Tool wear studies in fabrication of microchannels in ultrasonic micromachining

Form accuracy of a machined component is one of the performance indicators of a machining process. Ultrasonic micromachining is one such process in which the form accuracy of the micromachined component significantly depends upon the form stability of tool. Unlike macromachining, a very small amount of tool wear in micromachining could lead to considerable changes in the form accuracy of the machined component. Appropriate selection of tool material is essential to overcome this problem. The present study discusses the effect of tool material, abrasive size and step feed in fabrication of microchannels by ultrasonic machining on borosilicate glass. Development of microchannels using ultrasonic micromachining were rarely reported. It was observed that tungsten carbide tool provided a better form accuracy in comparison to the microchannel machined by stainless steel tool. The tool wear mechanism in both materials is proposed by considering scanning electron micrographs of the tool as evidence. A one factor at a time approach was used to study the effect of various process parameters.