article icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Ultrasonic machining (USM)
The workpiece is held in a tank of slurry containing abrasive particles, the slurry is injected into the space between a vibrating tool and stationary workpiece. Material is abraded away until a mirror image of the tool is cut into the workpiece.
article icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Abrasive jet cutting
A high pressure, high velocity jet of water (or air), mixed with dry abrasive particles to form a slurry, is forced through a nozzle in the cutting head. The jet impinges on the surface of the workpiece, eroding away material.
article icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Water jet cutting (Hydrodynamic cutting)
High velocity, high pressure water jets (or a mixture of water and an abrasive) are used to cut into the surface of the workpiece. Used mainly on non-metallic thin sheet material.
article icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Creep feed grinding
Effectively a milling process, as high volumes of material can be removed, producing deeper cuts, in a single pass of the grinding wheel. Final surface finishing of the workpiece is provided during a second pass of the grinding wheel, which has by then been dressed by a small diamond roller. Chips of workpiece material are washed away by a jet ...
article icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Centreless grinding
Differs from the conventional grinding process in that the workpiece is held between two grinding wheels, rotating in the same direction at different speeds, and a work rest platform. The speed of the grinding wheels rotation relative to each other determines the rate at which material is removed.
article icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Grinding
A mechanical process using a rotating grinding wheel made from abrasive material containing small particles of grit ranging from fine to coarse. The wheel revolves around a central axis, making contact with the surface of the workpiece, while the particles act as cutting tools that cut chips from the material.
article icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Multipoint cutting (rotational)
A mechanical machining process, where a tool with more than one sharp cutting edge rotates on a horizontal or vertical axis, to remove material from the workpiece.
article icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Multipoint cutting (translational)
A mechanical machining process, where a tool with more than one sharp cutting edge (‘teeth’) moves horizontally or vertically to remove material from the workpiece.
free course icon
level 1: introductory icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Gene testing
This free course, Gene testing, looks at three different uses of genetic testing: pre-natal diagnosis, childhood testing and adult testing. Such tests provide genetic information in the form of a predictive diagnosis, and as such are described as predictive tests. Pre-natal diagnosis uses techniques such as amniocentesis to test fetuses in the ...
article icon
Money & Business
Should we tax robots who replace humans in the workplace?
Could the taxation system provide a solution to the rise of automation?
video icon
Science, Maths & Technology
What connects knitting to helicopter design?
The skills you learn knitting could come in handy putting a helicopter together. The OU's Claudia Eckert explains why.
article icon
Nature & Environment
How are tiny air pollutants causing massive storms in the Amazon?
The smallest specks of air pollution can create enormous storms in the rainforest - and we don't yet understand enough about this, reports Rodrigo de Oliveira Andrade.