Abrasive Jet machining

ABRASIVE JET MACHINING (AJM)

Introduction

The fundamental principle of AJM involves the use of a high-speed stream of abrasive particles carried by a high
pressure gas or air on the work surface through a nozzle. The metal removal occurs due to erosion caused by the abrasive
particles impacting the work surface at high speed. With repeated impacts, small bits of material get loosened and a fresh
surface is exposed to the jet. The abrasive jet can effectively machine hard and brittle materials like glass, silicon,
tungsten and ceramics. The material removal takes place because of chipping action. The soft and resilient materials such
as rubber and plastic are not processed effectively by this process. The cutting action of abrasive particles is very cool as
the carrier gas acts as a coolant.

Basic Principle of AJM

Abrasive jet machining works on the principle that, when a stream of abrasive particles carried in a gas medium
from a nozzle is made to impinge on the worksurface at a high velocity, material can be removed from the
workpiece. The flowing gas or air carries away the fractured particles on the worksurface resulting in a smooth
and a fine surface finish. The process is similar to sand blasting, but differs in that, the abrasives used are of fine
grit size and are carried in a gas medium to impinge on the workpiece. The principle of Abrasive Jet Machining
(AJM) process is shown in Figure below.

However, the AJM process is basically different from the usual sand blasting operation in the following ways:

 The abrasive particles are of finer size (of the order of microns) in AJM than in the sand blasting
process.
 The process parameters of AJM can be more properly controlled and regulated in comparison with sand
blasting operation.
 In actual practice, inside diameter of the nozzle usually ranges from 0.075 to 0.4 mm whereas the exit
velocity of the abrasives from the nozzle is maintained between 200 and 400 m/sec. The distance of the

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nozzle tip from the work surface at the time of machining is known as ‘stand-off distance’ (or nozzle tip
distance) which usually varies from 0.7 to lb-ft. The abrasive particle size is usually taken as 10 to 50
microns.

AJM Equipment

a) Abrasive

In most of the applications Aluminum Oxide is used as abrasive, Silicon Carbide is also sometimes used and is very
effective when the work piece material is very hard. Size of abrasive particles play an important role in machining and
particle size varying from 10 to 50 microns give the best results. Larger sizes are used for rapid removal rate such as
cutting and peening operations, while smaller sizes are used for good surface finish and precision work such as polishing
and cleaning. In addition to the above abrasives dolomite (Calcium magnesium carbonate) of 200 grit size is found
suitable for light cleaning and etching. Sodium bicarbonate is used for extra fine cleaning operations. However, the
abrasive should be fine enough to remain suspended in the carrier gas and should have excellent flow characteristics. Re-
use of abrasives is not recommended, since the cutting capacity decreases after the first application, and also the chips
from the workpiece material combine with the abrasives and clogs the small orifice in the nozzle. The mass flow rate of
the abrasive particles depends on the pressure and the flow rate of the gas. Abrasive flow rate influences the material
removal rate. The maximum material removal rate is generally achieved with a flow rate of 8-18g/min.

b) Nozzle

A nozzle is used to accelerate the abrasive particles onto the work surface. Since the abrasive particles leave the nozzle at
a very high velocity, it is subjected to abrasion wear. It is for this reason a strong material is required for the nozzle as it is
subjected to wear due to high velocity of abrasives. For this purpose tungsten carbide and synthetic sapphire (ceramics)
are used as nozzle material. Tungsten carbide nozzles are used for circular cross sections in the range of 0.12-0.8mm
diameter, for rectangular sections of size 0.08X0.5 to 0.18X3.8mm and for square sections of size up to 0.7mm. Sapphire

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nozzles are made only for circular cross sections. The size varies from 0.2 to 0.7mm diameter. The life of tungsten carbide
is around 12-30 hours and that of sapphire nozzle is around 300 hours. An important parameter of nozzle which affects the
machining of work piece is the nozzle tip distance from the work piece. As the distance is increased, the metal removal
rate increases. The nozzle tip distance also affects the size of machined area.

