Advanced Manufacturing Technology - Special Manufacturing Processes
Advanced Manufacturing Technology - Special Manufacturing Processes
Advanced Manufacturing Technology - Special Manufacturing Processes
Assignment 2
Contents
Chemical Machining 2
Ultrasonic Machining 9
Rapid Prototyping 10
Plasma Cutting 11
Emerging Technologies 12
Conclusion
Introduction
In this report I am going to begin with looking into the special and non-conventional manufacturing processes
and explain how these work and some relevant examples of where they might be used. I will then go on to
discuss the emerging and future technologies that are soon to be getting used within industry.
I will describe the economics of non-traditional manufacturing, making reference to traditional methods if
possible and deciding on the correct reasons to invest in using these processes.
Finally I will select a number of products which require a mixture of these processes to be made and talk about
their manufacturing process.
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Processes
Chemical Machining
Principle of Operation
Various industrial techniques have been developed on the basis of this ECM principle such as:
• Electrochemical cutting
• Electrochemical ECM
• Electrochemical broaching
• Electrochemical drilling
• Electrochemical deburring
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• Non-rigid and open work pieces can be machined easily as there is no contact between the tool and
work piece
• Electrochemical machining is a time saving process when compared with conventional machining
• Fragile parts which cannot take more loads and also brittle material which tend to develop
cracks during machining can be machined easily through Electrochemical machining
• All types of conducting materials and alloys can be machined using electrochemical machining.
Turbine Nozzles
Turbine Blading
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superior control and repeatability. Additionally, Electrochemically Machined turbine blades can be placed closer
together and as a result the turbine is more efficient.
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EDM is a machining method primarily used for hard metals or those that would be impossible to machine with
traditional techniques. One critical limitation, however, is that EDM only works with materials that are
electrically conductive. EDM or Electrical Discharge Machining is especially well-suited for cutting intricate
contours or delicate cavities that would be difficult to produce with a grinder, an end mill or other cutting tools.
Metals that can be machined with EDM include hastalloy, hardened tool-steel, titanium, carbide, Inconel and
Kovar.
EDM is sometimes called "spark machining" because it removes metal by producing a rapid series of repetitive
electrical discharges. These electrical discharges are passed between an electrode and the piece of metal being
machined. The small amount of material that is removed from the work piece is flushed away with a
continuously flowing fluid. The repetitive discharges create a set of successively deeper craters in the work
piece until the final shape is produced.
There are two primary EDM methods: ram EDM and wire EDM. The primary difference between the two
involves the electrode that is used to perform the machining. In a typical ram EDM application, a graphite
electrode is machined with traditional tools. The now specially-shaped electrode is connected to the power
source, attached to a ram, and slowly fed into the work piece. The entire machining operation is usually
performed while submerged in a fluid bath. The fluid serves the following three purposes:
In wire EDM a very thin wire serves as the electrode. Special brass wires are typically used; the wire is slowly
fed through the material and the electrical discharges actually cut the work piece. Wire EDM is usually
performed in a bath of water.
If you were to observe the wire EDM process under a microscope, you would discover that the wire itself does
not actually touch the metal to be cut; the electrical discharges actually remove small amounts of material and
allow the wire to be moved through the work piece. The path of the wire is typically controlled by a computer,
which allows extremely complex shapes to be produced.
Imagine stretching a thin metal wire between your hands and sliding it though a block of cheese cutting any
shapes you want. You can alter the positions of your hands on either side of the cheese to define complex and
curved shapes. Wire EDM works in a similar fashion, except electrical discharge machining can handle some of
the hardest materials used in industry. Also note
that in dragging a wire through cheese, the wire is
actually displacing the cheese as it cuts, but in
EDM a thin kerf is created by removing tiny
particles of metal.
Electrical discharge machining is frequently used to
make dies and molds. It has recently become a
standard method of producing prototypes and
some production parts, particularly in low volume
applications.
