A novel approach to produce holes with high degree of cylindricity through Micro-Abrasive Jet Machining (μ-AJM)

The current research work proposes a novel approach to produce holes with high degree of cylindricity on brittle materials using Micro-Abrasive Jet Machining (μ-AJM) technique. Cylindrical micro holes are used as fluid reservoir in microfluidics application such as lab on chip and organ on chip systems. The shape of the holes produced using μ-AJM is observed to be conical due to its tapered sidewalls. It is difficult to achieve cylindrical holes through the μ-AJM process at present. The novel approach presents a hypothesis that by maintaining nozzle stand-off distance (NSD) constant during machining to a value set at the beginning of machining, the taper angle of the holes can be reduced resulting in holes with higher degree of cylindricity. Geometrical characteristics of the machined holes such as their dimension and form error have been examined using coordinate measuring machine (CMM). The obtained results showed significant reduction of 56% in the taper angle and improvement of 57% in the cylindricity of machined holes.