c) Carrier Gas

The gas used for carrying abrasives along with it may be air, nitrogen or carbon-dioxide, oxygen should never
be used as it presents fire hazard. Air when used, must be filtered to remove moisture, oil and other contaminants
before entering the nozzle. The pressure required for the gas ranges from 2 to 8kg/cm2. Higher gas pressure will lead to
higher metal removal and higher wear of nozzle and lower pressure results in reduced metal removal rate. The
consumption of carrier gas is about 10,000cm3/min. The velocity of gas coming out from the nozzle is 150 to
300m/sec.

d) Metering system

The metering system includes mixing chamber, regulator, valves and other devices. The system must inject a
uniform, adjustable flow of abrasive particles into the gas stream. This is accomplished by a powder hopper (not
shown in figure) that feeds into a vibrating chamber, which in turn causes the powder to be metered uniformly into the
jet stream. The amplitude of vibration of the mixing chamber controls the uniform metering of the powder.

e) Masks

Masks are sometimes used on the work piece to control over spray. Masks are also applied when it is desired to produce
large holes and intricate shapes in the work piece without moving or tracing the nozzle. The mask is fabricated form
rubber or metal, it is placed on the work piece and abrasive jet stream is sprayed over the exposed area thus cutting or
etching the desired area.

AJM Operation

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As shown in figure, the dry and filtered gas (air) is passed to compressor to raise its pressure then it is supplied under a
pressure of 2 to 8 kgf/cm2 to a mixing chamber containing the abrasive powder and vibrating at 50Hz. The mixture of
pressurized air and abrasive powder then flows to the nozzle. It is then impinges on the work piece after shooting out of
the nozzle exit at high velocity ranging from 150 to 300 m/sec. The pressure regulator regulates the gas flow and its
pressure. The feed rate of the abrasive powder is controlled by amplitude or vibrations of the mixing chamber. The nozzle
is mounted on a fixture. The movement of the nozzle towards the work piece or vice versa is controlled by a cam
mechanism or a panthograph mechanism or other suitable mechanisms to control the size and shape of cut. Hand
operation is sometimes adequate for removing surface contaminations or in cutting where accuracy is not very critical.
Dust removal equipment is necessary to protect the environment. Commercial bench mounted units including all the
controls, motion producing devices, and dust control equipment are available.

Variables in AJM

1. Carrier gas

2. Type of abrasive

3. Size of abrasive grain

4. Velocity of the abrasive jet

5. Mean number of abrasive grains per unit volume of the carrier gas

6. Work material

7. Stand off distance [SOD]

8. Nozzle design

9. Shape of cut

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1 Carrier gas
Carrier gas, to be used in abrasive jet machining must not flare excessively when discharged from the nozzle into
the atmosphere. Further, the gas should be nontoxic, cheap, easily available and capable of being dried and cleaned
without difficulty. The carrier gas or propellant which is used in AJM process is usually air, carbon dioxide (CO 2) and
nitrogen (N2) but never oxygen. Commercial gas cylinders can be employed satisfactorily. Air is most widely used
owing to easy availability and little cost. All abrasive powders supplied by the manufacturers can be run with clean
shop air, provided air filters have been installed in the airlines. The nozzle pressure which generally affects the cutting
process is generally maintained between 2 to 8.5 kgf/cm2. Higher nozzle pressure results in greater material removal
rate, but it decreases the nozzle life. The most suitable nozzle pressure has been found to be 5 kg/cm2.

2. Type of abrasive: The choice of abrasive depends on the type of machining operation, for example,
roughing, finishing, etc, work material and cost. The abrasive should have a sharp and irregular shape and be
fine enough to remain suspended in the carrier gas and should also have excellent flow characteristics. The
abrasive used for cutting are aluminum oxide and silicon carbide, whereas sodium bicarbonate, dolomite,
beads etc. are used for cleaning, etching, deburring, and polishing. The abrasive particles once used for
machining purpose are not usually fed back to the system due to their reduced cutting action and
contamination with the abraded work materials which may ultimately cause choking of the nozzle.
Moreover, while machining with sodium bi-carbonate abrasive, due precautions are to be taken to avoid its
exposure to moisture since it is hygroscopic.

