Advances in Manufacturing

Investigation of electropolishing characteristics of tungsten in ecofriendly sodium hydroxide aqueous solution

Wei Han, Feng-Zhou Fang

2020, 8(3): 265-278. doi:10.1007/s40436-020-00309-y

Asbtract ( 491 )

PDF (68KB) ( 151 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics

In this study, an eco-friendly electrolyte for electropolishing tungsten and the minimum material removal depth on the electropolished tungsten surface are investigated using an electrochemical etching method. Using a concentrated acid electrolyte, the polarization curve and current density transient are observed. For a NaOH electrolyte, the effects of interelectrode gap and electrolyte concentration on electropolishing are investigated. The differences in electropolishing characteristics are compared among different electrolyte types. Microholes are etched on the electropolished tungsten surface to determine the minimum material removal depth on the tungsten surface. Experimental results indicate the color effect due to a change in the thickness of the oxide film on the tungsten surface after electropolishing with a concentrated acid electrolyte. The surface roughness decreases with the interelectrode gap width owing to the increased current density when using the NaOH electrolyte. However, the electropolishing effect is less prominent with a significantly smaller gap because the generated bubbles are unable to escape from the narrow working gap in time. A material removal depth of less than 10 nm is achieved on the tungsten surface in an area of diameter 300 lm, using the electrochemical etching method.

The full text can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40436-020-00309-y

A review on conventional and nonconventional machining of SiC particle-reinforced aluminium matrix composites

Ji-Peng Chen, Lin Gu, Guo-Jian He

2020, 8(3): 279-315. doi:10.1007/s40436-020-00313-2

Asbtract ( 491 )

PDF (66KB) ( 139 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics

Among the various types of metal matrix composites, SiC particle-reinforced aluminum matrix composites (SiC_p/Al) are finding increasing applications in many industrial fields such as aerospace, automotive, and electronics. However, SiC_p/Al composites are considered as difficult-to-cut materials due to the hard ceramic reinforcement, which causes severe machinability degradation by increasing cutting tool wear, cutting force, etc. To improve the machinability of SiC_p/Al composites, many techniques including conventional and nonconventional machining processes have been employed. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the machining performance of SiC p/Al composites using conventional machining, i.e., turning, milling, drilling, and grinding, and using nonconventional machining, namely electrical discharge machining (EDM), powder mixed EDM, wire EDM, electrochemical machining, and newly developed high-efficiency machining technologies, e.g., blasting erosion arc machining. This research not only presents an overview of the machining aspects of SiC_p/Al composites using various processing technologies but also establishes optimization parameters as reference of industry applications.

The full text can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40436-020-00313-2

Strain rate analyses during elliptical vibration cutting of Inconel 718 using finite element analysis, Taguchi method, and ANOVA

Hai-Bo Xie, Zi-Qing Yang, Na Qin, Zhan-Jiang Wang

2020, 8(3): 316-330. doi:10.1007/s40436-020-00315-0

Asbtract ( 501 )

PDF (283KB) ( 89 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics

The high strain rate in metal cutting significantly affects the mechanical properties of the work piece by altering its properties. This study outlines the material strain rates during elliptical vibration cutting. The finite element analysis, Taguchi method, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were employed to analyze the effects and contributions of cutting and vibration process parameters (feed rate, rake angle, tangential amplitude, and frequency of vibration) on the variation of strain rates during machining of Inconel 718. Taguchi signal-to-noise analysis on an L₁₈ (2¹×3³) orthogonal array was used to determine the optimum parametric combination for the maximum strain rate, and ANOVA was applied to evaluate the significance of control parameter factors on the strain rate. The results of the finite element analysis under different conditions illustrated that the feed rate and rake angle were negatively related to the strain rate, whereas the tangential amplitude and frequency had a positive response. Furthermore, ANOVA results indicated that the effect of the feed rate, tool rake angle, vibration frequency, and tangential amplitude on the strain rate were all statistically significant, with a reliability level of 95%. Of these, the dominant parameter affecting the strain rate was the feed rate, with a percentage contribution of 40.36%. The estimation of the optimum strain rate and confirmation tests proved that the Taguchi method could successfully optimize the working conditions to obtain the desired maximum strain rate.

The full text can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40436-020-00315-0

Product platform architecture for cloud manufacturing

Wei Wei, Feng Zhou, Peng-Fei Liang

2020, 8(3): 331-343. doi:10.1007/s40436-020-00306-1

Asbtract ( 506 )

PDF (61KB) ( 124 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics

Cloud manufacturing is emerging as a new manufacturing paradigm and an integrated technology. To adapt to the increasing challenges of the traditional manufacturing industry transforming toward service-oriented and innovative manufacturing, this paper proposes a product platform architecture based on cloud manufacturing. Firstly, a framework for the product platform for cloud manufacturing was built. The proposed architecture is composed of five layers:resource, cloud technology, cloud service, application, and user layers. Then, several key enabling technologies for forming the product platform were studied. Finally, the product platform for cloud manufacturing built by a company was taken as an application example to illustrate the architecture and functions of the system. The validity and superiority of the architecture were verified.

