samples, the cutting device created mirrored surfaces suitable for optical metallography, even for long-cutting distances during serial sectioning of these ferrous materials. Serial sectioning progressed automatically by means of numerical control. The system was used to observe inclusions in steel materials on a scale of several tens of micrometers. Three specimens containing inclusions were prepared from bearing steels. These inclusions could be detected as two-dimensional (2D) sectional images with resolution better than 1 μm. A three-dimensional (3D) model of each inclusion was reconstructed from the 2D serial images. The microscopic 3D models had sharp edges and complicated surfaces.     

Machining strategy in five-axis milling using balance of the transversal cutting force

Several solutions can be considered to resolve the problem of positioning a cutting tool on a free-form surface when five-axis milling. To choose a unique solution, in addition to the cutter–workpiece contact, an additional criterion can be taken into account. This may concern the local geometry of the surface or yet again the width milled to maximise the metal removal rate, but technological criteria relating to the cutting phenomenon and the quality of the surface produced are not considered. The present article introduces a strategy applying positioning combined with balancing of the transversal cutting force. This method involves using the ploughing effect of the milling cutters by simultaneously engaging the teeth located to the front of the cutter in relation to the feed movement and also those to the rear. The positioning obtained stabilises the cutter and contributes to making a net improvement in its dynamic behaviour. This leads in turn to significantly higher quality of the milled surface. The article presents a method to apply balancing of the transversal cutting force to two types of machining passes and elaborates an associated strategy to plan cutter paths enabling an improvement in surface quality to be achieved.     

Simulation of elliptical patterns based on grinding with wheel dressed by elliptical tool

Dressing is a sharpening operation aimed to produce a specific groove shape on the active surface of the wheel. The preparation of grinding tools in special way is the most important enabling factor in the grinding process. It greatly influences the subsequent geometry of the workpiece. As the groove shape of the wheel surface determines the shape of the surface patterns, therefore, it is essential to produce desired groove on the wheel cutting surface before grinding. Therefore, an elliptical groove surface pattern model is proposed based on grinding with dressed wheel. An elliptical tip tool is used for the dressing process to make grooves on the wheel instead of sharp tip tool or rounded tip tool in the previous work. The dressing tool passes helically over the surface of the grinding wheel for making grooves. After that, the grooved wheel passes over the flat surface to generate elliptical patterns. The results showed the three-dimensional geometry of the surface patterns with elliptical groove which are uniformly distributed on the workpiece. An experiment is carried out for the verification of the simulation results and it is revealed that the simulation results agreed well with the experiment.     

Reliability estimation for cutting tools based on logistic regression model using vibration signals

As an important part of CNC machine, the reliability of cutting tools influences the whole manufacturing effectiveness and stability of equipment. The present study proposes a novel reliability estimation approach to the cutting tools based on logistic regression model by using vibration signals. The operation condition information of the CNC machine is incorporated into reliability analysis to reflect the product time-varying characteristics. The proposed approach is superior to other degradation estimation methods in that it does not necessitate any assumption about degradation paths and probability density functions of condition parameters. The three steps of new reliability estimation approach for cutting tools are as follows. First, on-line vibration signals of cutting tools are measured during the manufacturing process. Second, wavelet packet (WP) transform is employed to decompose the original signals and correlation analysis is employed to find out the feature frequency bands which indicate tool wear. Third, correlation analysis is also used to select the salient feature parameters which are composed of feature band energy, energy entropy and time-domain features. Finally, reliability estimation is carried out based on logistic regression model. The approach has been validated on a NC lathe. Under different failure threshold, the reliability and failure time of the cutting tools are all estimated accurately. The positive results show the plausibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach, which can facilitate machine performance and reliability estimation.     

Sub-surface deformation in vibration cutting of copper

Vibration cutting processes yield significantly reduced cutting forces and increased shear angles. However, little research has been dedicated to the impact of vibration diamond cutting on the sub-surface integrity of machined polycrystalline metals. Therefore, the depth of plastic deformation in machined OFHC-copper samples was determined by metallographic methods. Moreover, orientation imaging microscopy (OIM) is introduced as a new SEM-technique, which allows one to visualize the distribution of local crystallographic orientations and plastic deformations. The work-hardening is to be studied by AFM-nanoindenting, which has been applied to different metals in order to prove the reliability of this technique.     

超声振动切削刀具设计

介绍频率40kHz,振幅在(10～35)μm范围可调的振动刀具的设计过程,该刀具选用通用信号发生器作为超声波信号源,对其(0～5)V正弦电压信号进行放大,输出幅值(0～350)V用于激励压电换能器,将超声电振荡转换成机械振动,对振动信号再经变幅杆机械放大,使刀具振动幅值达到(10～25)μm以上进行切削。利用该刀具切削工件的精度和表面粗糙度达到精密切削的效果,并且已进行了天然金刚石精细切削不锈钢零件的实验,切削后的刀具磨损量明显降低。     

Identifying axial load patterns using space frame FEMs and measured vibration data

The axial loading of a space frame may need to be quantified, perhaps for improvement of a finite element model (FEM) to better represent the structural dynamics or to ascertain how close the structure is to buckling. The coexistence of compressive and tensile forces in a space frame causes certain frequencies to increase with respect to load while others decrease. This intricate behaviour has been modelled in the FEM of a bi-tetrahedral space frame through consideration of the geometric stiffness, which accounts for stiffness changes in the loaded members. Updating the load pattern in the FEM using Newton's method (traditional sensitivity-based model updating) brings the model frequencies closer to those physically measured from the real bi-tetrahedral frame and thus provides identification of the axial loads. This load pattern is a predetermined set of frame axial forces in equilibrium. Such a constraint means that the extent of loading can be described by just one scalar updating parameter, an improvement upon former methods that updated member forces as independent parameters. When compared to the loads measured using strain gauges, the loads identified by model updating are seen to offer approximations of the actual loading. Difficulties such as modelling joint behaviour are discussed. The present work extends a series of numerical studies on load updating published by the authors by offering a demonstration of load pattern identification using physically measured vibration data from a real space frame.