UltraprecisionCuttingandAcousticEmission-GRACO.docVIP

Ultraprecision Cutting and Acoustic Emission Monitoring of OFHC Copper Author: Yoon Lee and Andrew Chang Sponsored By: LMA Affiliates Abstract— Fabrication of high-quality optical lenses and reflectors demands the ultraprecision cutting of materials using micron to submicron uncut chip thicknesses (ac). At this scale, surface topography is significantly influenced by the interaction between the cutting tool and grain orientation/boundary effects. In this study, micro-scratching tests on coarse-grained, oxygen-free, high-conductance (OFHC) copper were performed with an increasing depth of cut, and the topography of the surfaces was characterized. The results were in agreement with previous work performed by other researchers. Acoustic emission (AE) was used to monitor the cutting process.. Introduction Ultraprecision micro-cutting operations have been broadly accepted in the manufacturing of precision components such as aspherical lenses, high-precision reflecting mirrors, hard disk drive head assemblies, and other semiconductor applications. A number of studies have employed micro-machining operations to investigate phenomena such as the ductile/brittle transition in brittle materials as well as sub-surface damage effects [1]. Oxygen-free, high-conductance (OFHC) copper is often used as the work material for metal optics due to its material properties and favorable machinability. In the regime of ultraprecision machining, the undeformed chip thickness (ac) is on the order of several micrometers and can be controlled down to several hundred nanometers. When cutting polycrystalline materials with these small undeformed chip thicknesses, the material removal mechanism is highly influenced by individual grain size and orientation. Unlike the macroscopic views of conventional metal cutting, the cutting mechanism in ultraprecision machining depends on the crystallography and dislocation slip system within each randomly oriented grain (figure 1). Figure 1. Schematics of