Micromechanical machining of soda lime glass

Micromechanical machining, which is the mechanical removal of materials using miniature cutting tools, is one of the fabrication methods in the microrealm that has recently attracted a great deal of attention because it has the advantage of being able to machine complex shapes from brittle materials. The most challenging problem in the mechanical machining of brittle material is the fabrication of fracture-free surfaces. To avoid brittle fractures, a thorough investigation is required to find the machining parameters in the ductile cutting regime, which is characterized by plastic deformation of the material when the chip thickness is smaller than the critical value. In this study, cutting forces and surface characteristics of soda lime glass are examined in detail. Conical scratch tests are performed to identify the critical chip thickness, and the cutting forces in the ductile regime are modeled. In addition, coated ball end mill cutters were used to perform machining on inclined soda lime glass to investigate the feed rate effects, up and down milling, and depth of cuts on the surface finish and to examine tool wear.     

An experimental study on microcutting of silicon using a micromilling machine

Micro-end-milling can potentially create desired 3D free-form surface features on silicon using ductile machining technology. A number of technological barriers must be overcome for micro-end-milling to be applied in the cutting of single crystal silicon. To produce smooth surfaces on brittle materials, such as silicon, it is important that the material be machined in the ductile mode. A major limitation of machining brittle materials is that the process of removing the material can generate subsurface damage. We have carried out an experimental study to find the optimum cutting conditions for obtaining ductile regime machining using a micromilling machine. The ductile and brittle regimes in the machining of silicon using diamond-coated end mills were demonstrated by machining grooves. The force ratio, F_t/F_c, was used to determine the milling performance on silicon. The experimental data show that the dominant ductile cutting mode was achieved when F_t/F_c?>?1.0.     

Brittle–ductile mode cutting of glass based on controlling cracks initiation and propagation

Owing to brittleness and hardness, functional glass is one of the most difficult to cut materials. This paper proposes a new machining method—brittle–ductile mode machining combining both properties of brittle breakage and plastic flow of glass. Edge-indention experiments are first conducted in order to deduce the laws of crack initiation and propagation in the process of glass cutting, then a single-straight tool with big inclination angle is designed for glass cutting based on the laws of crack initiation and propagation and properties of plastic flow. With this new tool, the lateral and subsurface cracks initiation can be suppressed, and media cracks propagate away from machined surface. At the same time, the requirements for machining glass in ductile manner can be fulfilled. Validation experiments show that highly efficient and precise glass cutting can be achieved at the cutting depth of sub-millimeter level, and an integral and crack-free surface with good finish can be obtained. This method overcomes the process restriction on critical cutting depth and tool feed for ductile regime turning technology and can be transferred to mass production.     

Micro/nano Indentation and Single Grit Diamond Grinding Mechanism on Ultra Pure Fused Silica

The existing research about ductile grinding of fused silica glass was mainly focused on how to carry out ductile regime material removal for generating very smoothed surface and investigate the machining-induced damage in the grinding in order to reduce or eliminate the subsurface damage.The brittle/ductile transition behavior of optical glass materials and the wear of diamond wheel are the most important factors for ductile grinding of optical glass.In this paper,the critical brittle/ductile depth,the inf...     

硬脆材料塑性加工技术的研究现状

对硬脆材料塑性加工技术的国内外研究现状进行了综合评述,分别介绍了硬脆材料塑性加工的理论研究和硬脆材料塑性加工的主要方式,分析了目前研究中尚待解决的问题,并在此基础上提出了今后特别是近期应该开展的研究工作。     

A study on the effect of tool-edge radius on critical machining characteristics in ultra-precision milling of tungsten carbide

