OPTIMIZING ABRASIVE WATERJET CUTTING OF CERAMIC MATERIALS

Compared with traditional mechanical cutting methods and most non-trad itional machining technologies, abrasive water jet (AWJ) cutting techn ology is acquiring increasingly extensive applications for the shape c utting of difficult-to-machine materials such as ceramics. However, ma ny aspects of this technology are still not well understood. Further, its low cutting speed needs to be increased without compromising the q uality of the surface finish. In this paper, experimental techniques b ased on statistical design principles were conducted to study AWJ cutt ing of ceramics. The research work, involving multi-directional cuttin g, was conducted to examine the effect of jet impact angles on cutting quality. Furthermore, new cutting head oscillation techniques were ap plied of the AWJ cutting process for better cutting. (C) 1998 Publishe d by Elsevier Science S.A.