Investigation of process forces of ultrasonically assisted scratch tests

Abstract

Due to their abrasive qualities, machining of hard and brittle materials is predominantly performed
using tools with geometrically indefinite cutting edge. However, these processing
methods offer only low productivity, which often can be increased by superimposing ultrasonic
vibrations to the process. At the same time this hybrid process design involves great uncertainties,
as influencing factors and the mechanism of action are not sufficiently described
yet. In order to close this knowledge gap, firstly the occurrences on the scale of single abrasive
grains shall be observed. This should increase the overall process understanding and
reveal fundamental interrelations of machining with geometrically indefinite cutting edge. To
achieve this, scratch tests with well-defined boundary conditions will be performed, analyzed
and compared. As a result of the experiments the interdependencies of process forces, cutting
speed, ultrasonic amplitude and depth of cut will be presented.