CAMELLIA INSTITUTE OF

TECHNOLOGY

• DEPARTMET OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

• NAME-PRABHAKAR DALAI

• FOURTH YEAR SEVEN SEMESTER – CA-I

• ROLL NO-25700721040

• ABRASIVE JET MACHINING (PC-ME701)

Abrasive Jet Machining
 Synopsis
• Introduction
• Principle
• Equipment
• Material removal rate
• Process parameters
• Advantages
• Limitations
• Applications
 Introduction - 1
• Type of Energy: Mechanical
• Mechanism of material removal: Erosion
• Transfer media: High velocity particles
• Energy source: Pneumatic / Hydraulic pressure
• Abrasive jet machining (AJM) removes material
through the action of a focused stream of
abrasive-laden gas
• AJM can be used to cut hard, brittle materials
(germanium, silicon, mica, glass and ceramics)
in a large variety of cutting, deburring, etching,
polishing and cleaning operations
 Introduction - 2
• Not so effective on soft materials like aluminum,
rubber etc.,
• Process is inherently free from chatter and
vibration problems because the tool is not in
contact with the workpiece
• The large quantity and small mass of the
abrasives result in uniform loading of the part.
This enables AJM to produce fine, intricate detail
in extremely brittle objects – e.g of AJM
processed eggshell
• Cutting action is cool, because the carrier gas
also serves as a coolant and so workpiece
experience no thermal damage
AJM processed egg shell
 Working principle
• Material is removed from the workpiece by
the impingement of fine abrasive particles
entrained in a high-velocity gas stream
• A jet of inert gas consisting of very fine
abrasive particles strikes the workpiece at
high velocity (usually between 200-400
m/sec) resulting in material removal
through chipping / erosive action
 Equipment

• One of the least expensive nontraditional

processes to incorporate is AJM
• A typical AJM system can be purchased
for under $5000
• AJM system consists of four major
subsystems:
1. Gas propulsion system
2. Metering system
3. Delivery system
4. Abrasive collection system
Schematic of AJM setup
AJM equipment
 Equipment - Gas propulsion system
• Provides the steady supply of clean, dry gas
used to propel the abrasive particles
• Depending upon the demands of the
installation, either an air compressor or bottled
gas may be used
• If an air compressor is used, proper line filters
must be installed to avoid water or oil
contamination of the abrasive powders
• Bottled gas systems are advantages since they
guarantee clean and dry gas (consumption
rates are only 9.5 lit/hr)
• The least expensive and thus the most
common gas to use, are nitrogen and carbon
dioxide. Oxygen should never be used as it
presents a fire hazard
 Equipment - Metering system

• Metering system must inject a uniform,

adjustable flow of abrasive particles into
the gas stream
• Accomplished by a powder hopper that
feeds into a vibrating chamber, which in
turn causes the powder to be metered
uniformly into the jet stream
• The powder flow rate is directly adjustable
by varying the amplitude of the vibration
 Equipment – Delivery system (Nozzle)
• The stream of fine grained abrasive mixed with air or
some other carrier gas at high pressure is directed
by means of a suitably designed nozzle on to the
work surface
• Nozzles are typically made of either tungsten carbide
or sapphire (three to eight times more expensive than
carbide but last an average ten times more)
• Nozzles available with either round or rectangular holes
• Life of nozzle partly defined by application – cutting
requires that nozzles be changed more often than
when etching or cleaning
• As nozzles wear, the jet stream tends to diffuse faster
resulting in material damage outside the intended line
of cut – rectangular nozzles create less over spray
compared with round ones
 Equipment – Abrasive collection system
• A dust collection system is incorporated into AJM
systems, when found necessary, to maintain
operator’s exposure to dusts within permissible
limits
• A vacuum dust collector is some times used to
draw the dust particles from the exhaust
chamber to keep the operator’s viewing clear
• Special considerations must be given to the dust
collection system if toxic materials such as
beryllium are being abraded
 Process parameters
• Major parameters that influence the rate of
metal removal and accuracy of machining are:
1. Carrier gas
2. Type of abrasive
3. Size of abrasive grain
4. Velocity of the abrasive jet
5. Mean number of abrasive particles per unit
volume of the carrier gas
6. Work material
7. Stand off distance (SOD)
8. Nozzle design
9. Shape of cut
 Carrier gas
• Must not flare excessively when
discharged
• Should be nontoxic, cheap, easily available
and capable of being dried and cleaned
without difficulty
• E.g. Air, carbon-di-oxide or nitrogen. Air is
most widely used
 Type of abrasive
• Choice of abrasive depends on the type of
machining operation, for e.g roughing, finishing
etc., work material and cost
• Should have a sharp and irregular shape and be
fine enough to remain suspended in the carrier
gas
• Should have excellent flow characteristics
• E.g Al2O3 and SiC; Sodium bicarbonate,
dolomite, glass beads etc., are used for cleaning,
etching, deburring and polishing
• Re-use of abrasives is not recommended
because not only does its cutting ability
decrease, but contamination also clogs the
orifice of the nozzle
 Grain size
• Finer grains are less irregular in shape and
hence posses lesser cutting ability; they
also tend to stick together and choke the
nozzle
• Most favorable grain sizes range from 10
to 50
• Coarse grains are recommended for
cutting, whereas finer grains are useful in
polishing, deburring, etc.
 Jet Velocity
• K.E of the abrasive jet is utilized for metal
removal by erosion
• Function of the nozzle pressure, nozzle
design, abrasive grain size and the mean
number of abrasives per unit volume of
the carrier gas
 Mean number of abrasive grains per
unit volume of the carrier gas
• An idea about the mean number of abrasive
grains per unit volume of the carrier gas can be
obtained from the mixing ratio, M
• Mixing ratio: defined as the ratio of the volume
flow rate of the abrasive per unit time to the
volume flow rate of the carrier gas per unit time
• Large value of M should result in higher rates of
MRR but a large abrasive flow rate has been
found to adversely influence jet velocity and may
sometimes clog the nozzle
 Work material

