ME338 – Manufacturing Process II

Lecture 17 : EBM/LBM/Other NTM

Pradeep Dixit
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Few slides have been taken from Prof. Marla and Prof. Rakesh Mote presentations

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Electron Beam Machining (EBM)

• EBM has been used in nuclear and aerospace welding industries since the
early 1960s.
• Drilling small holes, cutting, engraving, and heat treatment are a set of
modern applications used in semiconductor manufacturing as well as
micromachining areas.
• Used extensively in the preparation of photomasks required in electronics
applications.
• EBM is a thermal based process, where high speed electrons impinges on the
workpiece.
– Transfer of kinetic energy into thermal energy
– Very high electron velocity (200,000 Km/s)can be obtained by using higher
voltage (~150 kV), resulting into power density ~109 W/mm2.
– Low pressure (10-5 mm Hg) working environment is needed to avoid
unnecessary collusion between electrons and air

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 Applications of EBM

Electron beam–drilled holes in superalloy turbine blade

Hybrid circuit engraved with 40 μm traces at speed >5 m/s.

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Electron Beam Machining: Schematic

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 Electron Beam Machining: How it works
• The tungsten filament (cathode) is heated to about 2000°C–2500°C to emit
electrons.
• The concave shape of the cathode grid concentrates the stream through the
anode.
• A potential difference of 150 kV is applied between cathode and anode, which
is used to accelerates the electrons.
• After acceleration, electrons focused by the field travel through a hole in the
anode
• The electron beam is then refocused by a magnetic or electronic lens system
so that the beam is directed under control toward the workpiece.
• The kinetic energy of the electrons is then rapidly transmitted into heat,
causing a corresponding rapid increase in the temperature of the workpiece
to well above its boiling point, thus causing material removal by evaporation.
• The melted liquid is rapidly ejected and vaporized, causing a material removal
rate within the range of 10 mm3/min.

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Why low-pressure environment is needed

The entire process occurs in a vacuum chamber because a collision between an electron
and an air molecule causes the electrons to veer off course. LBM doesn’t need vacuum
because the size and mass of a photon is numerous times smaller than the size of an
electron.

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 EBM Characteristics
• Mechanics of material removal – melting, vaporization
• Medium – vacuum
• Tool – beam of electrons moving at very high velocity
• Maximum MRR = 10 mm3/min
• Specific power consumption = 450 W/mm3/min
• Critical parameters – accelerating voltage, beam diameter, work speed,
melting temperature
• Materials application – all materials
• Shape application – drilling fine holes, cutting contours in sheets, cutting
narrow slots
• Limitations – very high specific energy consumption, necessity of vacuum,
expensive machine

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EBM Process Parameters and Capabilities

Source: El-Hofy, H., Advanced

Machining Processes, Non-
Traditional and Hybrid
Processes, McGraw-Hill Book
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 Important relationship in EBM
𝑔
• Number of pulses (ne) required to remove a hole of 𝑛𝑒 =
𝑔𝑒
depth (g)
– ge is the depth of hole removed per pulse in mm 𝑛𝑒
𝑡𝑚 =
• Machining time tm 𝑓𝑝
– tp : pulse on time in μs, ti : pulse off interval in μs 1
𝑓𝑝 =
• fp is the frequency of pulses (s−1) 𝑡𝑝 + 𝑡𝑖
• Drilling rate VRRL (mm/min) 𝑔𝑓𝑝
𝑉𝑅𝑅𝐿 =
𝑛𝑒
• The number of pulses, ne, can simply be described as a 𝐾𝑏
function of the accelerating voltage Va and the 𝑛𝑒 =
𝐼𝑒𝑉𝑎
emission current Ie by

𝑉𝑅𝑅𝐿 = 𝐾𝑏𝑔𝑓𝑝𝐼𝑒𝑉𝑎
• The drilling rate (VRRL) in mm/min and the volumetric
removal rate in mm3/min become: 𝜋 2
𝑉𝑅𝑅 = 𝑑 𝐾 𝑔𝑓 𝐼 𝑉
– Kb is the proportionality constant 4 𝑏 𝑏 𝑝𝑒 𝑎

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Effect of critical process parameters

