Radial direction ultrasonic-vibration and laser assisted turning of Al3003 alloy

Abstract The utilization of various energy sources to assist the machining process has become prominent to obtain significant improvement in the machining performance. These energy sources have been utilized without using any cutting fluids which makes them eco-friendly. The combined action of laser and ultrasonic vibration energies during the turning process has shown significant achievement in machining process capabilities. Therefore, an attempt has been made to provide ultrasonic vibration in the radial direction and laser to preheat aluminium 3003 alloy simultaneously during the ultrasonic-vibration-laser assisted turning (UVLAT) process. Machining performance has been analyzed in terms of machining forces, machining temperature, chip morphology, surface damage, and surface roughness. A comparative machining performance analysis has been performed among the conventional turning (CT), ultrasonic vibration assisted turning (UVAT), laser assisted turning (LAT), and UVLAT processes. The outcomes of the present study revealed significant improvement in the machining performance for aluminium 3003 alloy during the UVLAT process. However, surface damage and surface roughness have been affected negatively during the UVLAT process due to the pin-point hammering and particle adhesion on the workpiece part. Hence, it can be said that the selection of vibration direction is a critical factor during the vibration machining processes.