An experimental study of thrust force in Ultrasonic Axial Vibration Drilling of fastener holes in aluminum alloys

Aluminum alloys are used for various aircraft structural components because of their good mechanical and physical properties. However, when aluminum alloys are drilled, large burrs, and low surface quality are troublesome. Therefore, in order to improve the quality and processing efficiency of fastener holes in aluminum alloys, a series of experiments were carried out to study the thrust force in Ultrasonic Axial Vibration Drilling (UAVD) of fastener holes in aluminum alloys by optimizing drilling process parameters. Based on the method of changing a single factor, the feed speed, feed per revolution and amplitude are respectively compared. The experimental results show that the more the value of feed speed and feed per revolution are decreased, the more the reduction of thrust forces in UAVD are obtained. Moreover, it is not larger or less amplitude, but appropriate amplitude that can get the most reduction of thrust force. By optimizing drilling process parameters, the UAVD can reduce the mean thrust force mostly by 44% in machining aluminum alloys with fastener holes.