Ultrasonic machining: a case study

The ultrasonic machining process uses a nonabrasive form tool, called a sonotrode, attached to a transducer/booster combination which vibrates at a frequency of approximately 20,000 cycles per second. A machining action occurs as the sonotrode vibrates the free abrasive particles flowing throughout the machining gap and propels them against the workpieee material. The form tool itself does not abrade the workpieee; the vibrating tool excites the abrasive grains in the flushing fluid, causing them to gently and uniformly wear away the material, leaving a precise reverse form of the sonotrode shape (Figure 1).