Abrasive water jet machining of glass with stagnation effect

Abrasive water jet processes of glass are presented for crack-free machining of micro grooves and fluid polishing of micro channels with CFD analysis. In machining of the micro grooves, the abrasive is supplied to flow through intended machining area using the tapered masks. Stagnation under the jet and the horizontal flow on the machining area are controlled to generate crack-free surfaces by the mask shape. The same effect can be applied to polishing of the micro channels pre-machined by milling. Stagnation controlled by the inner wall of the channel changes the flow direction while keeping high fluid velocities. (C) 2011 CIRP.