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2 Jul 2014
Revolutionary device makes machining composites as easy as ‘cutting through butter’
Loughborough University researchers have developed a device which could revolutionise the way cutting, drilling and milling is done in manufacturing.
The tool makes working on difficult-to-cut materials like aerospace-grade composites so easy it is like ‘cutting through butter’.
It involves a technique called ultrasonically-assisted machining (UAM), which uses a specially designed piezoelectric transducer working in tandem with a traditional turning, drilling or milling machine.
Dr Anish Roy, from the Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, said: “The technique has been successful in the laboratory where multi-fold improvements in cutting intractable aerospace alloys have been demonstrated. It makes machining so easy it is like cutting through butter.”
For further information see the full press release.