Resumo em Inglês:

Materials used in the manufacture of aero-engine components generally comprise of nickel and titanium base alloys. Advanced materials such as aero-engine alloys, structural ceramic and hardened steels provide serious challenges for cutting tool materials during machining due to their unique combinations of properties such as high temperature strength, hardness and chemical wear resistance. These materials are referred to as difficult-to-cut since they pose a greater challenge to manufacturing engineers due to the high temperatures and stresses generated during machining. The poor thermal conductivity of these alloys result in the concentration of high temperatures at the tool-workpiece and tool-chip interfaces, consequently accelerating tool wear and increasing manufacturing cost. The past decade has witnessed a radical approach to product manufacture, particularly in the developed economy, in order to remain competitive. Modern manufacturing philosophies, principles and techniques geared primarily towards reducing non value added activities and achieving step increase in product manufacture have been widely adopted. Recent advances in the machining of aero-engine alloys include dry machining at high speed conditions, the use of high pressure and/or ultra high pressure coolant supplies, minimum quantity lubrication, cryogenic machining and rotary (self-propelled) machining technique. Tool materials with improved hardness like cemented carbides (including coated carbides), ceramics, polycrystalline diamond and polycrystalline cubic boron nitride are the most frequently used for high speed machining of aero-engine alloys. These developments have resulted to significant improvement in the machining of aero-engine alloys without compromising the integrity of the machined surfaces. This paper will provide an overview on these recent developments and their application in the aerospace industry.

Resumo em Inglês:

High-speed machining of aerospace alloys can be enhanced by the use of advanced cutting tool materials such as nano-grain size ceramics that exhibit improved physical and mechanical properties than their micron grain counterparts. The performance of recently developed nano-grain size ceramic tool materials were evaluated when machining nickel base, Inconel 718, in terms of tool life, tool failure modes and wear mechanisms as well as component forces generated under different roughing conditions. The tools were rejected mainly due to wear on the tool nose. It is also evident that chemical compositions of the tool materials played significant role in their failure. The alumina base ceramics performed better than the silicon nitride base ceramics. Severe abrasion wear was observed on both rake and flank faces of the cutting tools while cutting forces increased with increasing cutting speed when machining with the silicon nitride base nano-ceramic tools. This is probably due to the lower superplastic flow temperature of the nitride base nano-ceramics. The alumina base ceramics are more susceptible to chipping at the cutting edge than the silicon nitride base ceramics despite their higher edge toughness.

Resumo em Inglês:

It is estimated that around 65% of the cost of a die or mould is related to the machining processes. Moreover, the literature says that 70% of the time spent in the machining processes of this kind of parts is used in finishing and semi-finishing operations. The high complexity of the machined surfaces makes mandatory the use of ball nose tools, with large overhang, what increases vibration in the process. These problems have to be minimized, since dies and moulds demand a very good surface finish and tight dimensional tolerances. A frequently used strategy to attenuate these problems is to carry out semi-finishing operations with cutters containing circular inserts, because these inserts produce smooth transitions among the passes and a smaller and more uniform stock material for the finishing operation. The main goal of this work is to evaluate the performance of rounded inserts of carbide and cermet in the semi-finishing milling (called toroidal milling) of H13 steel with hardness of 50 HRc. The influence of radial depth of cut, cutting speed and feed per tooth on tool life will also be considered. It also intends to test the feasibility of using minimum quantity of lubricant (MQL) technique instead of dry cutting in this kind of machining operation.

Resumo em Inglês:

CGI - Compacted Graphite Iron - has reached an important status for automotive industry, mainly in the last ten years. The material has been used for manufacturing parts as brake discs, exhaust manifolds, engine heads and diesel engine blocks. The superior strength characteristics of CGI, as compared to gray iron, allows the manufacturing of engines for higher pressure operating combustion chambers, therefore more efficient and with lower emissions levels. Also thinner walls are possible, generating lighter engines. However there are some technical challenges to overcome, mainly related to the machining process of the parts. This research intends to study the machinability of CGI, in order to develop a new alloy with improved characteristics of machinability, so the production costs for CGI automotive parts can be reduced. The study uses a reference material, gray iron FC-250, widely used for engine blocks manufacturing. The machinability of the referred material is compared to five different CGI alloys by means of drilling experiments. The considered machinability criteria are the tool wear and the cutting forces. The experiments led to the development of a CGI-450 with machinability 83% (relative to FC-250), therefore with excellent potential qualities for engine block and other auto parts manufacturing.

