Ultrasonic machining (USM) is a non-traditional, mechanical-energy-based material removal process in which a tool vibrating at ultrasonic frequency drives hard abrasive particles suspended in a slurry to repeatedly indent a brittle workpiece, causing localized brittle fracture and hemispherical crater formation; material removal rate can be modeled mathematically as a function of process parameters (vibration amplitude, frequency, feed force/pressure, abrasive grit diameter, slurry concentration, and the ratio of workpiece-to-tool flow strength) by combining single-impact material removal volume with the number of active grits and impact frequency. This belongs to the domain of non-traditional (unconventional) manufacturing processes, specifically the mechanical-energy-based subgroup, and sits alongside abrasive jet, water jet, and other non-conventional machining methods as an alternative to conventional cutting when workpiece brittleness or hardness precludes traditional tool-based material removal.
Ultrasonic machining (USM) is a non-traditional, mechanical-energy-based material removal process in which a tool vibrating at ultrasonic frequency drives hard abrasive particles suspended in a slurr…