• Recommended for processing of brittle

materials, such as glass, ceramics,
refractories etc.,
• Practically ductile materials are
unmachinable by AJM
• Rate of material removal has been found
to depend upon the Mohr’s hardness of
the material to be machined
 Stand off Distance (SOD) or Nozzle tip
distance (NTD)
• Distance between the face of the nozzle and the
working surface of the work
• Considerably affects the MRR and accuracy (shape and
size of the cavity produced)
• When NTD increases, the velocity of the abrasive
particles impinging on the work surface increases due
to their acceleration after they leave the nozzle. This in
turn, increases the MRR
• Large SOD results in the flaring up of the jet (velocity
reduces due to the drag of the atmosphere) which
leads to decrease in MRR and poor accuracy
 Nozzle design
• Has to withstand the erosive action of abrasive
particles and hence, must be made of materials
that can provide high resistance to wear
• Common materials for the nozzle are sapphire
and tungsten carbide
• Should be designed so that the pressure loss
due to bends, friction etc., is as little as possible
• Depending upon the requirements, the nozzles
may be either of circular or rectangular cross
sections
 Shape of cut
• Accuracy of machining is also dependant
upon the shape of the cut
• It may not be possible to machine
components with sharp corners because
of stray cutting
 Masks
• Masks are used to control overspray or to
produce large holes and intricate detail without
having to move the nozzle and trace the shape
• First the mask is produced with open areas
where material removal is desired, and then it is
placed on the part
• When the AJM stream is passed over the
exposed areas, cutting or etching takes place on
a selective basis
• Masks can be fabricated from rubber or metal,
each having its advantage and disadvantage.
While the rubber masks are easy to fabricate,
they give poor edge definition. The metal masks
give much better definition but erode faster
 Abrasives - 1
• Selected by application
Abrasives Applications
Aluminum oxide Cleaning, cutting,
deburring
Silicon carbide As above but for harder
materials
Glass beads Matt polishing, cleaning
Crushed glass Peening, cleaning
Sodium bicarbonate Cleaning, cutting for soft
materials
 Abrasives - 2
• Because abrasive particle size is important,
abrasives are available in many sizes ranging
from 10 to 50 
• Smaller sizes are most useful for polishing and
cleaning, while the larger sizes are best for
cutting and peening
• Abrasives are not reused because chips from the
workpiece material clog the nozzle and also
because the cutting action of used particles is
degraded
• Very little savings would result from reusing
powders because prices range from $3-20/kg
and the consumption rate is typically only
300g/hr
 Advantages
• Machining of very hard materials
• Heat sensitive materials can be machined – the
gas stream dissipates generated heat when
cutting heat-sensitive materials
• Fragile materials can be machined – the small
loads transmitted to the workpiece allow the
cutting of fragile pieces
• Very low capital cost and low power
consumption
• No part shatter or vibration
• The nozzle can be directed towards small,
difficult-to-reach areas
 Limitations
• Low material removal rate
• Stray cutting can occur and hence accuracy is
not good
• Excessive taper on deep cuts may also be a
disadvantage, although the amount of taper can
be reduced by tilting the nozzle
• Short nozzle standoff when used for cutting
• Possibility of abrasive particles becoming
embedded in the workpiece
• Nozzle wear rate is high
• Process tends to pollute the
environment
 Applications - 1
• Removing flash and parting lines from injection
moulded parts
• Deburring and polishing plastic, nylon and teflon
components
• Cleaning metallic mould cavities which otherwise
may be inaccessible
• Cleaning oxides from metal surfaces
• Cleaning metallic smears from ceramics
• Removing smudges and films from documents
and museum artifacts
• Trimming, bevelling and cleaning electronic
components
 Applications - 2
• Drilling, cutting thin sectioned fragile
components made of glass, refractories,
ceramics, mica etc.,
• Producing high quality surface
• Frosting interior surfaces of glass tubes
• Etching part numbers onto metal and plastic
components
• In research laboratories for testing abrasion
resistance of different materials, prepare
surfaces for strain gauge applications and to
create artificial flaws in materials for calibration
of testing equipments
Parts identification using AJM and rubber
mask
Plastic connector body showing condition
before and after finish removal by AJM
Technique used for AJM trimming of
silicon/tungsten disks