Ultrasonic-assisted drilling of Inconel 738-LC

Generally in the drilling of modern aviation materials such as nickel and titanium base super alloys, problems frequently occur in terms of burr formation at the cutter exit, tool stress, high heat generation on tool surface as well as low process reliability. A recent and promising method to overcome these technological constraints is the use of ultrasonic assistance, where high-frequency and low-amplitude vibrations are superimposed on the movement of cutting tools. This paper presents the design of an ultrasonically vibrated tool holder and the experimental investigation of ultrasonically assisted drilling of Inconel 738-LC. The circularity, cylindricity, surface roughness and hole oversize of the ultrasonically and conventionally drilled workpieces were measured and compared. The obtained results show that the application of ultrasonic vibration can improve the hole quality considerably. Improvements of up to 60% have been achieved.