Etch assisted ultrasonic floating abrasion process, a new concept for material removal

• Etch assisted ultrasonic floating abrasion method was developed as a new concept for material removal.
• A finished surface without any crack and defects was achieved after recast layer removal.
• The process parameters of the developed process were analyzed by full factorial method.
• The obtained mathematical model was in good agreement with the experimental results.

The necessity to have components with fine surfaces has prompted many scholars to study the methods for finishing the surface of specimens. Recently, the investigations are more focused on the elimination of recast layer, surface layer engendered by wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) process which diminishes the properties of components. In this work, a new setup involved of ultrasonic waves, etching acid and abrasive particles was developed. Then the capability of this new innovative recast layer removal mechanism was tested by design of experiments method. Three-level full factorial technique was used to study the effective parameters on recast layer removal. The analysis of variance has been used to indicate the significant factors. Based on the regression model, a mathematical relationship between the input factors and the output of material removal was obtained. Experimental results proved that etch assisted ultrasonic floating abrasion process removed the recast layer completely and left a surface free of microcracks. In addition, the parameters of machining time and acid concentration were found to be the most significant factors on the output of the material removal and recast layer thickness.

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