Resumo em Inglês:

This article explores the possibility of using Genetic Algorithms (GAs) as a method to decide near-optimal settings of a GMAW welding process. The problem was to choose the near-best values of three control variables (welding voltage, wire feed rate and welding speed) based on four quality responses (deposition efficiency, bead width, depth of penetration and reinforcement), inside a previous delimited experimental region. The search for the near-optimal was carried out step by step, with the GA predicting the next experiment based on the previous, and without the knowledge of the modeling equations between the inputs and outputs of the GMAW process. The GAs were able to locate near-optimum conditions, with a relatively small number of experiments. However, the optimization by GA technique requires a good setting of its own parameters, such as population size, number of generations, etc. Otherwise, there is a risk of an insufficient sweeping of the search space.

Resumo em Inglês:

It is possible to assess the thermal efficiency of welding shielding gases by means of the arc temperature field analysis. Since this approach opens a remarkable study field to assess different shielding gases, giving support for dealing with advantages and disadvantages of commercial gas mixtures, there is a research line under development, which goal is to find techniques to measure arc temperatures. This work describes a proposed method containing different procedures to quantify plasma jet temperature profiles from experimental data. This method was applied on data taken from TIG welding arc, at low current (40 A). This low current was selected to contrast to and amplify the current literature focus, i.e., high currents. The experiment was conducted using emission spectroscopy, picking punctual luminescence from the plasma through an optic system. The TIG arc was stroked on a water-cooled copper plate and shielded by pure argon. The temperature field was determined through the modified Fowler-Milne method. The introduced modification aimed to overcome the limitation that this method has for low radiation intensity presents in low current arcs: the Fowler-Milne method has an intrinsic threshold of 10,000 - 25,000 K. For a 40-A arc, the lower 10,000-K limiting isotherm is reached close to the cathode, restricting the analysis field, especially for the anode region. The proposed modification suggests a linear distribution of the particle density instead of a Maxwellian one, at temperatures below 12,500 K. The experimental temperature field was compared to a previous publication that deals with numerical simulation and the results were found in good agreement, what indicates the supposition of a linear distribution it is not far from the reality.

Resumo em Inglês:

The utilization of stereolithography molds in the manufacture pre-series for injection molded plastic parts aims to reduce costs throughout the product life-time, but mainly during design and manufacturing phases. The use of this Rapid Tooling technique in powder metal injection molding is evaluated in this work. One of the greatest differences between traditional and stereolithography tools is related to the heat conductivity of the materials employed. For example, steel molds have a heat conductivity coefficient 300 times higher than molds made with the photosensitive resin used in the stereolithography process. The discrepancy regarding the cooling rate of the molded parts during the injection cycle must be compensated with adjustments in the injection molding parameters, such as temperature, pressure and speed. The optimization of these parameters made it possible to eject green parts from the mold without causing defects which would become evident in debinding and sintering stages. The dimensional analysis performed at the end of each case study showed that the shrinking factor of the component after the sintering had the same value obtained for components using traditional metallic molds. Moreover, the dimensional error remains under 2% which can be considered low for a pre-series of components (or prototype series).

Resumo em Inglês:

In this work, a comparative study was performed with two austenitic stainless steels: one of the standard type AISI 304 (18% Cr / 8% Ni / 1,3% Mn / 0,07% Cu / 0,033% N, in weight) and other where nickel was partially replaced by manganese, nitrogen and copper (16,3% Cr / 1,5% Ni / 7,4% Mn / 2,9% Cu / 0,184% N, in weight). The aim was to reduce the cost of the final product preserving its good formability and corrosion resistance properties. In order to determine the degree of stability of the austenite, isothermal tensile tests were performed on samples of the two steels in the range of temperature from -25 to 70 ºC. The amount of a' martensite formed was measured with a ferrite detector. Microhardness tests showed that the hardness of both steels increase with the amount of induced martensite. Microstructural characterization of the deformed samples was performed by Optical Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy. The mechanical properties were studied by tension and formability tests (Erichsen and Swift). It was verified that the AISI 304 steel presents better formability (stretch formability) than the steel with partial substitution of Ni by Mn, Cu and N.

