Elliptical vibration cutting of tungsten alloy molds for optical glass parts

Elliptical vibration cutting is applied to ultra-precision machining of tungsten alloy molds for optical glass parts in the present research. The tungsten alloy is expected as a new mold material instead of conventional ones such as sintered tungsten carbide and CVD-silicon carbide. However, it cannot be finished precisely by ordinary cutting because of rapid tool wear, brittle fracture and adhesion to the tool. Therefore, the ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting is applied to the ultra-precision machining of tungsten alloy. Practical ultra-precision molds are obtained by the elliptical vibration cutting, and they are applied to glass molding successfully.