Modeling and Experimental Verification of Nano Positioning System for Nanomanufacturing

Abstract

Vibration Assisted Nano Impact-machining by Loose Abrasives (VANILA) is a novel nanomachining process that combines the principles of vibration-assisted abrasive machining and tip-based nanomachining has been developed by the authors to perform target specific nano abrasive machining of hard and brittle materials. One of the critical factors in achieving nanoscale precision during the VANILA process is to maintain an optimal machining gap between the tool and the workpiece surface. Piezoelectric crystal based positioning systems is a proven method for achieving ultraprecision control, however the application of such a system for controlling the nanoscale machining gap during a machining process is not explored. In this paper, the possibility of using a piezoelectric crystal based nano positioning setup to achieve the desired gap during the VANILA process is explored. This research thus finds a new application for the nanopositioning systems in order enhance the capability of existing VANILA process. Analytical models based on piezoelectric theory are done to predict the vibrational behavior of the piezoelectric crystal in the nano-positioning setup under different machining conditions. Further experiments are conducted to validate the model and study the mass-loading effect on the piezoelectric crystal. The model developed is agreeing within 20% with the experimentally determined values and thus the model forms the basis for using the nano-positioning system for maintaining optimal gap between the tool tip and the workpiece surface.