Resumo em Inglês:

The aim of this project is the development of an open architecture controlling (OAC) system to be applied in the high speed grinding process using CBN tools. Besides other features, the system will allow a new monitoring and controlling strategy, by the adoption of open architecture CNC combined with multi-sensors, a PC and third-party software. The OAC system will be implemented in a high speed CBN grinding machine, which is being developed in a partnership between the University of São Paulo (USP - Manufacturing Processes Optimizing Group (OPF) - NUMA - EESC; and a traditional Brazilian grinding machine manufacturer. This new CNC generation allows the implementation of new monitoring and controlling strategies due to the two-way CNC and PC communication using a High Speed Serial Bus (HSSB). As a result, third-party software routines, such as LabVIEW VIs (Virtual Instruments), can be used to act in the CNC, interacting with HMI software, via Active X. As a result, the performance of high speed grinding can be increased by the adoption of the open architecture controlling solution combined with high performance monitoring systems.

Resumo em Inglês:

Precision abrasive processes are commonly employed to machine glasses, single crystals and ceramic materials for various industrial applications. Until now, precision machining of hard and brittle solids are poorly investigated in Brazil from the fundamental and applied point of views. Taking into account the major technological importance of this subject to the production of functional and structural components used in high performance systems, the present study investigated the ultrasonic abrasion of different workpiece materials - alumina, zirconia, quartz, glass, ferrite and LiF - by using a stationary ultrasonic machine. Experiments were conducted using a rectangular shaped cutting toll and SiC particles with mean grain size of 15mm. The machined surfaces were characterized by surface profilometry and scanning electron microscopy. In the case of alumina, zirconia and quartz, the rates of material removal decrease with the depth of machining. The rate of material removal remained constant for the others materials. The micrographs showed that brittle microcracking was the primary mechanism involved with material removal. The rates of material removal and the machined surface topographies were discussed as a function of intrinsic stiffness, hardness and fracture toughness of workpiece materials.

Resumo em Inglês:

In equipment manufacturing, there are occasions that the base metal (BM) need to be hot or cold worked prior to welding. After welding, the components have to be submitted to a normalizing heat treatment in order to recover its original mechanical properties. In this work four different low alloy steel weld metals (WM) both in the as welded condition and after normalizing heat treatment have been studied. Optical and scanning electron microscopy were used to observe the WM microstructure. Tensile and Charpy V toughness testing and microhardness measurements were used to evaluate the WM mechanical properties. Results show that normalizing breaks the original columnar structure in the as welded condition to an equiaxial structure similar to the one of the BM. Due to low carbon content of the WM it was observed a high decrease on the tensile properties specially the yield strength after normalizing. In respect of toughness, the normalizing heat treatment was observed to increase the Charpy V energy, except for one WM where a great content of martensite-austenite-bainite constituent was formed. Opposite to others post weld heat treatments, normalizing modifies significantly the microstructure and the resulting mechanical properties of the WM. Although normalizing is always beneficial to the BM, care must be taken in order to select welding consumables.

Resumo em Inglês:

The product development process usually encompasses a very complex and interdisciplinary environment in which product is seen by different views related with the life-cycle functions. An approach based on information models can provide an integrated view of the product, supporting also product information and knowledge (I&K) reuse acquired in previous development processes. This paper discusses the use of additional information and knowledge models to support the capture and reuse of I&K within a brake system friction material development environment. Two information models are proposed: the Brake Friction Material Product Model, which captures information about a specific product and the Friction Material Design Knowledge Model, which captures design and manufacturing information and knowledge history generated throughout the time. For the representation of the information models object oriented technology is used and Case Based Reasoning is proposed for supporting the I&K retrieving. At the present, work is being performed on the structure definition of the information and knowledge models. A real case in a Brazilian brake lining manufacturer is being used.

