Ultrasonic Assisted Deep Drilling of Inconel 738LC Superalloy

Superalloys have a poor machinability and are often drilled using Electro Discharge Machining (EDM) methods. However EDM is a time-consuming process and has low surface integrity. Ultrasonic Assisted Drilling (UAD) technology is a modern method of drilling such materials. Although this method has very high capabilities, it has not been introduced widely to industry. In this study a special horn is designed and used to apply both rotation and vibration to drill bits. It can transfer power with high efficiency and has the capability to change tools easily. The setup is used to conduct deep drilling tests on Inconel 738LC with depth-to-diameter ratio of 10. The effect of ultrasonic vibration amplitude, spindle speed and number of steps to drill each hole on machining force and surface roughness were investigated. Optimized conditions and results predicted by Taguchi method showed close agreement with the results obtained by experiments.