The full text can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40436-020-00306-1

Investigation on tribological performance of CuO vegetable-oil based nanofluids for grinding operations

Mirsadegh Seyedzavvar, Hossein Abbasi, Mehdi Kiyasatfar, Reza Najati Ilkhchi

2020, 8(3): 344-360. doi:10.1007/s40436-020-00314-1

Asbtract ( 523 )

PDF (254KB) ( 152 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics

With ball-bearing and tribofilm lubrication effects, CuO vegetable oil-based nanofluids have exhibited excellent anti-wear and friction reduction properties. In this study, CuO nanofluids were synthesized by a one-step electro discharge process in distilled water containing polysorbate-20 and vegetable oil as a nanoparticle stabilizer and source of fatty-acid molecules in the base fluid, respectively. Pin-on-disk tribotests were conducted to evaluate the lubrication performance of synthesized CuO nanofluids between brass/steel contact pairs under various loadings. Surface grinding experiments under minimum lubrication conditions were also performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the synthesized nanofluids in improving the machining characteristics and surface quality of machined parts. The results of pin-on-disk tests revealed that adding nanofluids containing 0.5% and 1% (mass fraction) CuO nanoparticles to the base fluid reduced the wear rate by 66.7% and 71.2%, respectively, compared with pure lubricant. The lubricating action of 1% (mass fraction) CuO nanofluid reduced the ground surface roughness by up to 30% compared with grinding using lubricant without nano-additives. These effects were attributed to the formation of a lubrication film between the contact pairs, providing the rolling and healing functions of CuO nanoparticles to the sliding surfaces. The micrography of ground surfaces using a scanning electron microscope confirmed the tribological observations.

The full text can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40436-020-00314-1

Study into grinding force in back grinding of wafer with outer rim

Xiang-Long Zhu, Yu Li, Zhi-Gang Dong, Ren-Ke Kang, Shang Gao

2020, 8(3): 361-368. doi:10.1007/s40436-020-00316-z

Asbtract ( 680 )

PDF (42KB) ( 253 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics

Back grinding of wafer with outer rim (BGWOR) is a new method for carrier-less thinning of silicon wafers. At present, the effects of process parameters on the grinding force remain debatable. Therefore, a BGWOR normal grinding force model based on grain depth-of-cut was established, and the relationship between grinding parameters (wheel infeed rate, wheel rotational speed, and chuck rotational speed) and normal grinding force was discussed. Further, a series of experiments were performed to verify the BGWOR normal grinding force model. This study proves that the BGWOR normal grinding force is related to the rotational direction of the wheel and chuck, and the effect of grinding mark density on the BGWOR normal grinding force cannot be ignored. Moreover, this study provides methods for reducing the grinding force and optimizing the back thinning process of the silicon wafer.

The full text can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40436-020-00316-z

Two-dimensional extreme distribution for estimating mechanism reliability under large variance

Zhi-Hua Wang, Zhong-Lai Wang, Shui Yu

2020, 8(3): 369-379. doi:10.1007/s40436-020-00311-4

Asbtract ( 572 )

PDF (67KB) ( 54 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics

The effective estimation of the operational reliability of mechanism is a significant challenge in engineering practices, especially when the variance of uncertain factors becomes large. Addressing this challenge, a novel mechanism reliability method via a two-dimensional extreme distribution is investigated in the paper. The time-variant reliability problem for the mechanism is first transformed to the time-invariant system reliability problem by constructing the two-dimensional extreme distribution. The joint probability density functions (JPDFs), including random expansion points and extreme motion errors, are then obtained by combining the kernel density estimation (KDE) method and the copula function. Finally, a multidimensional integration is performed to calculate the system time-invariant reliability. Two cases are investigated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented method.

The full text can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40436-020-00311-4

Real-time process control of powder bed fusion by monitoring dynamic temperature field

Xiao-Kang Huang, Xiao-Yong Tian, Qi Zhong, Shun-Wen He, Chun-Bao Huo, Yi Cao, Zhi-Qiang Tong, Di-Chen Li

2020, 8(3): 380-391. doi:10.1007/s40436-020-00317-y

Asbtract ( 670 )

PDF (251KB) ( 156 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics

This study aims to optimize the uniformity of the temperature field during sintering to improve part performance. A temperature-field monitoring system is established based on an infrared thermal imager and the temperature field data obtained during the sintering of a part can be measured in real time. The relationship among the sintering temperature field, sintering process parameters, and part performance is established experimentally. Subsequently, a temperature field monitoring and analysis system is constructed, and various sintering temperaturefield control strategies are established for various part sizes. Finally, a dynamic control strategy for controlling the temperature field during sintering is proposed, experimentally validated, and fully integrated into a developed powder bed fusion (PBF) equipment. For eight-shaped standard parts, the range of sintering temperature field is optimized from 44.1 C to 19.7 C, whereas the tensile strength of the parts increased by 15.4%. For large-size H parts, localized over burning is eliminated and the final quality of the part is optimized. This strategy is critical for the optimization of the PBF process for large-sized parts, in particular in the large-sized die manufacturing industry, which offers promise in the optimization of part performance.

