A SEMINAR REPORT ENTITLED

“MICROMACHINING”

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement of award of

Bachelor of Technology
In
Mechanical Engineering
Submitted by
ANILKUMAR PATEL

(U16ME098)

Guided by

Dr. AVINASH V. DOSHI

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

MED, SVNIT, SURAT

2019-2020

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SARDAR VALLABHBHAI NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

SURAT -
395007, GUJARAT, INDIA
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 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that ANILKUMAR JAILAL PATEL (Registration No:
U16ME098) has submitted his own work for partial fulfillment of the
requirement of degree in B.Tech of Mechanical Engineering department, Sardar
Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat in the form of a credit
seminar report entitled “MICROMACHINING” in the academic year 2019-
2020.

Date:11/12/2019

Dr. AVINASH V. DOSHI Dr. S. K. BUDHWAR

Assistant Professor, Professor
Mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering
Department, SVNIT, SURAT Department, SVNIT, SURAT

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SARDAR VALLABHBHAI NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

SURAT – 395 007, GUJARAT, INDIA

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 EXAMINERS APPROVAL CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that ANILKUMAR JAILAL PATEL(Registration No:

U16ME098) has submitted credit seminar report entitled
“MICROMACHINING” in fulfillment for the award of the degree of
Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering department during the
academic year 2019-20, at the Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of
Technology, Surat is hereby approved for the award of the degree.

Examiners:

1)

2)

3)

Date:11/12/2019

Place: SVNIT, SURAT

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The completion of this seminar would not have been possible without the kind
support and help of many individuals of our institute. I would like to extend my
sincere thanks to all of them.

Firstly, I would like to express my sense of immense gratitude towards

my respected guide Dr. A. V. DOSHI Sir, Assistant Professor for their
guidance and constant perspective supervision as well as for providing
necessary information regarding the seminar & also for his everlasting
support in completing the seminar.

I also express my regards and thanks to Dr.S. K. Budhwar, Associate

Professor, Head of the Mechanical engineering Department SVNIT, Surat.

I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents and friends for their
full support.

ANILKUMAR PATEL

U16ME098

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 ABSTRACT

Miniaturization is the order of the day. Until recently a decade ago traditionally watch parts were
considered to be the micro components one can think off. Recent changes in society’s demand have
forced us to manufacture variety of micro components used in different fields starting from
entertainment electronics to be bio medical implants.

Present day manufacturing processes used for miniaturization are the microelectronic fabrication
techniques used for Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS). The limitation of all these
processes is that they are applicable for producing 2D patterns and thickness of parts is very low;
say a few microns and they are employed on materials such as Silicon and crystalline materials and
not metals. Miniaturized parts may have overall sizes of a few millimeters but may have many
features that fall in micron range.

Also we need many such miniaturized parts may be with 3D profiles, that too made of metals in
many fields like aerospace to bio-medical applications. A new candidate requiring micro products
in the field of biotechnology. In the medical field, diagnosis and surgery without pain are achieved
through miniaturization of medical tools. Micromachining is one of the key technologies that can
enable the realization of all of the above requirements for microproducts and fields with such
requirements are rapidly expanding. If complementary machining processes are developed to
overcome the above shortcomings, metallic miniature devices will be economically feasible reality.

The machining processes for micro/meso manufacturing can be derived from traditional
machining processes such as turning milling, drilling, grinding, EDM, laser machining, etc., by
judicious modification of these machines. Unit metal removal and improving equipment precision
are the key factors for adapting the traditional machining processes to micro machining. When these
two guidelines are set, the approach is almost correctly directed toward micromachining.