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Laser Machining
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Water jet is considered a "green" technology. Water jets produce no hazardous waste, reducing waste disposal
costs. They can cut off large pieces of reusable scrap material that might have been lost using traditional
cutting methods. Parts can be closely nested to maximize material use, and the water jet saves material by
creating very little kerf. Water jets use very little water (a half gallon to approximately one gallon per minute
depending on cutting head orifice size), and the water that is used can be recycled using a closed-looped
system. Waste water usually is clean enough to filter and dispose of down a drain. The garnet abrasive is a
non-toxic natural substance that can be recycled for repeated use. Garnet usually can be disposed of in a
landfill. Water jets also eliminate airborne dust particles, smoke, fumes, and contaminates from cutting
materials such as asbestos and fiberglass. This greatly improves the work environment and reduces problems
arising from operator exposure
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A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components
using conductive pathways, tracks, or traces, etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive
substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board (PWB) or etched wiring board. A PCB populated with
electronic components is a printed circuit assembly (PCA), also known as a printed circuit board assembly
(PCBA).
PCBs are inexpensive, and can be highly reliable. They require much more layout effort and higher initial cost
than either wire-wrapped or point-to-point constructed circuits, but are much cheaper and faster for high-
volume production
Conducting layers are typically made of thin copper foil. Insulating layers dielectric are typically laminated
together with epoxy resin prepreg. The board is typically coated with a solder mask that is green in color. Other
colors that are normally available are blue and red.
Manufacture
The vast majority of printed circuit boards are made by bonding a layer of copper over the entire substrate,
sometimes on both sides, (creating a "blank PCB") then removing unwanted copper after applying a temporary
mask (eg. by etching), leaving only the desired copper traces. A few PCBs are made by adding traces to the
bare substrate (or a substrate with a very thin layer of copper) usually by a complex process of multiple
electroplating steps.
There are three common "subtractive" methods (methods that remove copper) used for the production of
printed circuit boards:
1. Silk screen printing uses etch-resistant inks to protect the copper foil. Subsequent etching removes
the unwanted copper. Alternatively, the ink may be conductive, printed on a blank (non-conductive)
board. The latter technique is also used in the manufacture of hybrid circuits.
2. Photoeng rraving uses a photomask and chemical etching to remove the copper foil from the
substrate. The photomask is usually prepared with a photoplotter from data produced by a technician
using CAM, or computer-aided manufacturing software. Laser-printed transparencies are typically
employed for phototools; however, direct laser imaging techniques are being employed to replace
phototools for high-resolution requirements.
3. PCB milling uses a two or three-axis mechanical milling system to mill away the copper foil from the
substrate. A PCB milling machine (referred to as a 'PCB Prototyper') operates in a similar way to a
plotter, receiving commands from the host software that control the position of the milling head in the
x, y, and (if relevant) z axis. Data to drive the Prototyper is extracted from files generated in PCB
design software and stored in HPGL or Gerber file format.
"Additive" processes also exist. The most common is the "semi-additive" process. In this version, the
unpatterned board has a thin layer of copper already on it. A reverse mask is then applied. (Unlike a subtractive
process mask, this mask exposes those parts of the substrate that will eventually become the traces.)
Additional copper is then plated onto the board in the unmasked areas; copper may be plated to any desired
weight. Tin-lead or other surface platings are then applied. The mask is stripped away and a brief etching step
removes the now-exposed original copper laminate from the board, isolating the individual traces. Some boards
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with plated thru holes but still single sided were made with a process like this. General Electric made consumer
radio sets in the late 1960s using boards like these.
Drilling
Holes through a PCB are typically drilled with tiny drill bits made of solid tungsten carbide. The drilling is
performed by automated drilling machines with placement controlled by a drill tape or drill file. These
computer-generated files are also called numerically controlled drill (NCD) files or "Excellon files". The drill file
describes the location and size of each drilled hole. These holes are often filled with annular rings (hollow
rivets) to create vias. Vias allow the electrical and thermal connection of conductors on opposite sides of the
PCB.