A crack-free surface can be finished on brittle materials by a specialized but traditional machining technique known as ductile-mode machining. In ductile-mode machining of brittle material, crack propagation is suppressed by selecting a suitable combination of tool and machining parameters leading to the removal of material through plastic deformation enabled by dislocation motion. In ductile-mode machining, the tool–workpiece interaction is of critical significance for the capability of the cutting process to finish a crack-free surface on a brittle material. This interaction is largely dictated by the cutting-edge radius of the tool when the undeformed chip thickness is comparable to the edge radius as is the case of ductile-mode machining. This paper presents the experimental results of ductile-mode milling of tungsten carbide to investigate the effect of cutting-edge radius on certain critical machining characteristics associated with the ductile–brittle transition specific to milling process of brittle material. The experimental results have established that an increase in the cutting-edge radius within a certain range increases the critical feed per edge leading to the improvement of material removal rate in ductile-mode milling. An increasingly negative effective rake angle is desired during milling with larger edge-radiused tool to suppress the crack propagation in the cutting zone to achieve ductile-mode machining. The results also identify the effect of the edge radius on certain other parameters such as critical specific cutting energy, plowing effect and subsurface damage depth to comprehend the ductile–brittle transition phenomenon in ductile-mode milling.     

A review on ductile mode cutting of brittle materials

Brittle materials have been widely employed for industrial applications due to their excellent mechanical, optical, physical and chemical properties. But obtaining smooth and damage-free surface on brittle materials by traditional machining methods like grinding, lapping and polishing is very costly and extremely time consuming. Ductile mode cutting is a very promising way to achieve high quality and crack-free surfaces of brittle materials. Thus the study of ductile mode cutting of brittle materials has been attracting more and more efforts. This paper provides an overview of ductile mode cutting of brittle materials including ductile nature and plasticity of brittle materials, cutting mechanism, cutting characteristics, molecular dynamic simulation, critical undeformed chip thickness, brittle-ductile transition, subsurface damage, as well as a detailed discussion of ductile mode cutting enhancement. It is believed that ductile mode cutting of brittle materials could be achieved when both crack-free and no subsurface damage are obtained simultaneously.     

An experimental study on the machining characteristics in ductile-mode milling of BK-7 glass

Glass is considered as one of the most challenging materials to machine because of its high hardness coupled with high brittleness. The challenge, in machining such a brittle material, lies in achieving the material removal through plastic deformation rather than characteristic brittle fracture. It has already been established that every brittle material, no matter how brittle it is, can be machined in ductile mode under certain critical conditions. The critical conditions are material specific, and hence, every material tends to show unique behavior in terms of critical conditions during machining process. This paper outlines the results of an experimental study to determine the critical chip thickness for ductile–brittle transition, chip morphology, and the effect of cutting speed on the critical conditions in peripheral milling process of BK-7 glass. It is established experimentally that the cutting speed affects the chip morphology, machined surface quality, and critical conditions due to possible thermal effects in such a way that ductile–brittle transition phenomenon is facilitated at high cutting speeds.     

DETECTION OF DUCTILE TO BRITTLE TRANSITION IN MICROINDENTATION AND MICROSCRATCHING OF SINGLE CRYSTAL SILICON USING ACOUSTIC EMISSION

Machining of brittle materials entails two modes of material removal: pure plastic deformation and brittle fracture. The mode of material removal is generally identified by surface quality observations in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) or an atomic force microscope (AFM) after machining. Hence, there is a need for the development of in-process monitoring technology in order to detect whether the mode of material removal is ductile or brittle, and thereby predict surface quality. In the present paper, acoustic emission (AE) is proposed as a means of monitoring the ductile to brittle transition. Microindentation and microscratching tests of single crystal silicon were conducted using an ultrafine-motion table with very small motion error. The obtained AE signals were correlated with crack initiation and the ductile to brittle transition. The critical force f_c defined as the force at which AE was induced during the microindentation and microscratching tests was measured to be 40 ∼ 50 mN. AFM observations revealed the critical depth of cut d_c to be 0.20 μm in the microscratching test.     