Resumo em Inglês:

The prediction of chatter vibrations between the cutter and workpiece is important as a guidance to the machine tool user for an optimal selection of depth of cut and spindle rotation, resulting in maximum chip removal rate without this undesirable vibration. This can be done by some approaches. In this work, an analytical method is applied in which the time-varying directional dynamic milling forces coefficients are expanded in Fourier series and integrated in the width of cut bound by entry and exit angles. The forces in the contact zone between cutter and workpiece during the cut are evaluated by an algorithm using a mathematical model derived from several experimental tests with a dynamometer located between the workpiece and machine table. The algorithm results depend of the physical properties of the workpiece material and the cutter geometry. The modal parameters of the machine-workpiece-tool system like natural frequencies, damping and residues must also be identified experimentally. At this point, it is possible to plot the stability lobes to this dynamic system. These curves relates the spindle speed with axial depth of cut, separating stable and unstable areas, allowing the selection of cutting parameters resulting maximum productivity, with acceptable surface roughness and absence of chatter vibrations. Experimental face milling tests were performed in a knee-type machine, using a five inserts cutter. The results showed perfect agreement between chatter prediction and experimental tests.

Resumo em Inglês:

A mechanistic approach for modeling the thread milling process is presented. The mechanics of cutting for thread milling is analyzed as an end milling process with modified cutting edge. The geometry of threads is added to the geometry of the end milling tool to calculate the chip load area. The linear path is simulated and values of the specific energy from end milling are used to compute the cutting forces involved. A comparison between the simulation of the cutting forces for a specific tool in two different situations is made to present the force behavior acquired from the model.

Resumo em Inglês:

Installation of new pipelines is predicted to grow at a rapid rate over the next twenty years, due in part to the increase use worldwide of combined cycle power generation plant using natural gas a fuel. The need to construct large diameter pipelines over long distances has led to an increased demand to improve the productivity of pipeline girth welding. Many novel techniques have been tried in the past to achieve productivity gains, including laser welding, flash butt welding, homopolar welding, and radial friction welding. In spite of the failure to gain wide acceptance, there is still current development aimed at achieving their eventual implementation. Single wire mechanised gas metal arc welding (GMAW) remains the dominant pipe girth welding technique, and has been optimised in the past to produce the maximum productivity possible with this process. Continued development of GMAW with dual torch, tandem GMAW welding and novel techniques for GMAW roots is leading to further significant gains in arc welding productivity. This paper describes a new development, the CAPS project, (Cranfield Automated Pipe-welding System), where tandem GMAW in a narrow groove has been applied to pipeline girth welding with two tandem torches in a single welding head. The CAPS system offers welding productivity three to four times higher than that possible with the conventional single wire GMAW technique, while still producing a weld which is very similar to that generated by single wire welding. The development of the system is described, as well as recent successful trials under field conditions. The development of high power lasers has spurred a current high level of interest in the possibility of application to pipeline welding, and current research is described in which the feasibility of pipeline laser welding has been established.

Resumo em Inglês:

Thermally sprayed metallic coatings have been frequently applied over low carbon steel components, aiming at protecting against corrosion and wear. However, these coatings always contain pores, oxides and cracks in the microstructure, which affect the protection performance. The spraying process employed determines not only the amount and distribution of these defects, but also several coating properties (e.g. thickness, hardness and adhesion to the substrate). Therefore, the final coating quality is strongly related to the spray parameters definition, such as: fuel gas type, oxygen pressure, particle velocity and spray distance. This research aims at verifying the efficiency of the High Velocity Combustion Wire spray process (HVCW) for the deposition of X46Cr13 stainless steel coatings. This process submits the particles to higher velocities than those in conventional processes (e.g. flame spraying (FS) and arc spraying (AS)), normally producing more refined microstructures with better properties. The influence of spray parameters has been investigated considering characteristics of the microstructure and mechanical properties, as well as, with respect to the corrosion behavior in synthetic marine solution. The results have confirmed the favorable performance of the HVCW process, which has produced a sufficiently dense coating to prevent damages to the substrate. Additionally, the absorbed oxygen content has been considered adequate to obtain optimized mechanical properties, including wear resistance.