In this case, the nozzle orifice diameter and the tip distance are 0.4 mm and 0.8 mm respectively and air has
been used as a carrier gas at a pressure of 5 kgf /cm2. It is clear from above Figure that at a particular
pressure the material removal rate increases with the increase of abrasive flow rate and is influenced by the
size of the abrasive particles. But after reaching an optimum value the material removal rate decreases with
further increase of abrasive flow rate. This is owing to the fact that mass flow rate of the gas decreases with
the increase of abrasive flow rate and hence the mixing ratio increases causing a decrease in material
removal rate be cause of the decreasing energy available for erosion.

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3. Size of abrasive grain The rate of metal removal depends on the size of the abrasive grain. Finer grains are
less irregular in shape, and hence, possess lesser cutting ability. More over, finer grains tend to stick together
and choke the nozzle. The most favorable grain sizes range from 10 to 50µ. Coarse grains are recommended for
cutting, whereas finer grains are useful in polishing, debarring etc. the effect of grain size on the rate of metal
removal versus abrasive jet pressure is shown in below graph.

4. Velocity of the abrasive jet: The kinetic energy of the abrasive jet is utilized for metal removal by erosion.
Finnie and Sheldon have shown that for erosion to occur, the jet must impinge the work surface with a certain
minimum velocity. For the erosion of glass by silicon carbide (grain size 25µ), the minimum jet velocity has
been found to be around 150m/s.The jet velocity is a function of the nozzle pressure, nozzle design, abrasive
grain size and the mean number of abrasives per unit volume of the carrier gas. Graph 1 and Graph 2 shows the
effect of nozzle pressure on the rate of metal removal

5. 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. it is defined as,

M=volume flow rate of the abrasive per unit time/volume flow rate of the carrier gas per unit time.

A large value of M should result in higher rates of metal removal but a large abrasive flow rate has been
found to adversely influence jet velocity, and may sometimes even clog the nozzle. Thus, for the given
conditions there is an optimum mixing ratio that leads to a maximum material removal rate.

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Abrasive Jet machining

6. Work material: AJM is recommended for the processing of metals and alloys particularly sections of hard
materials like germanium, silicon, non-metals like glass, ceramics, mica etc. Most of the ductile materials are
practically un-machinable by AJM. The rate of metal removal has been found to depend upon the mohrs
hardness of the material to be machined.

7. Stand off distance [SOD]: Stand off distance is defined as the distance between the face of the nozzle and
the working surface of the work. SOD has been found to have considerable effect on the rate of metal removal
as well as the accuracy. A large SOD results in the flaring up of the jet which leads to poor accuracy. Small
material removal rate at a low SOD is due to a reduction in nozzle pressure with decreasing distance, whereas a
drop in material removal rate at large SOD is due to a reduction in the jet velocity with increasing distance.

8. Nozzle design: The nozzle has to withstand the erosive action of abrasive particles, and hence must be made
of materials that can provide high resistance to wear. The nozzles which are employed in AJM process must be
designed precisely with materials which are highly resistant to abrasive particles. In general, nozzles are made
of tungsten carbide (WC) or sapphire having regular orifices or slots as follows depending on the utility.. The
nozzle should be so designed that the pressure loss due to bends, friction etc is as little as possible. Depending
on the requirements, the nozzle may be either of circular or rectangular cross sections.

The difference between the right angled and straight edge nozzles has been made clear in Figure below.

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Abrasive Jet machining

9. Shape of cut:The accuracy of machining also dependent upon the shape of the cut. It may not be possible to
machine components with sharp corners because of stray cutting in this process.