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 Pros/Cons of EBM
• Advantages:
– Machines small holes at a rate of 4000 hole/s
– Provides no limitation to workpiece hardness, ductility, and surface
Reflectivity
– Avoids mechanical distortion to the workpiece because there is no contact
– Achieves high accuracy and repeatability of ±0.1 mm for position of holes
and ±5% for the hole diameter
– Can create high aspect ratio holes
• Disadvantages
– High capital equipment cost
– Requirement of vacuum >> limited size of sample
– The presence of a thin recast layer in deep holes

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Laser beam machining: rust removal

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 Laser beam machining: slot cutting

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Laser beam machining (LBM)

• Laser : A device that emits light
through a process of optical
amplification based on stimulated
emission of electromagnetic
radiation.
– L - Light
– A - Amplification
– S - Stimulated
– E - Emission
– R - Radiation

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 Laser : Stimulated Emission
• The concept of stimulated emission
was first postulated by Einstein in
1916
• Stimulated emission is the process
by which an incoming photon of a
specific frequency can interact with
an excited atomic electron (or other
excited molecular state), causing it
to drop to a lower energy level.

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Laser : Population Inversion

• Under normal conditions, more electrons are in a lower energy state than in
a higher energy state.
• Population inversion is a process of achieving more electrons in the higher
energy state than the lower energy state.
• In order to achieve population inversion, we need to supply energy to the
laser medium.
• The process of supplying energy to the laser medium is called pumping.
• Pump sources
– Optical pumping
– Electric discharge
– Inelastic atom-atom collisions
– Thermal pumping
– Chemical reactions

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 Laser : Operating Principle

• Gain medium capable of sustaining stimulated emission

• Light is amplified in the gain medium
• Light bounces back and forth between the mirrors, passing through the gain
medium and being amplified each time

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Properties of Laser

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 Laser types

Femtosecond laser are required for machining hard materials such as silicon/quartz

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Laser beam machining : Types of Lasers

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 Laser beam machining

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LBM : material removal mechanism

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 LBM: Applications
• Material Removal : Drilling, Trepanning, cutting
• Material Shaping: Scribing
• Welding
• Thermo kinetic Changes : Heat treatments

Laser welding of steel (top) on aluminium

Laser welded parts for a TV electron gun (Philips CFT).

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LBM: Applications in machining

Hundred-micrometer holes for medical filters, middle close up of one hole, right blind hole.

Array of ink jet nozzles drilled in 50 µm

thick polyimide

Partial (left) and fully cleaned fine arts, Art-Innovation,

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 Applications of LBM in medical

Prototypes of stents made of: (a) bio-resorbable polymer and (b) tantalum.

10/16/2019 Examples of silicon cutting by Femtosecond laser

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LBM : Applications

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 Long Pulsed Laser

• The pulse duration is 8 ns and the energy 0.5 mJ. Example of a 25 µm

channel machined in 1 mm thick INVAR with a nanosecond laser.
• Recast layer, heat affected zone, more melting
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Short or ultrashort pulse Laser

• Less surface damage and recast layer

• Less melting, instant vaporization, deep hole machining

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 Advantages/disadvantages of LBM
• Advantages:
– Tool wear and breakage are not encountered.
– Holes are located accurately by using optical laser system for alignment.
– Very small holes of large aspect ratio are produced.
– A wide variety of hard and difficult-to-machine materials are tackled.
– Machining is extremely rapid and the setup times are economical.
– Holes can be drilled at difficult entrance angles (108 to the surface).
– Due to its flexibility, the process can be automated easily.
– The operating cost is low.
• Limitations
– The equipment cost is high.
– Tapers are normally encountered in the direct drilling of holes.
– A blind hole of precise depth is difficult to achieve with a laser beam.
– Adherent material, which is found normally at the exit holes, needs to be
removed.
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Critical parameters in LBM

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 Focused Ion Beam Machining

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Focused Ion beam machining (FIB)

• Ga+ ion beam raster over the
surface similar to SEM
• Milling of small holes and
modifications in the structures can
be done
• Most instruments combine
nowadays a SEM and FIB for
imaging with high resolution, and
accurate control of the progress of
the milling
• Process is performed in vacuum

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 Applications of FIB*

10/16/2019 *Prof. Rakesh Mote

ME338 research
– Pradeep Dixit work 33

FIB Technologies
• FIB finds application in:
– Ablation of hard materials: diamond, WC
– Polishing of single crystals
– Deposition
– Site-specific analysis
– FIB lithography
– TEM samples
• Capital investment ~ 5 Crore

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