ABSTRACT
In mechanical subtractive machining, physical re - moval of unwanted material is achieved by me - chanical energy applied at the work piece. In the ultraprecision range, the two major categories of mechanical material-removing technologies we detail in this chapter are single-point machining and abrasive machining (basically multipoint machining). Abrasive machining is a process that removes small amounts of material from a work piece in the form of tiny chips through the contact of small, hard, sharp, nonmetallic particles. In abrasive machining we review abrasive wheel machining, in particular electrolytic in-process dressing (ELID), ultrasonic machining (USM), water jet, abrasive water jet (AWJ), and abrasive jet machining (AJM). We also consider briefly two energetic beam mechanical machining methods, i.e., focused ion beam (FIB) and fast atom beam (FAB) machining. We also cover the miniaturization of mechanical machining equipment in a section on “desk-top factories.” The fact that it often takes a two-ton machine tool to fabricate microparts, where cutting forces are in the milli-to micro-Newton range, is a clear indication that a complete machine tool redesign is required for the fabrication of micromachines.
