Tunable, ultrasonic, vibration assisted diamond turning

The development of a new vibration assisted machining device is discussed, as are the experimental and theoretical observations concerning this technique as compared to the conventional machining process. The new device allows for vibration variation in the cutting direction up to forty kilohertz and eight micrometers facilitating in the identification of the relationships describing the advantages for employing this material removal process. The experimental procedure is focused on diamond turning 12L14 steel. The experimental surface roughness comparisons between the various test cases found a link between surface roughness and vibration amplitude whereby tool marks from vibration assisted machining are superimposed on the tool marks from conventional machining. In regards to tool wear, the experimental observations show the addition of the vibration assisted technique appreciably attenuated the tool wear magnitude. Mass diffusion is proposed as the leading contributor to tool wear for this tool/work material pair and theoretical tool wear calculations and simulations are presented based on the diffusion equations. In summary, high vibration frequencies and large vibration amplitudes are preferred in reference to tool forces and tool wear based on the experimental observations and theoretical calculations. High vibration frequencies and small vibration amplitudes are preferred with regard to surface roughness based on experimental studies.