Most common laminate is epoxy filled fiberglass. Drill bit wear is in part due to the fact that glass, being harder
than steel on the Mohs scale, can scratch steel. High drill speed necessary for cost effective drilling of hundreds
of holes per board causes very high temperatures at the drill bit tip, and high temperatures (400-700 degrees)
soften steel and decompose (oxidize) laminate filler. Copper is softer than epoxy and interior conductors may
suffer damage during drilling.
When very small vias are required, drilling with mechanical bits is costly because of high rates of wear and
breakage. In this case, the vias may be evaporated by lasers. Laser-drilled vias typically have an inferior
surface finish inside the hole. These holes are called micro vias.
It is also possible with controlled-depth drilling, laser drilling, or by pre-drilling the individual sheets of the PCB
before lamination, to produce holes that connect only some of the copper layers, rather than passing through
the entire board. These holes are called blind vias when they connect an internal copper layer to an outer layer,
or buried vias when they connect two or more internal copper layers and no outer layers.
The walls of the holes, for boards with 2 or more layers, are made conductive then plated with copper to form
plated-through holes that electrically connect the conducting layers of the PCB. For multilayer boards, those
with 4 layers or more, drilling typically produces a smear comprised of the high temperature decomposition
products of bonding agent in the laminate system. Before the holes can be plated through, this smear must be
removed by a chemical de-smear process, or by plasma-etch. Removing (etching back) the smear also reveals
the interior conductors as well.
Application of Photoresist
Etching
CNC Drilling
Test Board
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To Assembly
Ultrasonic Machining
Ultrasonic machining (USM) is a process in which abrasives contained in a slurry are driven at high velocity
against the work by a tool vibrating at low amplitude-around 0.075 mm (0.003 in) and high frequency-
approximately 20,000 Hz. The tool oscillates in a direction perpendicular to the work surface, and is fed slowly
into the work, so that the shape of the tool is formed in the part. However, it is the action of the abrasives,
impinging against the work surface that performs the cutting.
This machining process is non-thermal, non-chemical, and non-electrical. It does not change the metallurgical,
chemical or physical properties of the work piece.
The machined area becomes counterpart of the cutting tool used. Therefore ultrasonic machining can offer an
almost limitless assortment of types and shapes of cuts to meet any design requirements.
The tool never contacts the work piece and as a result the grinding pressure is rarely more than 2 pounds this
makes ultrasonic machining is suitable for machining of hard, brittle materials including:
• Glass
• Sapphire
• Alumina
• Ferrite
• PCD
• Piezoceramics
• Quartz
• CVD Silicon Carbide
• Technical Ceramics
• Ruby
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Rapid Prototyping
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The above pie chart describes the use of rapid prototyping across various industries. Aerospace represent an
8.2% share according to this.
Plasma Cutting
Plasma is defined as a superheated, electrically ionized gas. Plasma arc cutting (PAC) uses a plasma stream
operating at temperatures in the range 10,000ºC–14,000ºC (18,000ºF–25,000ºF) to cut metal by melting, as
shown below. The cutting action operates by directing the high-velocity plasma stream at the work therefore
melting it and blowing the molten metal through the kerf. The plasma arc is generated between an electrode
inside the torch and the anode work piece. The plasma flows through a water-cooled nozzle that constricts and
directs the stream to the desired location on the work. The resulting plasma jet is a high-velocity, well-
collimated stream with extremely high temperatures at its centre, hot enough to cut through metal in some
cases 150 mm (6 in) thick.
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Gases used to create the plasma in PAC include nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, or mixtures of these gases. These
are referred to as the primary gases in the process. Secondary gases or water are often directed to surround
the plasma jet to help confine the arc and clean the kerf of molten metal as it forms.
Most applications of PAC involve cutting of flat metal sheets and plates. Operations include hole piercing and
cutting along a defined path. The desired path can be cut either by use of a hand-held torch manipulated by a
human operator, or by directing the cutting path of the torch under numerical control (NC). For faster
production and higher accuracy, NC is preferred because of better control over the important process variables
such as standoff distance and feed rate. Plasma arc cutting can be used to cut nearly any electrically
conductive metal. Metals frequently cut by PAC include plain carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminium. The
advantage of NC PAC in these applications is high productivity. Feed rates along the cutting path can be as high
as 200 mm/s (450 in/min) for 6-mm (0.25-in) aluminium plate and 85 mm/s (200 in/min) for 6-mm (0.25-in)
steel plate. Feed rates must be reduced for thicker stock.
