SGER: Precision Wire Saw Machining of Ceramic Materials

探索性研究小额资助（SGER）的目标是研究非导电陶瓷材料的精密金刚石线锯加工。线锯加工技术已经发展到将大直径的硅或碳化硅锭切割成薄片。最近研制出了直径小于0.2 mm的细的固定磨料金刚石线和具有摇摆运动的线锯。这种新型金刚石丝不仅提高了线锯加工中的材料去除率，而且将工作材料的种类从单纯的Si、SiC、氧化锆扩展到其他非导电陶瓷材料。本计划拟购置一台实验室摇臂式线锯机，以研究线锯加工的力学特性，并探讨5个主要工艺参数对晶圆翘曲和厚度变化的影响。这些参数是：(1)丝速，(2)丝向前/向后运动，(3)冷却剂，(4)丝径和直径变化，(5)零件进给速度。本项目还将探索二轴和四轴轮廓线锯切。与电火花线切割加工导电材料类似，金刚石线锯加工可以为非导电材料复杂形状的加工提供灵活和经济的方法。由于三种目标工作材料Si， SiC和zirconia对红外信号都是半透明的，因此将使用红外摄像机进行贯穿工件的温度测量。本研究项目的成功将有助于更好地理解固定磨料金刚石线锯的加工工艺。这项研究的结果还可以将线锯加工工艺的应用范围扩大到广泛的非导电、先进的工程材料，并产生更复杂的形状。

The goal of this Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) is to study the precision diamond wire saw machining of non-electrically conductive ceramic materials. Wire saw machining technologies have been developed to slice large diameter Si or SiC ingots into thin wafers. The thin, less than 0.2 mm in diameter, fixed-abrasive diamond wires and wire saw machines with rocking motion have recently been developed. This new type of diamond wire has not only improved the material removal rate in wire saw machining but also expanded the types of work-material from just Si, SiC, zirconia, to other non-electrically conductive ceramic materials. This project proposes to acquire a laboratory rocking-motion wire saw machine to study the mechanics of wire saw machining and to investigate effects of five major process parameters on wafer warp and thickness variation. These parameters are: (1) wire speed, (2) forward/backward wire motion, (3) coolant, (4) wire diameter and diameter variation, and (5) part infeed rate. Two- and four-axis contour wire sawing will also be explored in this project. Similar to the wire EDM process for electrically conductive materials, the diamond wire saw machining could provide flexible and cost-effective methods to machine complicated shapes for non-electrically conductive materials. Since the three targeted work-materials, Si, SiC, and zirconia, are all semi-transparent to the infrared signal, a through-the-workpiece temperature measurement using the infrared video camera will be experimented.Success in this research project will lead to a better understanding of the fixed-abrasive diamond wire saw machining process. Results of this research could also expand the use of wire saw machining processes to a wide-range of non-electrically conductive, advanced engineering materials and to generate morecomplicated shapes.