Process Parameters of AJM

1. Material Removal Rate.

2. Nozzle Wear.

3. Accuracy and Surface Finish.

1. Material Removal Rate: Taking into consideration the fact that metal removal is due to the chipping of
the work surface brought about by the impacting abrasive particles. A typical material removal rate for AJM
is 16mm3/min in cutting glass. Minimum practical width of cut of about 0.1mm can be obtained by using a
rectangular nozzle with an orifice of 0.075X1.5 mm place at a distance of 0.08mm from the work.
4.
The metal removal rates in glass under different working conditions are given below

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2. Nozzle Wear: The life of the nozzle is limited by excessive wear. This adversely affects the accuracy of
working and the metal removal rate. The abrasive particles are directed into the work surface at high velocity
through nozzles. Therefore, the material of nozzles is subjected to a great degree of abrasion wear and hence
these are made of hard materials such as tungsten carbide or synthetic sapphire.

3. Accuracy and Surface Finish: With close control of the various parameters a tolerance in the region of
±005mm can be obtained. On normal production work an accuracy of ±0.1mm is easily held. Masking to
define the machining are is sometimes used to prevent stray cutting. Copper, glass and rubber are used as
masking materials.

The surface finish ranges from 0.4 – 1.1µm in most applications. Typical roughness values produced
on glass with aluminum oxide are given in below table.

Average Particle Size, µm Surface Roughness, µm

10 0.15 – 0.2

25 0.4 – 0.8

50 1.0 – 1.5

The surface does not show any effect due to heat as the work surface remains at room temperature. The
damage due to the impact of the abrasive does not exceed a depth of 2 µm.

Advantages
 AJM provides cool cutting action and so it has the ability to cut delicate and heat sensitive materials
without any damage.

 The process is free from chatter and vibration as there is no contact of the tool with the work piece.
 The capital cost is low.

 It is easy to operate and maintain the AJM unit.

 The process has the ability to cut intricate shaped holes in hard brittle materials.

 Ability to cut intricate shapes in hard, brittle and heat-sensitive materials.

 The large quantity and small mass of abrasives result in the uniform loading of the part.

 Thin sections of hard and brittle materials like germanium, mica, silicon, glass and ceramics can be
machined.

 The process can be utilized for drilling, cutting, deburring, etching, polishing and cleaning
operations.

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Abrasive Jet machining

 High surface finish can be achieved. The surface finish depends mainly on the grain size of the
abrasives.

Dis-Advantages

 Material removal rate is slow and its application is therefore limited.

 The machining accuracy is poor.

 The nozzle wear rate is high.

 Additional cleaning of the work surface may require as there is a possibility of sticking abrasive
grains in softer materials.

 High impinging velocity of the abrasives result in its embedding in the work piece.

 Resilient materials, such as rubber and some plastics resist the chipping action, and thus cannot be
effectively processed by the process.

 Tapering effect may be found because of the unavoidable flaring of the abrasive jet.

 Stray cutting is difficult to avoid.

 There must be a suitable dust collecting system.

Applications
 The major field of application of the AJM process is in the machining of essentially brittle and heat -
sensitive materials like glass, quartz sapphire, semiconductor materials, mica and ceramics.

 The AJM process is used in drilling holes, cutting slots, cleaning hard surfaces, cutting fine lines,
deburring, scribing, grooving, polishing.

 Delicate cleaning, such as removal of smudges from antique documents, is also possible with AJM.

 Because of the accuracy and reliability of AJM, some research laboratories are using it to test the
abrasion resistance of different materials.
 Abrasive jet cutting is used in the laboratories to prepare surfaces for strain gauge applications and to
create artificial flaws in materials for calibration of testing equipment.

 AJM is used for drilling, cutting, cleaning, deburring, grooving, polishing etc. this process is versatile
for machining brittle and heat sensitive materials like glass, quartz, sapphire, mica, ceramics,
germanium, silicon etc.

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 Abrasive jet cutting is used for removal of metallic smears on ceramics, oxides on metals, resistive
coatings etc.

 Used in drilling holes, cutting slots, deburring, trimming and removing oxides and other surface films on
the workpiece.

 Removing flash and parting lines from injection moulded parts. Producing
high quality surface.

 Removing glue and paint from paintings and leather objects.

 Reproducing designs on a glass surface with the help of masks made of rubber, copper etc.

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