摘要：Higher productivity and better surface quality arethe prerequisites for current machining industry to be morecompetitive since modern manufacturing processes requireshorter production time and higher precision components.Field of metal machining is closely linked to different in-dustrial sectors including automotive, construction, aero-space, transport, medical, mechanical engineering, etc.Material treatment using cutting is still one of the pre-dominant technological processes for manufacturing high-precision and complex components [1, 2]. Cutting forceand speed, feed-rate, temperature in the contact zone arethose key variables that significantly influence surfacequality and tool life [3, 4]. Control of these parametersaffects the entire manufacturing process. Constant pursuitfor more effective cutting methods revealed that machiningquality can be improved if the tool is assisted with ultra-sonic frequency vibrations, i.e. small-amplitude (typically2-20 μm) and high-frequency (typically up to 20 kHz) dis-placement is superimposed onto the continuous cuttingmotion of the tool. During the resulting vibration(al) cut-ting process [5] the tool periodically looses contact withthe chip or leaves the workpiece entirely. As a result, ma-chining forces, friction and temperature in the cutting zonedecrease, thinner chips are generated, formation of micro-cracks on the cutting edge and workpiece surface is im-peded as opposed to the case of conventional machining.This, in turn, leads to enhanced cutting stability, surfacefinish and form accuracy as well as extended tool life andnear-zero burr compared to conventional processes [6].Surface quality can be improved to such an extent that itmay enable complete turning, milling, boring and othercutting processes; (b) according to estimations the wasteconstitutes about 10% of all the material produced by ma-chining industry [7].
