Effects of Process Parameters on Ultrasonic Micro-Hole Drilling in Glass and Ruby

Brittle materials such as ceramics, glasses and oxide single crystals find increasing applications in advanced micro-engineering products. Machining small features in such materials represents a manufacturing challenge. Ultrasonic drilling constitutes a promising technique for realizing simple micro-holes of high diameter-to-depth ratio. The process involves impacting abrasive particles in suspension in a liquid slurry between tool and work piece. Among the process performance criteria, the drilling time (productivity) is one of the most important quantities to evaluate the suitability of the process for industrial applications.