Modeling the shape profile of the machining side trimmed by abrasive water jet.

As a machining tool with great potential, abrasive water jet (AWJ) has been used extensively in cutting many types of difficult-to-cut materials. Actually, using AWJ to trim workpieces is another important application. Unlike other traditional machining tools, which do not make much difference in machining surface through cutting or trimming, the AWJ, a soft knife, would lead to a different shape profile on the machining side in the trimming process other than cutting. To explore the trimming process of AWJ, a specific method of modeling the shape profile of the machining side trimmed by AWJ is proposed in this paper. Firstly, a criterion has been built to classify whether it is a cutting task or an edge trimming task. After that, a series of experiments have been carried out to obtain how the AWJ cutting parameters affect the trimming process. Based on the experimental results, the key parameters affecting the trimming process have been found. Further, a mathematical model for trimming process has been built and its effectiveness has been verified through actual trimming. With this model, the shape error of the machining side trimmed by AWJ can be further reduced by adjusting the compensation parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]