Titel
Ultrasonic assisted grinding of brittle hard materials – UAG

Short description
The process of ultrasonic machining is especially used for brittle hard materials as the additional ultrasonic vibration of the tool at high frequencies and low amplitudes acts like a hammer on the surface. The need of advanced materials with excellent properties in terms of wear, temperature and chemical resistance featuring excellent surface properties and high precisions (e.g. optical surfaces on glass) is increasing.
The project brings forward the use of ultrasonic assisted grinding (UAG) for manufacturing of glass and advanced ceramic materials in high precision. The objectives of the project focus on the holistic investigation of manufacturing process methods consisting of the main elements process, machine and material. The influence of different machine tool designs on the use and effects of the ultrasonic energy was analysed.
New and improved technologies of ultrasonic activated units for machine tool equipment with adaptive control functions were developed regarding the aspects of strengthening the economic advantage of UAG in comparison to the conventional manufacturing.
Transnational research and introduction of High Performance Manufacturing as a pre-competitive standard to strengthen European SME suppliers of mechanical components. Polylactic acid (PLA) for new biobased packaging High Performance Manufacturing (HPM) technology comprises new developments to reduce primary process times and lead times significantly by the means of enhanced cutting abilities, adapted tooling and machine concepts combined with integrated examination and optimisation of the process chain. The overall objective of High Performance Manufacturing is to increase efficiency and quality of production processes associated with rapid and successful introduction of hightech materials. This collective research project within the CORNET programme will bundle requirements and knowledge from a broad group of mainly SME manufacturing companies specialised in machining lightweight materials for use in the automotive industry. The goal is to define standardised manufacturing HPM strategies though combining appropriate choices of reference materials of specific characteristics, machining tools (mould and dies), methods and indicators (e.g. Specific Cutting Force) and optimised manufacturing processes.

Countries involved: Austria, Germany, Belgian

Total project budget: 1.286.795 €
Total amount of funding: 1.006.336 €

Number of SME involved during the project duration: 20
Number of SME which benefit when the project was finalized: 1.500

Contact
ecoplus. Niederösterreichs Wirtschaftsagentur
GmbH, Thomas Gröger
Tel.: +43 2742 9000-19674
E-mail: t.groeger@ecoplus.at
Website: www.ultrasonic-assisted-grinding.com

Also available: cornet_success_stories_ii.pdf