Unconventional

machining process

NONTRADITIONAL
MACHINING PROCESS
BY:
Krishna jadhav
Pratik gode
Sandesh thoke
Sushmita sarnaik

(134110027)
(134110028)
(134110029)
(134110030)

Nontraditional Processes
Defined
A group of processes that remove excess
material by various techniques involving
mechanical, thermal, electrical, or
chemical energy (or combinations of these
energies) but do not use a sharp
cutting tool in the conventional sense

NONTRADITIONAL MACHINING
AND THERMAL CUTTING
PROCESSES
I.
II.
III.
IV.

Chemical machining
Electrochemical Machining Processes
Mechanical Energy Processes
Thermal energy processes

Why Nontraditional Processes

are Important
Need to machine newly developed metals
and nonmetals with special properties
that make them difficult or impossible to
machine by conventional methods
Need for unusual and/or complex part
geometries that cannot easily be
accomplished by conventional machining
Need to avoid surface damage that often
accompanies conventional machining

Classification of Nontraditional
Processes by Type of Energy Used

Mechanical erosion of work material by a

high velocity stream

Electrical electrochemical energy to remove

material (reverse of electroplating)

Thermal thermal energy usually applied to

small portion of work surface, causing that
portion to be removed by fusion and/or
vaporization.

Chemical chemical etchants selectively

remove material from portions of work part.

1.Chemical Machining (CHM)

Material removal through contact with a
strong chemical etchant
Processes include:

Chemical milling
Chemical blanking
Chemical engraving
Photochemical machining

All utilize the same mechanism of material

removal

CHM history

Oldest non-traditional machining method

which is used to shape copper with citric acid
in the Ancient Egypt in 2300 BC.

Until the 19th century this process was

widely used for decorative etching. The
development of photography provided a new
dimension to chemical machining.

The main industrial application of chemical

machining developed after the war. In 1953,
North American Aviation (California USA)
used the process to etch aluminium
components for rockets.

Diagram of CHM

Steps of chemical machining

Work piece preparation
Coating with masking material
Scribing of the mask
Etching
Cleaning masking material

Maskants
Masking material which is called maskant
is used to protect work piece surface from
chemical etchant.
Polymer or rubberbased materials are
generally used for masking procedure
The selected maskant material should
have following properties

Tough enough to withstand handling

Well adhering to the workpiece surface & Easy scribing.
Inert to the chemical reagent used
Able to withstand the heat used during chemical
machining

Masking materials for various

chemical machined materials
Workpiece material

Masking material

Aluminium and alloys

Polymer, Butyl rubber,

neoprene

Iron based alloys

Polymer, Polyvinyl chloride,

Polyetilien butyl rubber

Nickel Polymer

Neoprene

Magnesium

Polymer

Copper and alloys

Polymer

Titanium

Polymer

Silicon

Polymer

Etchants
Etchants are the most influential factor
in the chemical machining of any
material.
Various etchant are available due to
workpiece material.
The best possible etchant should have
properties as follow

High etch rate, Good surface finish, Minimum undercut.

Compatibility with commonly used maskants.
High dissolved-material capacity.
Economic regeneration.
Easy control of process.

Concentrations, etching
temperatures for various
materials in chemical machining
Material

Chemical
etchant

Concentrati
on

Etching
Etch rate
Temperatu (mm/min)
re (C)

Aluminium
and alloys

FeCl3

12-18B
(*)

49

0.0130.025

Steel

FeCl3

42 B

54

0.025

Nickel

FeCl3

42 B

49

0.13-0.38

% 12-15

32-49

1.0

Magnesium HNO3
Silicon

HNO3

---

38-49

Very slow

Advantages of chemical machining

Easy weight reduction

Simultaneous material removal operation
No stress introduction to the workpiece
Low capital cost of equipment
Requirement of less skilled worker
The good surface quality

Disadvantages of chemical machining

Difficult to get sharp corner
Difficult to chemically machine thick material
Etchants are very dangerous for workers

Common specifications of
CHM
Maskant thickness is generally kept
about 0.2 mm.
Etching depth is up to 10 mm is
applied.
Accuracy of 0.01to 0.015 mm can be
obtained.
MRR for common materials is about
140 to 160 cm3/min.
Workpiece thickness is less than 10
mm can be suitably machined.

Applications
Widely used to produce microcomponents.
In industries like MEMS and semiconductor
industries.
Complex parts and integrated circuits.

II. Electrochemical Machining

Processes
Electrical energy used in combination with
chemical reactions to remove material
Reverse of electroplating
Work material must be a conductor
Processes:

Electrochemical machining (ECM)

Electrochemical deburring (ECD)
Electrochemical grinding (ECG)

Electrochemical Machining
(ECM)
Material removal by anodic dissolution,
using electrode (tool) in close proximity to
the work but separated by a rapidly
flowing electrolyte.

Applications of ECM
Can be perform on all conducting materials.
Machining of heat-resisting alloys, cavities
in forging
Multiple hole drilling.
It can be used for DIE-SINKING operation.
Drilling a jet engine turbine blade.

