Possibilities of rotary ultrasonic machining in order to give a boost to technical ceramics in the actual Spanish market

The advanced properties of engineering ceramics are suitable to meet the requirements of several engineering applications such as medical (prosthesis…), automotive (bearing...), aerospace (tiles,...), optics (lasers,…) and so on, where high hardness, high wear resistance and thermo chemical stability are needed. 

However, the processing of these materials is difficult and costly, in some cases up to 90% of the price, which leads ceramics to limited applications. Rotary Ultrasonic Machining (RUM) is presented as a non conventional environmental-friendly and cost effective process that enables to obtain complex 3D shape ceramic products. A rotating tool with metal-bonded diamond abrasives is ultrasonically vibrated (typically 20KHz) and fed toward to the fixed workpiece at a constant pressure or a constant feed rate This process combines conventional grinding and ultrasonic machining, offering the  possibility of increased material removal rates while keeping the machining forces low. Thus, the limitations of actually used conventional processes are overcome introducing more accurate, flexible and cost effective process capabilities.

On balance, RUM is a promising process for primary machining operations on structural ceramic components. Its features will lead to enhance the use of ceramics in more industrial applications by increasing product development/design capabilities, high added value products and sustainable process.