Methods and apparatus for milling grooves with abrasive fluidjets
View Patent ↗A method for milling grooves in a work-piece includes using a manipulator to control impingement angles of abrasive fluidjets traversed across the work-piece. Another method employs multiple fluidjets simultaneously with a plurality of impingement angles. An apparatus is also provided to allow for the simultaneous use of multiple abrasive fluidjets with a plurality of impingement angles.
1. A method of milling grooves in a work-piece comprising:
providing an abrasive fluidjet device that selectively emits an abrasive fluidjet from the device; and
traversing the abrasive fluidjet across a work-piece to form a groove having a selected depth and wall taper in the work-piece, including executing one or more passes along a selected path for the groove with the abrasive fluidjet oriented at a negative lateral angle, executing one or more passes along the selected path with the abrasive fluidjet oriented at a positive lateral angle, and executing one or more passes along the selected path with the abrasive fluidjet oriented at a zero lateral angle.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the negative and positive lateral angles are between about 2 and about 5 degrees.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one pass is executed with the abrasive fluidjet oriented at a longitudinal angle relative to a direction of traverse.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the longitudinal angle is about 2 to about 20 degrees.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein an abrasive is mixed with a fluidjet within a mixing tube of the abrasive fluidjet device to produce the abrasive fluidjet, and wherein the mixing tube has a length up to 200 times an average diameter of an axial interior channel of the mixing tube.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein an abrasive is mixed with a fluidjet within a mixing tube of the abrasive fluidjet device to produce the abrasive fluidjet, and wherein the mixing tube has a length of about 4 inches.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein an abrasive is mixed with a fluidjet within a mixing tube of the abrasive fluidjet device to produce the abrasive fluidjet, and wherein the mixing tube has an axial interior channel with a diameter of about 0.020 to about 0.100 inches.
8. The method of claim 7 further comprising passing fluid from a high pressure fluid source through an orifice to generate the fluidjet and wherein the orifice diameter is about 0.005 to about 0.025 inches.