2023/02/20

Difficulties in PEEK drilling and what ultrasonic machining can bring to it

Advantages of using ultrasonic machining method in PEEK drilling

According to previous introduction of PEEK machining, today we will start the discussion of PEEK drilling. Which is a common feature in PEEK application, and it is suitable for using ultrasonic machining method to improve entire processing quality and efficiency.
 
Quoting the last post-In terms of PEEK cutting, It still exists difficulties to overcome in traditional CNC recently: For example, the thermal expansion of plastic is 10 times than metal, and there is no metal-like good thermal conductivity, so the accumulation of cutting heat easily causes machinery properties changes in materials. To prevent severe impact from surface quality and shortening the tool life, it is essential to replenish coolant from time to time;
Fibers in plastics, such as carbon fiber, glass fiber, ceramics, etc., embedded in PEEK structure can affect how serious the generation of burrs will be since tools crash to different kinds of fiber which bear various strength.
 
Drilling in PEEK machining is especially resistant to the impact of cutting heat, cooling method, and swarf removal., When it comes to PEEK micro-drilling, it is susceptible to generate crater effect on the edge of drilling holes due to poor heat conductivity.
And of poor elongation as well, the broken phenomenon is often shown in deep hole drilling. How to minimize the deviation is another problem in PEEK drilling? The tools are easily crooked while drilling.
 

What can Ultrasonic Machining bring to PEEK Drilling?
Ultrasonic dense and light vibration can disperse the cutting force and reduce the cutting resistance, so that the blurs and tears originated from un-cut fiber will be smoothly cut off in a slight and continuous way, generating hi-quality machined results. Also, high-frequency vibration is conducive to the removal of cutting heat and swarf removal, making precise features machining more feasible.
 
And for solving cooling problem in PEEK machining, the ultrasonic machining module of Hantop Intelligence Technology contains CTS function to help coolant straight to the tool edge.
When processing drilling features of PEEK, the drilling tool is generally smaller than the size of the drill bit, so that cutting fluid is required in his session, and it needs to slow down rotation speed and feed. In order to achieve accurate hole diameters, milling cutters or boring knives are generally used for finishing. HIT Ultrasonic Machining Module with automatic identification and tracking system is specialized for multiple tools to search and lock the most suitable resonance frequency simultaneously. It is very suitable for PEEK processing and changing different types of tools, which greatly improves the flexibility and convenience of operation.
 
If you are interested in the application of ultrasonic machining, you can go to our technical introduction to learn more about the principles and uses of ultrasonic  machining. It is also recommended to watch our website regularly to get the latest ultrasonic processing verification results!

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