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CONTENTS
1. Introduction……………………………………………….1
2. Micromilling and micromachining……………………….2
3. Chemical Etching …………………………………………3
4. Electrochemical Machining (ECM)……………………….4
5. Electric Discharge Machining (EDM)………………….…8
6. Electron Beam Machining (EBM)………………………...13
7. Laser Beam Machining (LBM)…………………………...14
8. Ion Beam Machining(IBM)…………………………….....19
9. Ultrasonic Machining (USM)……………………………..20

10. Plasma Arc Machining(PAM)…………………………..23

11. Conclusion……………………………………………….25
12. Reference………………………………………………...26

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INTRODUCTION
Literally Micro in micro machining implies that parts are made to the size of 1 to 999 μm.
However Micro also means very small in the fields of machining, manufacturing of small parts is
not easy. Therefore micro components should also indicate too small components to be machined
Prof. Taniguchi defines Micro Engineering as the fields where components sizes are a few
millimeters. When the part size is between 100μm to 100mm, a term MESO manufacturing is also
used to address such parts. In fact, the range of micro varies according to era, person, and
machining method, type of product or material.
In the medical field, diagnosis and surgery without pain is possible through miniaturization of
medical tools. The convenience and value of many products can be substantially increased with
reduced size and weight. With the trend towards miniaturization, micromachining becomes
increasingly important in fabricating micro parts. Micro parts may have overall size of few
millimeters but it has many features that falls in micro range from 1 μm to 500 μm. features size
of 100 μm is common in micromachining.
The trend of micro-miniaturization of the products and its parts has already become
forceful in industry, especially in field of micro electromechanical system (MEMS) or micro
system technology (MST). In MEMS manufacturing techniques such as photolithography,
chemical-etching, plating and LIGA are used, as shown in Figure. They are very well known in
semiconductors or microelectric manufacturing and used for large volume production, mainly
sensors and actuators made of silicon or limited range of metals. Although micromachining
techniques are similar to conventional (macro) machining manufacturing techniques, simple
scaling of parameters or process model cannot be applied due to size effects.

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Application of micromachining

 Micro milling

 Micro grinding

 Chemical etching

 Manufacturing of injection nozzles, Micro surgical tools, VLSI circuits

1. MICROMILLING & MICROGRINDING

Among the conventional machine processes based on material removal from a workpiece, the
most popular case those in which the useless part of the workpiece is removed by mechanical force
through plastic or brittle breakage. In the process of this type, the first requirement of
micromachining, small UR is satisfied when a high stress that causes breakage of material is
applied to a very small area or volume of the workpiece. Although cutting is the most conventional
machining process, the availability of ultra precision cutting machines with highest level of

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positioning accuracy, has enabled us to apply this process in micromachining.Turning, milling and
grinding are examples of processes of this type.

Micromilling & Microdrilling is capable of the fabricating holes several tens of micrometers
in size for practical applications other types of products such as grooves, cavities and 3D convex
shapes may be fabricated when a micro end mill is used instead of a micromill. In such cases, the
machining force exerts a larger influence on accuracy because the main direction of the force is
perpendicular to the tool axis.

Microgrinding can be applied to the fabrication of micropins and microgrooves, where a

grinding wheel with large diameter can be used for such application. The only requirement is to
reduce the thickness of the grinding wheel to the required resolution of the product, for example,
the width of the grove. The thickness of tens of micrometer order is available so far and
correspondingly narrow grooves are reasonable targets of this method. Submicron – order grains
of diamond, tungsten carbide or CBN are desirable for realizing good product geometry. The UR
of grinding is small because cutting is realized by means of micrograins. However, in the field of
micromachining, it is not always a superior method. One of the technological problems is the fact
that the tool must be made up of an abrasive and a matrix .when the tool size is very small, the
grain size cannot be ignored; this leads to certain difficulties in forming the precise shape of the
grinding wheel.

2. CHEMICAL ETCHING
Chemical or electrochemical dissolution in liquid is also utilized in micromachining. In this type
of process, the removal mechanism is based on ionic reaction on the workpiece surface. This leads
to very small UR in the direction perpendicular to the surface. The other two dimensions are
usually specified by a patterned mask. The advantages in etching besides a small UR are as
follows:
 The machining force is almost zero

 The surface after machining is free from any damage, residual stress or heat effects

 The mechanical properties of the workpiece do not influence the removal mechanism

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  In most cases the dissolution phenomenon renders the workpiece surface smooth.
Chemical etching is the process of removing layers of silicon in the atomic dimensional level
through chemical reaction between a chemical etchant solution and the exposed silicon surfaces.
The bonds between the atoms on the surface and the ones immediately underneath are broken in
the process and the surface atoms come out loose. If the etching proceeds predominantly in one
direction while the etching does not proceed in the perpendicular direction, then it is called as
anisotropic etching. In contrast, if is called isotropic etching. The following are the two types of
etching predominantly used.

