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Ultrasonic-Assisted Drilling of 4340 Alloy Steel — New Article

November 2, 2017

Tough and resistant to fatigue, 4340 is a high-strength alloy steel that is widely used in the automobile and aerospace industries. Due to its properties, drilling 4340 alloy steel, especially at high material removal rates, has challenges that include heavy thrust force and torque which directly affect tool life, surface roughness, and dimensional accuracy of drilled holes. Therefore, to improve productivity of the drilling process using faster feed rates, these challenges must be addressed.

EWI UAD module
EWI UAD module

 With deep expertise and capabilities in high-power ultrasonics, EWI has developed an industrially hardened, ultrasonic-assisted drilling (UAD) system which applies high-frequency (20 kHz) vibrations at amplitudes of 2-20 µm to the drill tip in the feed direction. This system, which is fully compatible with CNC systems, is able to work with a drill at a shank diameter of up to 20 mm for a variety of materials from aluminum to Inconel and composites.

Studies conducted by EWI’s Amin Moghaddas, Matt Short, and Karl Graff  have demonstrated notable improvements in productivity using the EWI UAD system on 4340 alloy steel. The findings are reported in a new article, Ultrasonic-Assisted Drilling of 4340 Alloy Steel.

To download the article, click here.

To learn more about EWI’s high-power ultrasonic capabilities, contact [email protected] or click here.