The full text can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40436-020-00317-y

Tillage force and disturbance characteristics of different geometric-shaped subsoilers via DEM

Jin Tong, Xiao-Hu Jiang, Yue-Ming Wang, Yun-Hai Ma, Jun-Wei Li, Ji-Yu Sun

2020, 8(3): 392-404. doi:10.1007/s40436-020-00318-x

Asbtract ( 639 )

PDF (65KB) ( 142 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics

With the increased use of agricultural machinery in field operations, soil compaction has become increasingly severe, and the plough pan has become deeper. Subsoiling is an excellent way to address this problem. However, it is limited by high energy consumption, which is closely related to tillage force. To investigate the effect of the geometric shape of shanks and tines on tillage force and soil disturbance in loam, a layered soil model in accordance with the actual conditions was established and five different subsoilers were simulated via discrete element modeling. The results indicated that the shank impacted soil disturbance and tine impacted tillage force. The draft force of curved shank and chisel tine was 8% less than that of the straight shank and sweep tine. The straight shank and sweep tine produced a larger furrow profile and a higher furrow width. The subsoiler with curved shank and chisel tine (C-C) exhibited the lowest specific resistance (12.87, 17.52, 19.46 and 21.18 kN/m² in the 30, 35, 40 and 45 cm tillage depth, respectively) considering the draft force and soil disturbance characteristics. Hence, these results will facilitate in the selection of a suitable subsoiler and design of new subsoilers with lower energy consumption requirements for loam areas worldwide.

The full text can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40436-020-00318-x

Research on ultrasonic-assisted drilling in micro-hole machining of the DD6 superalloy

Xiao-Xiang Zhu, Wen-Hu Wang, Rui-Song Jiang, Zhan-Fei Zhang, Bo Huang, Xiu-Wei Ma

2020, 8(3): 405-417. doi:10.1007/s40436-020-00301-6

Asbtract ( 547 )

PDF (40KB) ( 178 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics

The DD6 nickel-based superalloy exhibits remarkably high temperature properties; therefore, it is employed as a crucial structural material in the aviation industry. Nevertheless, this material is difficult to process. Ultrasonic-assisted drilling (UAD) combines the characteristics of vibration processing technology and conventional drilling technology, significantly improving the machinability of difficult-to-machine materials. Thus, UAD experiments were performed on micro-hole machining of DD6 superalloy in this study. The effects of amplitude, frequency, spindle speed, and feed rate on thrust force, machining quality, and drill bit wear were studied; thereafter, a comparison was drawn between these effects and those of conventional drilling (CD). The experimental results reveal that the thrust force decreases with an increase in spindle speed or a decrease in feed rate for both UAD and CD. UAD can significantly reduce the thrust force. With the same processing parameters, the greater the amplitude, the greater the reduction of the thrust force. The surface roughness of the hole wall produced by UAD is lower than that of CD. Compared with CD, UAD reduces the burr height, improves machining accuracy, and reduces drill bit wear.

The full text can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40436-020-00301-6

Effect of core bar inserted into weld faying part to obtain an ideal pipe joint with non-generating inner flash via friction welding

M. Kimura, S. Iwamoto, M. Kusaka, K. Kaizu

2020, 8(3): 418-428. doi:10.1007/s40436-020-00319-w

Asbtract ( 537 )

PDF (39KB) ( 67 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics

In this study, the effect of core bar inserted into weld faying part to obtain an ideal pipe joint with nongenerating inner flash via friction welding is described. A steel pipe with inner and outer diameters corresponding to 8.0 mm and 13.5 mm was used, and the weld faying surface was machined to a groove shape of a flat (butt) type. The core bar of various materials was inserted in the weld faying part of the pipes, and those pipes were welded with a friction speed of 27.5 s^-1 and friction pressure of 30 MPa. The core bars did not decrease inner flash when joints were fabricated with a core bar of some metallic materials with melting points below that of steel; thus, they were melted during the welding process. The joint with an alumina core bar did not decrease inner flash and was crushed by generating an inner flash. However, a commercially pure tungsten (CP-W) core bar was successfully achieved for decreasing the inner flash. Additionally, all joints with a CP-W core bar did not exhibit the tensile strength of the base metal and a fracture in the base metal, when they were fabricated during the same time, the friction torque reached the initial peak. The joint exhibited a fracture in the base metal when it was fabricated with a CPW core bar and a taper groove shape that was proposed in the previous study. Furthermore, the core bars were easily removed from the joints; thus the joint with almost no inner flash was successfully obtained. To reduce the inner flash of pipe joints, they should be fabricated with a CP-W core bar inserted into the weld faying part with a taper groove shape.

The full text can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40436-020-00319-w

Table of Content