3. Electrochemical machining (ECM)

In ECM, a dc voltage (10-25 V) is applied across the gap between a pre-shaped cathode tool and
an anode workpiece. The workpiece is dissolved by an electrochemical reaction to the shape of the
tool. ECM is the reverse of the electroplating. This process works on the principle of Faraday‘s
laws of electrolysis.
Tool is made cathode and kept in close proximity to the work-piece (anode) and current is passed
through the circuit. The electrolyte is continuously flowing through a hole in the tool to the gap
between the work piece and the tool surfaces. Material of work piece is removed by anodic
dissolution. At the anodic workpiece surface, metal is dissolved into metallic ions by the depleting
reaction, and thus the tool shape is copied into the workpiece. In ECM, electrolyte is so chosen
that there is no deposition on tool and shape of tool remains unchanged. The machined surface
takes the replica of tool shape.

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The result of electrolytic dissociation
𝐻2 𝑂 → 𝐻 + + (𝑂𝐻)−
And 𝑁𝑎𝐶𝑙 → 𝑁𝑎𝐶𝑙 + + 𝐶𝑙 −

Negatively charged anions: (OH)- and (Cl)- towards to anode, Positively charged cations: H+ and
Na+ towards to cathode.
At the anode:
𝐹𝑒 → 𝐹𝑒 ++ + 2𝑒 −
𝐹𝑒 ++ + 2𝐶𝑙 − → 𝐹𝑒𝐶𝐿2
𝐹𝑒 ++ + 2(𝑂𝐻)− → 𝐹𝑒(𝑂𝐻)2
At the cathode the reaction generates hydrogen gas.
2𝐻 + + 2𝑒 − → 𝐻2
The outcome of these electrochemical reactions is that the iron ions combine with the other ions
to precipitate out as iron hydroxide Fe(OH)2 and FeCl2 as sludge.

Electrolyte
Water is used as base of electrolyte in ECM. Normally water soluble NaCl and NaNO3 are used
as electrolyte. Electrolyte facilitates are carrier of dissolved workpiece material. It is recycled by
a pump after filtration.

The main functions of the electrolytes in ECM are to

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 1. Create conditions for anodic dissolution of workpiece material
2. Remove the debris of the electrochemical reactions from the gap
3. Carry away the heat generated by the machining process

Properties of electrolyte
 Ensure a uniform and high-speed anodic dissolution
 Not deposit on the cathode surface, so that the cathode shape remains unchanged
 Have a high electrical conductivity and low viscosity to reduce heat generation and to
ensure good flow conditions in the extremely narrow inter-electrode gap
 Be safe, non-toxic, low cost and less erosive to the machine body
 Have small variation in its conductivity and viscosity due to temperature rise.
Tool Feed Mechanism
Servo motor is used to feed the tool to the machining zone. It is necessary to maintain a constant
gap between the workpiece and tool so tool feed rate is kept accordingly while machining.
Process parameters and performance factors
 Supply voltage = 8 to 20V,
 Current (I) = 50 to 5000 A.
 Electrode gap is typically 0.1 to 0.2 mm.
 Tool material - Cu, Brass, Steel
 Tool feed rate,
 Electrolyte composition and temperature etc
 MRR is about 1600mm3 /min per 1000 A
 Surface finishes 0.1 to 0.5 microns
 Specific power consumption 7W/mm3 /min

Accuracy and surface finish of ECM product is influenced on following input factors
 Machining voltage
 Feed rate of electrode
 Temperature and concentration of electrolyte

Advantages of ECM Process or process capabilities

 Machining of hard and brittle material is possible with good surface finish
 Good for complicated shapes.

