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微磨料水射流技术，用于 50 至 100 微米之间的自动化加工特征。挑战在于开发光束直径小于100微米的喷嘴。由于通过毛细管在重力中占主导地位的微磨料水射流喷嘴的超音速、三相和微流体流动的复杂性，必须解决几个问题。所需磨料的尺寸太小，以至于在重力进料下它们容易结块，流动性差，导致磨料进料间歇性和喷嘴频繁堵塞。该公司为解决上述问题而提出的新理念被证明是非常有效的。与此同时，新型配件正在开发中，以进一步减小喷嘴无法单独完成的功能的尺寸。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小占地面积相结合集成到微喷射加工中心中专为低成本微加工定制的平台。 该项目更广泛/商业的影响是水射流技术的多功能性（“5M”——对大多数材料进行宏观加工到微观加工），旨在开发低成本微米喷射加工中心的新产品线。为了满足医疗保健系统负担能力的迫切需求，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部件。微磨料水射流技术也将有利地应用于制造绿色能源产品和微电子产品的组件。随着全球对微纳技术研发的重视，微纳产品即将商用。微磨料水射流技术将有助于加速该技术的成熟。通过放宽精度要求，微磨料水射流可以很容易地变成一种价格实惠的产消者/消费者产品，优于用于制造艺术品、工艺品和珠宝的传统工具。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。