Electrochemical Grinding (ECG)

Special form of ECM in which a grinding wheel with
conductive bond material is used to augment
anodic dissolution of metal part surface

Applications of ECG
Any material which is electrically
conductive.
Hardened steel, cemented carbides &
similar materials.
Mainly applied to resharpening tools which
are difficult to grind.

Electrochemical Deburring (ECD)

Adaptation of ECM to remove burrs or round
sharp corners on holes in metal parts
produced by conventional throughhole
drilling

Working of ECD
ECD removes metal by non-contact,
Electrochemical action.
Method is fast, highly selective & safe.
Uses a low voltage, DC current & non-toxic
electrolytes.
Material is remove in fine metal hydroxide
particles which can be further filtered &
removed .

Electrochemical machining

Electrochemical grinding

Electrochemical debburing

lll.Mechanical Energy Processes

Ultrasonic machining
Water jet cutting
Abrasive jet machining
Abrasive water jet cutting

Ultrasonic Machining
(USM)
Abrasives contained in a slurry are driven at high
velocity against work by a tool vibrating at low
amplitude and high frequency
Tool oscillation is perpendicular to work surface
Tool is fed slowly into work
Shape of tool is formed in part

USM Applications
Hard, brittle work materials such as
ceramics, glass, and carbides.
Also successful on certain metals, such as
stainless steel and titanium.
Shapes include non-round holes, holes
along a curved axis.
Cutting of industrial diamonds.

Water Jet Cutting (WJC)

Uses a fine, high pressure, high velocity
stream of water directed at work
surface for cutting.

WJC Applications
Usually automated by CNC or industrial robots to
manipulate nozzle along desired trajectory.
Used to cut narrow slits in flat stock such as
plastic, textiles, composites, floor tile, carpet,
leather, and cardboard.
Not suitable for brittle materials (e.g., glass).
WJC advantages: no crushing or burning of work
surface, minimum material loss, no
environmental pollution, and ease of automation.

Abrasive Jet Machining

(AJM)

High velocity stream of gas containing

small abrasive particles

Application of AJM
Usually performed manually by
operator who directs nozzle
Normally used as a finishing process
rather than cutting process
Applications: deburring, trimming and
deflashing, cleaning, and polishing
Work materials: thin flat stock of hard,
brittle materials (e.g., glass, silicon,
mica, ceramics)

Abrasive Water Jet Cutting

(AWJC)
When WJC is used on metals, abrasive
particles must be added to jet stream
usually
Additional process parameters: abrasive
type, grit size, and flow rate
Abrasives: aluminum oxide, silicon
dioxide, and garnet (a silicate mineral)
Grit sizes range between 60 and 120

Ultrasonic Processes

Water jet machining

Abrasive jet machining

Abrasive water jet

machining

lV. Thermal Energy

Processes

Very high local temperatures.

Material is removed by fusion or vaporization

Physical and metallurgical damage to

the new work surface.
In some cases, resulting finish is so
poor that subsequent processing is
required.

Thermal Energy Processes

Electric discharge machining
Electric discharge wire cutting
Electron beam machining
Laser beam machining
Plasma arc machining

Electric Discharge
Processes
Metal removal by a series of discrete
electrical discharges (sparks) causing
localized temperatures high enough to
melt or vaporize the metal
Can be used only on electrically
conducting work materials
Two main processes:
1. Electric discharge machining
2. Wire electric discharge machining

Electric Discharge Machining (EDM)

Electric discharge machining (EDM): (a) overall

setup, and (b) closeup view of gap, showing
discharge and metal removal

EDM Applications
Tooling for many mechanical processes:
molds for plastic injection molding,
extrusion dies, wire drawing dies, forging
and heading dies, and sheet metal
stamping dies
Production parts: delicate parts not rigid
enough to withstand conventional cutting
forces, hole drilling where hole axis is at
an acute angle to surface, and machining
of hard and exotic metals

Wire EDM
Special form of EDM that uses small
diameter wire as electrode to cut a narrow
kerf in work

Electric discharge wire cutting (EDWC), also called wire EDM

Laser Beam Machining

(LBM)
Uses the light energy from a laser to
remove material by vaporization and
ablation

Plasma Arc Cutting (PAC)

Uses a plasma stream operating at very
high temperatures to cut metal by
melting.

Laser beam machining

Manufacturers of machine
NAME OF MACHINE MANUFACTURERS

LOCATION

Ultrasonic machine

Ravira ever green

Pvt. Ltd.

Jaipur.

Ultrasonic machine

Johnson plastosonic
Pvt.Ltd

Pune.

Water jet machine

K & K engineers

Delhi.

Abrasive jet machine

R. K. Transonic Pvt.
Ltd

Noida.

Abrasive water jet

machine

Kp Tech Machine
Pvt. Ltd

Ahmedabad.

Manufacturers of machine
NAME OF
MACHINE

MANUFACTURERS

LOCATION

Electrochemical
machine

Janetta Enterprise.

Bharuch, Gujrat.

Electrochemical
grinding

Consort India.

Noida, Uttar
pradesh

Electrical discharge
machine

USHA Tech.

New Delhi.

Electron beam
machine

Sahajana Tech. Ltd.

Gandhinagar,
Gujrat.

Plasma arc machine

Mysore tech

Tumkar,karnataka.

Laser beam machine Wuxi Label

electronics

Jiangsu, China