Alternatives To Traditional Machining [work] Page

By noon, she had built a heat exchanger with internal channels that curved like river deltas. Impossible to drill. Impossible to mill. But the UAM machine did it like folding paper.

These processes use thermal energy (heat) to melt or vaporize the workpiece material. alternatives to traditional machining

| Feature | Traditional Machining | Non-Traditional Machining | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Direct physical contact | No direct physical contact (mostly) | | Cutting Mechanism | Shear deformation (chip formation) | Melting, vaporization, dissolution, erosion | | Tool Hardness | Tool must be harder than workpiece | Tool hardness is irrelevant (e.g., laser, EDM) | | Surface Integrity | May leave residual stress | May create a Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) or chemical residue | | Material Waste | Significant chips/scrap | Material is often turned into dust/dissolved (harder to recycle) | | Speed | Generally faster for standard parts | Generally slower, used for difficult applications | | Capital Cost | Lower to Moderate | High (specialized equipment required) | By noon, she had built a heat exchanger

These processes use chemical reactions (facilitated by electricity) to dissolve the workpiece material. But the UAM machine did it like folding paper