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  There is almost negligible tool wear so cost of tool making is one time
 No direct contact between tool and work and absence of force or heat, so no scope of
mechanical and thermal residual stresses in the work-piece.
 Very good surface finish can be obtained.
 MRR is not dependent on material hardness.

Disadvantages and Limitations of ECM

1) Electricity non-conducting materials cannot be machined.
2) Tool and workpiece material should be chemically stable with the electrolyte
3) Accurate feed rate of tool is required to be maintained.
4) High cost and difficult in dimensional control
Applications of ECM Process
1) Used to machine dies, turbine and compressor blades
2) ECM is used for deburring of parts like gears.
3) ECM has been used in a wide variety of industrial applications ranging from cavity sinking
to deburring.
Heat affected zone (HAZ)
Since it is a chemical process where generation of heat is very less, there is no heat affected
zone comparing with other non-traditional machining process.
Material removal mechanism-
Material is removed on the basis of anodic dissolution in an electrolytic cell. Material
removal rate (MRR) calculation in ECM process Electrochemical dissolution is governed by
Faraday‘s laws The first law states that the amount of electrochemical dissolution or deposition is
proportional to amount of charge passed through the electrochemical cell.
𝑚 𝛼 𝐼∗𝑡
where
m = mass of material dissolved or deposited
I = current intensity
t=time
The second law states that the amount of material deposited or dissolved further depends directly
on atomic weight and inverse of valency of material.

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Combining both laws, we get
𝑁
𝑚 𝛼 𝐼∗𝑡 ∗
𝑛
1 𝑁
𝑀𝑅𝑅 = ∗ 𝐼∗𝑡 ∗ ∗
96500 𝑛 𝑑
1
Where, 96500 =electrochemical constant

N=atomic weight
n=valency
t=time
d=density of material
MRR=volume of material removed

4.Electric discharge machining (EDM)

It is also known as spark erosion machining or spark machining. Material of workpiece
removed due to erosion caused by electric spark. The metal electrode (tool) and the part (work)
are placed very close to each other, separated by a non-conducting liquid (called a dielectric) – a
commonly used dielectric is kerosene. A voltage difference is then applied to the part and tool,
generating a spark; the heat from the spark melts a tiny bit of metal from the part. The melted metal
cools and solidifies as tiny particles in the dielectric. By pumping the dielectric to flow, the metal
is carried away, and the process continues. (When potential difference is created across the two
surfaces of dielectric fluid, it gets ionized). Servo mechanism is provided to make the tool feed as
the machining is taking place to keep the gap constant.

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Tool/ electrodes in EDM
The geometry which is to be machined into the workpiece decides the shape and size of
the tool. The electrode is conductor, usually copper, graphite, tungsten and brass etc. Tool is given
negative polarity. The tool material selected should be easy to machine, high wear resistant. Tool
is made slightly under size for inside machining and over sized for cut side machining.
1) High electrical conductivity
2) High thermal conductivity –the local temperature rise would be less
3) High melting point – high melting point leads to less tool wear
4) Easy manufacturability
5) Cost – cheap
6) Less wear rate

Dielectric Solution
Important properties of dielectric are its dielectric strength, viscosity, thermal conductivity
and thermal capacity. Dielectric strength characterizes the fluid‘s ability to maintain high
resistivity before spark discharge and the ability to recover rapidly after the discharge.

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The functions of a dielectric fluid in EDM process
 It acts as an insulating medium
 To act as a coolant to quench the spark and to cool the tool and work piece.
 To carry away the metal particles and to maintain the gap for smooth operation.