超声加工韧性材料的材料去除率模型

超声加工是现代超声技术的重要组成部分,在不同类型材料的加工领域都有着广泛的应用.由于在超声加工中脆性材料和韧性材料的材料去除机理完全不同,因此有必要建立韧性材料的材料去除率的数学模型.本文基于接触力学的理论建立了一个新的超声加工韧性材料的材料去除率模型.通过与引用的实验结果进行比较,发现该模型的理论预测值与实验结果十分...     

硬脆材料旋转超声加工技术的研究现状及展望

旋转超声加工是一种复合特种加工技术,它复合了传统超声加工和普通磨削加工的材料去除方式,在提高硬脆材料去除效率、减小切削力、提高加工精度和表面完整性等方面具有显著优势。自旋转超声加工技术发明至今,国内外学者开展了大量的有关旋转超声加工装备及工艺的研究工作,并且已在几乎所有主要的硬脆难加工材料中得到实际应用。本研究在简要概述旋转超声加工技术的基本原理和发展过程基础上,总结国内外学者在材料去除机理、工艺特性、加工新形式以及装备研发等几方面的主要研究成果,并对旋转超声加工技术的发展趋势及值得关注的问题进行展望。     

An experimental study of edge radius effect on cutting single crystal silicon

According to the hypothesis of ductile machining, brittle materials undergo a transition from brittle to ductile mode once a critical undeformed chip thickness is reached. Below this threshold, the energy required to propagate cracks is believed to be larger than the energy required for plastic deformation, so that plastic deformation is the predominant mechanism of material removal in machining these materials in this mode. An experimental study is conducted using diamond cutting for machining single crystal silicon. Analysis of the machined surfaces under a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an atomic force microscope (AFM) identifies the brittle region and the ductile region. The study shows that the effect of the cutting edge radius possesses a critical importance in the cutting operation. Experimental results of taper cutting show a substantial difference in surface topography with diamond cutting tools of 0° rake angle and an extreme negative rake angle. Cutting with a diamond cutting tool of 0° rake angle could be in a ductile mode if the undeformed chip thickness is less than a critical value, while a ductile mode cutting using the latter tool could not be found in various undeformed chip thicknesses.     

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.     

KDP晶体超精密加工技术的研究

通过对KDP晶体等脆性材料的塑性域切削进行理论分析，研究实现脆性材料塑性域切削的条件。激光核聚变KDP晶体的3项主要技术指标是：表面粗糙度、波纹度和透射波前。通过分析影响这3项技术指标的因素。提出了实现KDP晶体精密加工的超精密机床和工艺参数。通过理论分析与实验。研究了晶向、刀具前角、刀具圆弧半径和进给量等参数对表面粗糙度的影响，最终给出KDP晶体精密加工的最佳工艺参数。     

Ultraprecision machining of polymers

The single-point diamond machining of several polymeric materials has been investigated. The final surface structure and roughness of the workpiece is determined by well-established fundamentals of polymer mechanics. Material is removed via ductile, brittle, or transitional mechanisms that depend on polymer properties such as glass transition temperature, relaxation time, degree of crosslinking, and viscosity. For some materials, the mechanism could be changed from ductile to brittle with a change of operating and tool parameters. In brittle materials, the surface roughness is largely controlled by the rake face angle of the diamond. For ductile workpieces, the melt viscosity of the polymer is important. Crosslinked materials are restricted from ductile behavior by the presence of chemical bonds. As a result, material removal occurs by rupture or an extreme fracture process. With an understanding of polymer behavior, suitability of new materials for single-point diamond machining can be assessed. The change of successful processing within the operating range of the tool can be determined with a minimum number of trial and error experiments.     

