Design and implementation of a non-resonant vibration-assisted machining device to create bespoke surface textures

Non-resonant vibration-assisted machining involves the superposition of controlled vibrations onto traditional machining processes such as turning or milling. In this study, a novel variant of this technique has been investigated using an off-the-shelf piezoelectric actuator to create bespoke surface textures in a conventional milling machine. The purpose of these surfaces is to provide enhanced tribological performance by reserving lubricant, trapping and discharging debris and wear particles, and delaying the collapse of the full hydrodynamic lubricant film. Surface textures consisting of a repeating radial striation pattern of sine waves were reproducibly generated on the face of the disc work piece (an aluminium alloy AlSi1MgMn and a low-alloyed steel 16MnCr5) when the frequency of the superposed vibration was in phase with the rotational speed of the work piece. The texture parameters were controllable from approximately 1 mm to 8 mm in the wavelength and from a few microns to 25 µm in the peak to peak amplitudes which would reasonably cover the range of hydrodynamic lubrication film thickness.