Mineral oils (kerosene) are commonly used as the oils exhibiting high dielectric strength and
a low viscosity. Water based dielectrics are used almost extensively for wire EDM operations.
Properties of dielectric fluid
1) Low viscosity to ensure efficient flushing
2) High flash point
3) Non-toxic
4) Non-corrosive
5) High latent heat
6) Suitable dielectric strength
Tool Feed Mechanism
In case of EDM, feeding the tool means controlling gap between workpiece and the tool. This gap
is maintained and controlled with the help of servo mechanism. The electrode gap normally varies
from 0.005 mm to 0.50 mm. Since tool wear is expected, tool wear rate is a performance parameter.
Advantages or process capability of EDM
1) Can machine hard material economically with close tolerance.
2) High degree of dimensional accuracy, so recommended for tool and die making.
3) Complicated geometries can be produced which are very difficult otherwise.
4) Highly delicate sections and weak materials can be processed without any risk of their
distortion, because tool never applies direct contact on the workpiece
5) Fine holes can be drilled easily and accurately.
6) A good surface finish can be obtained.
Disadvantages and Limitations of EDM Process
1) Electrically non-conducting materials cannot be processed by EDM.
2) EDM process is not capable to produce sharp corners.
3) The slow rate of material removal.

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 4) Specific power consumption is very high.
5) Excessive Tool wear affects dimensional accuracy
6) Cannot be used on large sized workpieces, size is constrained by the size of set up.

Application of Electric Discharge Machining

EDM is widely used for die making as complex cavities are to be made, cutting very small
and accurate dimension holes, e.g. in injection nozzles for motor engines etc. This process is highly
economical for machining of very hard material as tool wear is independent of hardness of
workpiece material. It is very useful in tool manufacturing. It is also used for making holes with
straight and curved axes which cannot be produced by conventional machining operations.

Process parameters of EDM

1) Many processes variables influence the performance like material removal rate, surface
finish and tool wear etc. Few controllable main input variables are the following:
2) Current - I (current passing in the circuit)
3) Pulse on time - 𝑡𝑜𝑛 (duration of spark during a cycle)
4) Pulse off time - 𝑡𝑜𝑓𝑓 (duration of absence of spark during a cycle)
5) Open circuit voltage - V
6) The gap between the workpiece and the tool – spark gap

Similarities between EDM and ECM

 The tool and workpiece are separated by a very small gap, i.e. no contact in between
 The tool and material must be conductors of electricity.
 A fluid is used as a medium between the tool and the work
 The tool is fed continuously towards the workpiece to maintain a constant gap
 Needs high capital investment and power
Material removal mechanism
In electro-discharge machining, the occurrence of sparks causes material removal in the
form of craters. These craters are due to melting and vaporization of workpiece over a localized
area under the spark, which acts as the heat source. MRR is basically a function of the current and
the melting point of the work-piece material. But experimentally we consider metal removal is
function of pulse energy and frequency. Nature of variation of crater diameter, crater depth and

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volume of material removed with respect to different machining parameters such as ‘ON‘ time,
‘OFF‘ time and current have been noticed.

Material removal rate calculation

A number of sparks are produced between the electrodes and every spark removes material
and a crater is formed. The crater under a single spark has been shown below. It assumes a
hemispherical shape of radius “r”. The molten crater can be assumed to be hemispherical in nature
with a radius “r” which forms due to a single pulse or spark.
Hence material removal in a single spark can be expressed as
2
𝑉𝑐 = 𝜋𝑟 3
3
Now material removal rate is the ratio of material removed in a single spark to cycle time.
𝑉𝑐 𝑉𝑐
𝑀𝑅𝑅 = =
𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑛 + 𝑡𝑜𝑓𝑓

The energy content of a single spark is given as

𝐸 = 𝑉I𝑡𝑜𝑛

Where,
𝑉𝑐 =volume of material removed
r= radius of crater
𝑡𝑜𝑛 = 𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑘
t= time of spark
Now it can be assumed that material removal in a single spark would be proportional to the spark
energy. 𝑉𝑐 𝛼 𝐸

Heat Affected Zone

In EDM, with the temperature of the discharges reaching 8000 to 12,000°C, metallurgical
changes occur in the surface layer of the work piece. Due to the extremely-high temperature of the
spark in the EDM process, a heat-affected zone, or HAZ is produced. The work piece material
melted by the discharge is not fully expelled into the dielectric.