Size effects in finish machining of porous powdered metal for engineered surface quality

Porous tungsten is conventionally machined with the aid of a plastic infiltrant to achieve acceptable surface finish. For dispenser cathode application, both high surface porosity and low surface roughness are necessary. Cryogenic machining has already been demonstrated to be capable of eliminating the need for plastic infiltration by greatly reducing smearing of pores. In order to address the problem of undesirable brittle fracture during cryogenic machining, the importance of uncut chip geometry is investigated. The value of critical chip thickness, beyond which brittle fracture occurs, is found to be closely linked to the microstructure of the workpiece material. While machining with very low uncut chip thickness leads to ploughing and spalling of the workpiece surface, ductile mode machining of porous tungsten with cryogenic cooling is found to yield excellent surface quality. When the maximum uncut chip thickness is approximately equal to the average ligament diameter of 80% density porous tungsten (d ≈ 8–9 μm), ductile mode machining is possible under both dry and cryogenic conditions. Changes in shock compaction behavior of the workpiece material, leading to altered physical properties, is hypothesized to be the underlying mechanism of ductile mode machining of porous tungsten.     

<Emphasis Type="Bold">Ductile or Partial Ductile Mode Machining of Brittle Materials</Emphasis>

This paper reports ductile or partial ductile mode machining of silicon, glass and some advanced ceramics. Results are presented using scanning electron micrographs of the machined surfaces. Grinding and lapping operations using inexpensive machine tools could produce ductile streaks on surfaces of these brittle materials under good conditions. Manufacture of spherical glass lenses by the fracture mode or partial ductile mode grinding followed by partial ductile mode lapping and ductile mode polishing is fast and economical. Using partial ductile mode grinding and ductile mode polishing has also been very successful for manufacturing aspherical glass lenses. Reduced polishing time and improved surface quality are due to the presence of ductile streaks. Ground silicon, ZrO2 and Al2O3 also showed ductile streaks. Toroidal SiC surfaces ground with flat-face cup wheels indicated 100% ductile machining, and did not require polishing.     

Characteristics of chip generation by vertical elliptic ultrasonic vibration-assisted grinding of brittle materials

Elliptic ultrasonic vibration-assisted grinding has been proven to be a high-efficiency machining technique for some brittle materials. This paper aims to investigate the chip generating characteristics in grinding of brittle materials with vertical elliptic vibration assistance. Vertical elliptic ultrasonic vibration-assisted grinding for precision machining brittle polysilicon is suggested and tested. The mechanism of chip generation and characteristics of surfaces in ductile mode, machined by ultrasonic vibration-assisted grinding, are investigated. As a result, when microgrinding by ultrasonic vibration, it was confirmed that the continuous chips generated by ductile mode can be more easily be fully developed.     

硬脆材料微磨削表面形成机理试验研究

微磨削作为微尺度硬脆材料元器件的一种重要加工方法越来越受到重视,分析硬脆材料微磨削材料去除机理、提出其应为脆性去除与延性去除的综合作用,并就硬脆材料微磨削中材料去除过程与传统磨削方式的不同建立微磨削表面形成模型。为揭示硬脆材料微磨削过程的表面形成机理,验证所提出的微磨削未变形切屑厚度hm与微磨削表面粗糙度Ra计算模型的科学性和准确性,针对钠钙玻璃这一典型硬脆材料设计了正交微磨削试验,就试验结果进行硬脆材料微磨削表面形貌分析,讨论硬脆材料微磨削表面影响因素以及影响规律。基于试验数据结果对所建立微磨削模型的科学性进行了验证,并通过试验获得了微磨削后表面粗糙度Ra从78 nm至0.98 μm的一系列表面,为硬脆材料微磨削表面形成机理研究提供了理论参考与试验依据。     

超精密切削时刀具切削刃的作用机理分析

分析了金刚石刀具切削刃的切削作用、脆性材料超精密切削时切屑形成机理；对金刚石刀具切削刃钝圆半径、切削厚度、切削角三者之间的关系进行了描述。结果表明：脆性材料可以实现塑性域超精密切削加工；控制切削参数可以加工出满足要求的表面粗糙度和表面波纹度，为生产实际提供可靠的工艺条件及技术参数。