Plasma cutting is by far the simplest and most economical way to cut a variety of metal shapes accurately.
Because of their effectiveness, plasma cutters especially CNC Plasma Cutters threaten to obsolete a large
number of conventional metal working tools.
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Emerging Technologies
Nanotechnology
Overview
In 1965, Gordon Moore, one of the founders of Intel Corporation, made the prediction that the number of
transistors that could be fit in a given area would double every 18 months for the next ten years. This it did and
the phenomenon became known as Moore's Law. This trend has continued far past the predicted 10 years until
this day, going from just over 2000 transistors in the original 4004 processors of 1971 to over 700,000,000
transistors in the Core 2. There has, of course, been a corresponding decrease in the size of individual
electronic elements, going from millimeters in the 60's to hundreds of nanometers in modern circuitry.
Nanotechnology is the study of the controlling of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally
nanotechnology deals with structures of the size 100 nanometers or smaller in at least one dimension, and
involves developing materials or devices within that size. Nanotechnology is very diverse, ranging from
extensions of conventional device physics to completely new approaches based upon molecular self-assembly,
from developing new materials with dimensions on the nanoscale to investigating whether we can directly
control matter on the atomic scale.
There has been much debate on the future implications of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology has the potential
to create many new materials and devices with a vast range of applications, such as in medicine, electronics
and energy production. On the other hand, nanotechnology raises many of the same issues as with any
introduction of new technology, including concerns about the toxicity and environmental impact of
nanomaterials and their potential effects on global economics.
One nanometer (nm) is one billionth, or 10−9, of a meter. To put that scale in context, the comparative size of a
nanometer to a meter is the same as that of a marble to the size of the earth. Or another way of putting it: a
nanometer is the amount a man's beard grows in the time it takes him to raise the razor to his face.
Current Research
Nanomaterials - This includes subfields which develop or study materials having unique properties arising from
their nanoscale dimensions.
Bottoms Down Approach - These seek to arrange smaller components into more complex assemblies.
Top Down Approaches - These seek to create smaller devices by using larger ones to direct their assembly.
.
Application in Aerospace
Lighter and stronger materials will be of immense use to aircraft manufacturers, leading to increased
performance. Spacecraft will also benefit, where weight is a major factor. Nanotechnology would help to reduce
the size of equipment and thereby decrease fuel-consumption required to get it airborne.
Hang gliders may be able to halve their weight while increasing their strength and toughness through the use
of nanotech materials. Nanotech is lowering the mass of super capacitors that will increasingly be used to give
power to assistive electrical motors for launching hang gliders off flatland to thermal-chasing altitudes.
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Robotics
To describe the level of advancement of a robot, the term "Generation Robots" can be used. This term is
coined by Professor Hans Moravec, Principal Research Scientist at the Carnegie Mellon University Robotics
Institute in describing the near future evolution of robot technology. First generation robots, Moravec predicted
in 1997, should have an intellectual capacity comparable to perhaps a lizard and should become available by
2010. Because the first generation robot would be incapable of learning, however, Moravec predicts that the
second generation robot would be an improvement over the first and become available by 2020, with
intelligence maybe comparable to that of a mouse. The third generation robot should have intelligence
comparable to that of a monkey. Though fourth generation robots, robots with human intelligence, professor
Moravec predicts, would become possible, he does not predict this happening before around 2040 or 2050.
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Internet
www.flowcorp.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.mtu.de
http://www.bullentech.com/ultrasonic-machining
www.thelaseredge.co.uk
www.books24x7.com
www.sciencedirect.com
http://robotic.media.mit.edu/projects/robots/cyberflora/video/video.html
http://hughjack.com/index.html - Papers from Professor Jack Hugh
Books
Other
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