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There are two thermally affected sub-layers of material: the recast layer or white layer and the heat
affected zone.
1) Re-cast or “white layer” - A white recast layer: This is the material that has melted and
rapidly solidified (rapidly quenched by the dielectric fluid) and is not flushed away by the
electric fluid, subsequently producing an extremely brittle surface.
2) Heat-affected zone (HAZ), or annealed layer, which has only been heated, not melted. The
heat affected zone retains the metallurgical structure of the parent material as the
temperature absorbed is not to the level to change the structure.
3) Below the heat affected zone is the parent material and this area is unaffected by the EDM
process.

5. Electron Beam Machining (EBM)

EBM is a metal removal process by a high velocity focused stream of electrons. As the
electrons strike the workpiece with high velocity, their kinetic energy is transformed into thermal
energy which melts and vaporizes the material. The production of free electrons (negatively
charged particles) are obtained by electron gun. Due to pattern of electrostatic field produced by
grid cup, electrons are focused and made to flow in the form of a converging beam through anode.
The electrons are accelerated while passing through the anode by applying high voltage at anode.
A magnetic deflection coil is used to make electron beam circular and to focus electron
beam at a point (localized heating). The process is carried out in a vacuum chamber to prevent
electrons from colliding with molecules of the atmospheric air and to prevent tungsten filament
from getting oxidizing with air.

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Advantages of EBM
1) There is no mechanical contact between too land workpiece, hence no tool wear.
2) Very small holes can be machined in every type of material with high accuracy
3) Drilling holes with high depth/diameter ratios, greater than 100:1
4) A wide range of materials like steel, stainless steel, Ti and Ni super-alloys, aluminium as
well as plastics, ceramics can be machined successfully using electron beam.
5) EBM does not apply any cutting force on the workpieces. Thus very simple work holding
is required. This enables machining of fragile and brittle materials by EBM.

Disadvantages of EBM
1) Cost of equipment is high.
2) Rate of material removal is low.
3) It can be used for small cuts only.
4) Vacuum requirements limits the size of work piece.

Application of EBM
1) Drilling of holes in pressure differential devices used in nuclear reactors, aircraft engine
2) Machining of wiredrawing dies having small cross sectional area.

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6. Laser Beam Machining (LBM)
Laser beam machining (LBM) uses the light energy from a laser to remove material by
vaporization and ablation. Laser beam melts the material by focusing a coherent beam of
monochromatic light on the work-piece. The light produced by the laser has significantly less
power than a normal white light, but it can be highly focused, thus delivering a significantly higher
light intensity and respectively temperature in a very localized area. The LBM process does not
involve mass material removal, but does provide rapid material removal with an easily controlled,
non-contact, non-wearing tool.

Cooling Mechanism- to avoid its overheating in long continuous operation.

Tool Feed Mechanism

Focusing laser beam (cutting tool) at a pre-decided point in the workpiece serves as the
tool. The movement of the converging lens to shift the focusing is the tool feed mechanism in
LBM process.
 Mirrors direct the beam from the source down to the lens
 The lens then focuses the beam into the desired geometry

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Advantages of LBM
1) Materials which cannot be machined by conventional methods are machined by LBM
(ceramics, glass to softer materials like plastics, rubber wood).
2) There is no tool so no tool wear.
3) Non-contact machining
4) Very high resolution, repeatability and aspect ratios
5) No pre/post processing of material
6) Wide range of materials: fragile, ultra-thin and highly reflective surfaces
7) Process can be fully automated
8) Application of heat is very much focused so rest of the workpiece is least affected by the
heat.
9) Drills very fine and precise holes and cavities.

CHARECTERISTICS OF LASER MICROMACHINING

1) Very high peak powers in the range 1013W/cm2 provide for minimal thermal damage to
surroundings

2) Very clean cuts with high aspect ratios

3) Sub-micron feature resolution

4) Minimal redisposition

5) Possible to machine transparent materials like glass, sapphire etc

Disadvantages of LBM
1) High capital investment is involved. Operating cost is also high.
2) Recommended for some specific operations only as production rate is very slow.
3) Cannot be used comfortably for high heat conductivity materials light reflecting materials.
4) Skilled operators are required.

