Plasma etching based metal matrix composite machining apparatus and method

Abstract

This invention proposes a metal matrix composite material processing apparatus and method based on plasma etching, belonging to the field of composite material processing. It determines the material properties, target processing method, and final service performance requirements of the metal matrix composite workpiece. The workpiece consists of a metal matrix and reinforcing particles dispersed within the metal matrix. The area to be processed on the workpiece is exposed to a plasma jet, and plasma etching is used. The reinforcing particles react and transform into volatile gases, which are then removed from the metal matrix, forming a softening pretreatment layer on the workpiece surface. Ultrasonic vibration cutting is then used to remove the softening pretreatment layer. This invention removes the reinforcing particles from the metal matrix through plasma etching, locally transforming the originally heterogeneous and difficult-to-process composite material into a relatively homogeneous metal layer for cutting. This achieves homogeneous transformation of the processed object, eliminating the core mechanisms of particle pull-out, breakage, and interface cracking in traditional processing.

Claims

1. A method for processing metal matrix composite materials based on plasma etching, characterized in that: Includes the following steps, S1, determine the material properties, target processing method and final service performance requirements of the metal matrix composite workpiece (1), the workpiece (1) is composed of a metal matrix (102) and reinforcing particles (101) dispersed in the metal matrix (102); S2, the area to be processed of the workpiece (1) is exposed to the plasma jet (301), and plasma etching is used to make the active particles (303) in the plasma gas (302) react chemically with the reinforcing particles (101) on the surface of the workpiece (1). The reinforcing particles (101) are converted into volatile gas (304) through the reaction and removed from the metal substrate (102), forming a softening pretreatment layer on the surface of the workpiece (1). S3 uses ultrasonic vibration cutting to remove the softened pretreatment layer and complete the machining.

2. The method for processing metal matrix composite materials based on plasma etching according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S1, the etching depth K of the plasma etching stage and the cutting depth Q of the ultrasonic vibration cutting stage are determined according to the material of the metal substrate (102) and the final service performance requirements of the workpiece (1).

3. The method for processing metal matrix composite materials based on plasma etching according to claim 2, characterized in that: In step S1, the limit depth Δh of the plastic deformation filling of the metal substrate (102) is determined based on the material of the metal substrate (102) and the ultrasonic vibration cutting parameters.

4. The method for processing metal matrix composite materials based on plasma etching according to claim 3, characterized in that: The etching depth K in the plasma etching stage satisfies Q. <K<Q+△h。 5. The method for processing metal matrix composite materials based on plasma etching according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S2, the plasma jet (301) is generated by radio frequency excitation of a mixture of fluorine-containing reactive gas (3023) and auxiliary gas (3022).

6. The method for processing metal matrix composite materials based on plasma etching according to claim 5, characterized in that: The fluorine-containing reactive gas (3023) is CF4 or SF6, and the auxiliary gas (3022) is a mixture of argon and oxygen.

7. The method for processing metal matrix composite materials based on plasma etching according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S3, the cutting tool (201) of the ultrasonic vibration cutting method performs cutting using ultrasonic elliptical vibration.

8. A method for processing metal matrix composite materials based on plasma etching according to claim 7, characterized in that: The ultrasonic elliptical vibration generated by the cutting tool (201) has a vibration frequency of not less than 40kHz and an axial amplitude and a transverse amplitude of not less than 5μm.

9. A metal matrix composite material processing apparatus based on plasma etching, characterized in that: The method for processing metal matrix composites based on plasma etching according to any one of claims 1 to 8 includes a machine tool body, an ultrasonic vibration cutting module (2) and a plasma etching module (3). The ultrasonic vibration cutting module (2) and the plasma etching module (3) are mounted side by side on the machine tool body. The ultrasonic vibration cutting module (2) and the plasma etching module (3) move synchronously relative to the machine tool body to perform processing. The plasma etching module (3) is located in front of the ultrasonic vibration cutting module (2) along the processing movement direction.

10. A metal matrix composite material processing apparatus based on plasma etching according to claim 9, characterized in that: The plasma etching module (3) includes a core tube (310), an intermediate tube (311), and an outer tube. A plurality of core tubes (310) are arranged in parallel and surround each other in a cylindrical shape. A plurality of intermediate tubes (311) are arranged in parallel and surround each other in a cylindrical shape outside the plurality of core tubes (310). A plurality of outer tubes are arranged in parallel and surround each other in a cylindrical shape outside the plurality of intermediate tubes (311). The three-layer tube group consisting of a plurality of core tubes (310), a plurality of intermediate tubes (311), and a plurality of outer tubes is coaxially fitted to form a plasma torch (314). The core tube (310) is used to introduce cooling gas (3021). The intermediate tube (311) is used to introduce auxiliary gas (3022). The core tube (310) is used to introduce reaction gas (3023).

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