Process analysis of abrasive jet micromachining for brittle materials

Abstract

Abrasive jet micromachining (AJM) is a non-traditional machining process based on the erosion of substrates by an abrasive-laden air jet. It is a promising machining technique for the cost effective fabrication of micro-devices from brittle and hard materials. For the machining process to be more efficient and better predictable, mathematical models for the AJM process are necessary. This paper presented an analysis of the AJM process for brittle materials. The analysis is based on a fundamental erosion model of solid particle impact for brittle materials, and a recently developed model for the particle velocity in micro-abrasive jet, to form a mathematical basis for AJM process modelling and optimisation. Experimental study on the flow characteristics and the effects of some important process parameters are also given.