Preliminary Studies into Cutting of a Novel Two Component 3D-Printed Stainless Steel–Polymer Composite Material by Abrasive Water Jet

Abstract

Composites are materials with a heterogeneous structure, composed of two or more components with different properties. The properties of composites are never the sum or average of the properties of their components. There is a lot of research and many models on the different property assessments of composite materials. Composites are used as construction materials in key areas of technology, including in civil and mechanical engineering, aviation and space technology, and others. This work presents a modern composite material created with 3D-printing technology using the SLM method, and the possibility of its processing with one of the advanced manufacturing technologies, i.e., the Abrasive Water Jet (AWJ). Tests planned using DoE methods were carried out by changing control parameters such as the pressure, abrasive flow, and traverse speed. As a dependent parameter, the surface roughness parameter Sq (squared mean height) was selected and measured in different places of the cut composite. Based on the S/N ratio, the most favorable control parameters of the cutting process were also determined to achieve the lowest roughness of the cut surface. A clear effect of the controlled cutting process on the surface roughness was observed, as well as roughness variation for the metal and polymer component. In addition, the contact surface of the polymer with the metal in the cut zone was analyzed. Analysis of the contact surfaces on the microscope showed that the gap between the polymer–metal contact surfaces does not exceed 2.5 μm.

Study on Machining Quality in Abrasive Water Jet Machining of Jute-Polymer Composite and Optimization of Process Parameters through Grey Relational Analysis

“…Moreover, they demonstrate that the parameter standoff distance is the most significant factor affecting the machining result. Tomasz Szatkiewicz and his colleagues applied AWJM on 3-D printed stainless steel-polymer composite and predicted the most influencing parameter on surface roughness through the S-N ratio [14]. Andrzej Perec et al worked on AWJM of industrial phenolic composite and developed a cutting model through a second-degree multinomial equation.…”

Research Progress in Abrasive Water Jet Processing Technology

“…Sharma et al [ 71 ] found a significant effect of travel speed on surface roughness and kerf angle taper in cutting H13 die steel, as did Hascalik et al [ 72 ] in cutting Ti6Al4V alloy. Szatkiewicz et al [ 73 ] investigated the effect of process parameters of abrasive water jets on the cutting of stainless steel–polymer composite material. It was found that traverse speed was the most significant factor influencing roughness, followed by pressure and abrasive flow rate.…”