Applications of LBM

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  LBM is used to perform different machining operations like drilling, slitting, slotting,
scribing operations. It is used for drilling holes of small diameter of the order of 0.025 mm.
It is used for very thin stocks.
Other applications are listed below-
 Making complex profiles in thin and hard materials like integrated circuits and printed
circuit boards (PCBS).
 Machining of mechanical components of watches.
 Smaller machining of very hard material parts.

Ultra short Pulses vs. Long Pulse Micromachining

Femtosecond Laser Micromachining

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 Micromachining in 18μm Thick Aluminum Foil

drilled in 25μm thick brass foil Holes

18
7. Ion Beam Machining
In IBM, a stream of charged atoms (ions) of an inert gas, such as argon, is accelerated in a
vacuum by high energies and directed toward a solid workpiece. The beam removes atoms from
the workpiece by transferring energy and momentum to atoms on the surface of the object. When
an atom strikes a cluster of atoms on the workpiece, it dislodges between 0.1 and 10 atoms from
the workpiece material.
 superheated stream of electrically ionized gas to melt and remove material.
 The process can be used on almost any conductive material

Ion beam machining (IBM) takes place in a vacuum chamber using charged ions fired from an
ion source toward the workpiece by means of an accelerating voltage. The mechanism of material
removal in IBM differs from that of EBM. It is closely related to the ejection of atoms, from the
surface, by other ionized atoms (ions) that bombard the work material. The process is, therefore,
called ion etching, ion milling, or ion polishing.
A heated tungsten filament acts as the cathode, from which electrons are accelerated by means
of high voltage (1 kV) toward the anode. During the passage of these electrons from the cathode
toward the anode, they interact with argon atoms in the plasma source, to produce argon ions.
𝐴𝑟 + 𝑒 − → 𝐴𝑟 + + 2𝑒
Advantages of IBM
1) Low temperature processing reduces handling stress problems.
2) No dimensional changes
3) Good adhesion of treated surface
4) Can improve corrosion, oxidation, wear, hardness, friction, fatigue

Disadvantages of IBM
1) Very shallow treatment (< 1 μm)
2) High cost
3) The surface can be weakened by radiation effects
Ion beam machine consists of
 A plasma source generates ions

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  Extraction grid for removing the ions from the plasma
 Specimen holding table

8. Ultrasonic machining (USM)

In Ultrasonic Machining, the tip of the tool vibrates at low amplitude and at high frequency
in an abrasive slurry. This vibration transmits a high velocity to fine abrasive grains between tool
and the surface of the work piece. Material removed by erosion with these abrasive particles.
In ultrasonic machining, a tool of desired shape vibrates at an ultrasonic frequency (19 ~
25 kHz) with an amplitude of around 15 – 50 μm over the workpiece. Generally, the tool is pressed
downward with a feed force, F. Between the tool and workpiece, the machining zone is flooded
with hard abrasive particles generally in the form of water based slurry. As the tool vibrates over
the workpiece, the abrasive particles act as the indenters and indent both the work material and the
tool. The abrasive particles as they indent the work piece, material get removed. USM is mainly
used for machining brittle materials {which are poor conductors of electricity and thus cannot be
processed by Electrochemical and Electro-discharge machining.

The typical elements of an USM are

 Slurry delivery and return system

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  Feed mechanism to provide a downward feed force on the tool during machining
 The transducer, which generates the ultrasonic vibration
 The horn or concentrator, which mechanically amplifies the vibration to the required
amplitude of 15 – 50 μm and accommodates the tool at its tip.

Advantages of USM
1) Its main advantage is the workpiece after machining is free from any residual stress
as to concentrated force or heat is subject to it during the machining process.
2) Extremely hard and brittle materials can be machined, their machining is very
difficult by conventional methods.
3) Very good dimensional accuracy and surface finish can be obtained.
4) Operational cost is low.
5) The process is environmental friendly as it is noiseless and no chemical and heating
is used.

