11Machining Processes
The development of new engineering materials made machining by
cutting and abrasion very difcult because these processes are mainly based
on removing materials using cutting or abrasion tools that are harder than
the workpiece. Traditional machining proved to be ineffective for machining
complex shapes, low-rigidity structures, and micromachined components at
high degrees of accuracy and surface quality.
1.3.3 Machining by Erosion
Traditional machining includes those processes performed by cutting
and abrasion where compression or shear chip formation causes inherent
disadvantages, such as
• High cost due to the large energy used to remove a unit volume from
the workpiece material.
• Workpiece distortion due to the heat ...