Research
contents (Mizutani)

High-quality processing of
hard and brittle
materials by
ultrasonic machining and
application to AM post-processing

Ultrasonic machining is a processing method that finely removes the workpiece by suspending abrasive grains in the machining fluid. Generally, when machining hard and brittle materials, due to processing, damage to the work material when cutting, and processing speed when etching, become issues, and it is difficult to perform fine machining on the sub-millimeter order. On the other hand, since ultrasonic machining is removal machining by the micro-brittle fracture of the material, the effects of residual strain by machining and heat can be exceedingly minimized, and this can be considered as the optimal machining method for hard and brittle materials on the sub-millimeter order. However, as the size of the workpiece shrinks, the impact of chipping and cracks on the machining surface increases. In particular, the ultrasonic machining method inevitably causes fine cracks due to the machining principle, so it is necessary to clarify and control this phenomenon.
Our laboratory is working to elucidate the material removal mechanism in ultrasonic machining and develop it into a practical process, in order to establish sub-millimeter-sized high-precision machining for hard and brittle materials. Moreover, this method can be expected to be applied as a post-process of additive manufacturing (metal additive manufacturing), and this possibility is also being investigated.

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