SBIR Phase II: Development of Subminiature Abrasive-Waterjet Nozzles toward Micromachining

SBIR 第二阶段：面向微加工的超小型磨料水射流喷嘴的开发

• 批准号: 1058278
• 负责人: Peter Liu
• 金额: $ 49.85万
• 依托单位: OMAX Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-02-01 至 2015-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1058278&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; Development; Subminiature

This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to develop micro abrasive-waterjet technology for automated machining features between 50 to 100 micrometers. The challenge lies in the development of nozzles with beam diameters less than 100 micrometers. Several issues must be resolved due to the complexity of the supersonic, 3-phase, and microfluidic flow through micro abrasive-waterjet nozzles in which capillary dominates gravity. The required size of abrasives is so small that they tend to clump together with poor flowability under gravity feed, causing intermittent abrasive feed and frequent nozzle clogging. New concepts initiated by the company to resolve the above issues has proven to be very effective. In parallel, novel accessories are being developed to further reduce the size of features that cannot be accomplished alone by the nozzles. The micro abrasive waterject nozzles and accessories will be mounted on a multi-nozzle platform to upgrade existing waterjet equipment for micromachining and for enhancing productivity and/or integrated into a micro Jet Machining Center by combining them with a low-power pump and a small footprint platform tailored for low-cost micromachining. The broader/commercial impact of this project is the versatility of waterjet technology ("5M" - from macro to micro machining for most materials) is to develop a new product line of low-cost micrometer Jet Machining Centers. To meet the urgent need for the affordability of the healthcare system, commercialization of micro abrasive-waterjet technology for low-cost manufacturing of biomedical components for orthopedic implants will be explored. The micro abrasive-waterjet technology would also advantageously apply to manufacture components of green energy products and microelectronics. With global emphasis on R&D in micro-nano technology, micro-nano products will be available commercially soon. The micro abrasive-waterjet technology would help accelerate maturing of that technology. By relaxing precision requirements, the micro abrasive-waterjet could readily be turned into an affordable prosumer/consumer product superior to conventional tools for fabricating art, crafts and jewelry. Small job shops would benefit from the cost-effective micro abrasive-waterjet technology since the initial investment for getting into micromachining has been cost prohibitive.

该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目旨在开发用于50至100微米之间自动加工特征的微磨料水射流技术。挑战在于光束直径小于100微米的喷嘴的开发。由于微磨料水射流喷嘴中的超音速、三相和微流体流动的复杂性，必须解决几个问题，其中毛细管主导重力。所需的磨料尺寸太小，以致于它们在重力进料下容易结块，流动性差，导致间歇性磨料进料和频繁的喷嘴堵塞。该公司为解决上述问题而提出的新概念已被证明非常有效。与此同时，正在开发新的附件，以进一步减少无法单独通过喷嘴实现的特征的尺寸。微磨料水射流喷嘴和配件将安装在多喷嘴平台上，以升级现有的水射流设备，用于微加工和提高生产率，和/或通过将它们与低功率泵和为低成本微加工定制的小占地面积平台相结合，将其集成到微射流加工中心中。 该项目的更广泛/商业影响是水射流技术的多功能性（“5 M”-从宏观到微观加工大多数材料）是开发一个新的产品线的低成本微米喷射加工中心。为了满足医疗保健系统负担能力的迫切需要，将探索微磨料水射流技术的商业化，以低成本制造骨科植入物的生物医学组件。微磨料水射流技术还将有利地应用于制造绿色能源产品和微电子产品的部件。随着全球对微纳技术研发的重视，微纳产品将很快实现商业化。微磨料水射流技术的发展将促进该技术的成熟。通过放宽精度要求，微磨料水射流可以很容易地变成一个负担得起的生产者/消费者产品上级的传统工具，用于制造艺术品，工艺品和珠宝。小型加工车间将受益于具有成本效益的微磨料水射流技术，因为进入微加工的初始投资成本过高。