Disadvantages of USM
1) Its metal removal rate (MRR) is very low and it can not be used for large machining
cavities.
2) Its initial setup cost and cost of tool is very high, frequency tool replacement is required
as tool wear takes place in this operation.
3) Not recommended for soft and ductile material due to their ductility.
4) Power consumption is quite high.
5) Slurry may have to be replaced frequently.

Applications
 Used for machining hard and brittle metallic alloys, semiconductors, glass, ceramics,
carbides etc.
 Used for machining round, square, irregular shaped holes and surface impressions.
 Machining, wire drawing, punching or small blanking dies.

Process Parameters and their Effects

The main process parameters which govern the ultrasonic machining process is as follows

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  Amplitude of vibration (Ao ) – 15 – 50 μm
 Frequency of vibration (f) – 19 – 25 kHz
 Feed pressure (p)
 Abrasive size – 15 μm – 150 μm
 Abrasive material – Al2O3-SiC -B4C -Boronsilicarbide -Diamond
 Volume concentration of abrasive in water slurry – C

Process Parameters and their Effects

9. Plasma arc machining (PAM)

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 It is also one of the thermal machining processes. Here the method of heat generation is
different than EDM. In this process gases are heated and charged to plasma state. Plasma state is
the superheated and electrically ionized gases at approximately 5000℃ A high velocity jet flow
of hot ionized gas melts the metal and then removes the molten material to form a kerf.

Plasma Gun
The plasma gun consists of a tungsten electrode fitted in the chamber. The electrode is
given negative polarity and nozzle of the gun is given positive polarity. Supply of gases is
maintained into the gun. A strong arc is established between the two terminals anode and
cathode. Gases are used to create plasma like, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen or mixture of these
gases. There is a collision between molecules of gas and electrons of the established arc. As a
result of this collision gas molecules get ionized and heat is evolved. This hot and ionized gas
called plasma is directed to the workpiece with high velocity. The established arc is controlled by
the supply rate of gases.
Power Supply and Terminals

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 Power supply (DC) is used to develop two terminals in the plasma gun. A tungsten electrode
is inserted to the gun and made cathode and nozzle of the gun is made anode. Heavy potential
difference is applied across the electrodes to develop plasma state of gases.

Cooling Mechanism
As we know that hot gases continuously come out of nozzle so there are chances of its
overheating. A water jacket is used to surround the nozzle to avoid its overheating. The metals
usually cut with this process are the aluminium and stainless steels. The process can also be used
for cutting carbon steels, copper alloys, and nickel alloys

Advantages of PAM Process

1) It gives faster production rate.
2) Very hard and brittle metals can be machined.
3) Small cavities can be machined with good dimensional accuracy. Disadvantages of PAM
Process
4) Its initial cost is very high.
5) The process requires over safety precautions which further enhance the initial cost
6) Some of the workpiece materials are very much prone to metallurgical changes on
excessive heating so this fact imposes limitations to this process.
7) It is uneconomical for bigger cavities to be machined.

Applications of PAM
The chief application of this process is profile cutting as controlling movement of spray
focus point is easy in case of PAM process. This is also recommended for smaller machining of
difficult to machining materials.

CONCLUSION
Micro engineering not only provides a new manufacturing route for existing products, but
also, importantly, allows the creation of completely new products and new markets providing large

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volumes of low cost sensors to the automotive industry, and low volume high performance, small
and light weight sensors to aerospace and defense. The predominant technology at present state is
surface micromachining, and current developments show that this trend will continue in the future.

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Reference:
[1] A. Ghosh And A. K. Malik- Manufacturing Science, published in 2010 by
East-West Press Pvt Ltd
[2] T Masuzawa, “state of the Art of Micromachining –“Key note paper CIRP
Annals, vol.49/2/2003, P.473-488
[3] R. Subramaniam, SMK lyer, “Micro/ Meso –Mechanical Manufacturing “,
National Conference on Advances in Aerospace Manufacturing, Feb. 2002,
pp.103-6
[4] Dr. K Narayanaswamy – “Microfabrication Technology”-Proceedings of
IPROM 1994 – Bangalore

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