Submerged Precision Machining of Ceramic Material

The brittle nature of ceramics makes them difficult to machine. This paper presents a study to explore a new method to machine ceramic material. The method is based on the stress-corrosion- cracking behavior of ceramic material under certain aggressive environments. An apparatus is designed to create a machining environment where workpiece and cutting tool are submerged in a bath filled with cutting fluids. Observations on the surface texture formed during machining have been made to investigate the effectiveness of submerged machining on quality and efficiency of the machining operation. The obtained results strongly suggest that the chemo-mechanical interactions occurred during machining have great influence on the stress distribution produced in the ceramic material being machined, thus have direct effects on crack initiation and propagation. By controlling the machining parameters, higher material removal rate with less surface damage can be achieved, showing the potential of submerged machining as an innovative technology for machining ceramic material