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Although numerous references present the beneficial effects on surface integrity of ultrasonic vibration-assisted ball burnishing (UVABB), nothing has been reported about the dynamic behavior of the UVABB tool, workpiece, and machine triad during the process. In this paper, a dynamic monitorization through a set of 5 accelerometers is tested to analyze the interactions between the tool–workpiece–machine mechanical assembly. A UVABB tool attached to a milling machine and equipped with a piezoelectric stack that is able to assist the process with a 40-kHz vibration is tested on a milled C45 steel surface. First, the natural frequencies of the mechanical system are obtained through hammer impact tests. Then, the vibratory signals transmitted during the execution of the process are monitored and compared to those: two feed velocities and two burnishing preloads, all with and without vibration-assistance. Results show that the proposed accelerometer set is valid to assess the behavior of a UVABB process. The system’s natural frequencies are not varied by vibration-assistance and are not excited when the piezoelectric is functioning. It is confirmed that UVABB is safe for the machine and the tool, and there is no unexpected excited frequencies due to the piezoelectric excitation.

Burnishing is a plastic deformation process that reduces roughness while increasing hardness by introducing compressive residual stresses near the surface zone. These improvements will depend mainly on two fundamental variables: the applied load and the friction derived from the tool–surface interaction. Nevertheless, microstructural differences in the materials have not yet been considered within this interaction. This leads to a generalization of the process that can result in the failure of industrial components. Therefore, the aim of this work is to study the microstructural influence of the ball-burnishing process from a tribological perspective. Thus, martensitic and austenitic stainless steels were evaluated in terms of friction and surface integrity. The results show that parameterizing the process according to the tool–surface interaction is critical since improvements depend on friction as a function of the availability of plastic deformation of the crystallographic structures.

The objective of the research is to analyze the impact of the ultrasonic vibration assistance on the wear resistance due to the topography enhancement caused on Ti6Al4V cylindrical samples after surface modification through a ball burnishing process. The process parameters considered for this study are the burnishing force, the number of passes, and the addition of a 40 kHz ultrasonic assistance, which are thought to enhance the surface topography and increase the hardener effect in terms of depth. A complete screening design of 3 factors was performed, revealing that the number of passes and the vibration assistance are the most important parameters for minimizing the wear volume loss, being 170 N of burnishing force, 3 passes, and the addition of the vibration assistance as the best combination found. However, no significant difference in the friction force was observed. The topography results show that there is a decrease in the average roughness from 1.50 to 0.45 μm with optimal burnishing conditions. It was also analyzed the microstructure originated after the turning, the conventional ball burnishing, and the vibration-assisted ball burnishing, being the last optimal in terms of depth affectation to the microstructure. Therefore, these results confirm an improvement in terms of wear enhancement, friction reduction, and topography results when vibration assistance is added to a conventional ball burnishing process.

Thermoplastic elastomeric materials are processable through 3D printing. These materials demonstrate excellent mechanical properties, along with good flexibility. A better understanding of the creation of bonds between the filaments of these copolymers is still needed. When extruded, these materials have shown to have a different behavior compared to commonly known thermoplastic materials. The methodology, hereby presented, relies on the tensile tests of 3D-printed samples of two thermoplastic elastomers based on olefin: TPO 90A and TPO 96A. In order to study the effect of printing parameters on the mechanical behavior of the samples, these have been manufactured following a full factorial design of experiments. Statistical influences were evaluated with an analysis of variance. Layer height and fill density were the variable parameters. Eventually, these two parameters were shown to have a significant effect on the mechanical properties studied (Young’s modulus and yield strength). Once all the results were analyzed, the presented methodology was applied to another set of specimens. These had been manufactured with a different printer and with the same material but colored. The analysis of variance showed that, although the mechanical properties were affected by the color pigments, the trends of this analysis and the recommended manufacturing values did not vary. The results showed that when working with thermoplastic elastomers and in order to maximize Young’s modulus and yield strength, a 0.3-mm layer height and a 75% fill density should be selected.

Purpose The aim of this paper is to analyze the mechanical properties of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) parts manufactured through fused filament fabrication and compare these results to analogous ones obtained on polylactic acid (PLA) and PLA–wood specimens to contribute for a wider understanding of the different materials used for additive manufacturing. Design/methodology/approach With that aim, an experimental based on an L27 Taguchi array was used to combine the specific parameters taken into account in the study, namely, layer height, nozzle diameter, infill density, orientation and printing velocity. All samples were subjected to a four-point bending test performed according to the ASTM D6272 standard. Findings Young’s modulus, elastic limit, maximum stress and maximum deformation of every sample were computed and subjected to an analysis of variance. Results prove that layer height and nozzle diameter are the most significant factors that affect the mechanical resistance in pieces generated through additive manufacturing and subjected to bending loads, regardless of the material. Practical implications The best results were obtained by combining a layer height of 0.1 mm and a nozzle diameter of 0.6 mm. The comparison of materials evidenced that PLA and its composite version reinforced with wood particles present more rigidity than ABS, whereas the latter can experience further deflection before break. Originality/value This study is of interest for manufacturers that want to decide which is the best material to be applied for their application, as it derives in a practical technical recommendation of the best parameters that should be selected to treat the material during the fused filament fabrication process.

This paper explores the consequences of applying an ultrasonic vibration-assisted ball burnishing process and its non-vibration assisted version on the topology and subsurface microstructure of a transformation-induced plasticity AISI 301LN alloy. More specifically, four different metallographic conditions provided as 1.5-mm thickness sheets and characterized by different starting martensite content (3, 10, 20 and 40 wt.%) are included in the study. Ball burnishing was performed along the lamination direction and perpendicular to it. Results show that the effect of ball burnishing is strongly correlated with the pre-existing microstructure. The steel containing the lowest quantity of initial martensite is the most affected by the process, achieving a higher residual hardening effect, similar to the untreated steel with an original martensitic content of around 40 wt.%. Moreover, the process succeeds in generating a 100-nm thick nanograin layer under the plate subsurface. Finally, no conspicuous effect of the application of vibration assistance was observed, which encourages the application of alternative measurement techniques in future works to define its effect on the properties after being ball burnished.

Additive manufacturing (AM) has increased its field of application, not only for prototypes but also for final parts. Therefore, the need to study new materials is currently growing. This paper aims to study the effect of the printing parameters used in two different thermoplastic elastomers (PEBA 90A and TPU 98A) subjected to tensile tests, evaluating a competent alternative to the currently most used 3D printed materials. To achieve it, a full factorial design experiment is applied to analyze the influence on the tensile responses of two printing parameters: the layer height and the fill density. In addition, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to describe the relations among the parameters and the mechanical responses obtained. Moreover, assessment of damping properties was done. Results show that each thermoplastic elastomer should be studied separately, although the proposed methodology can be used for each material independently of their nature. Finally, a correlation between the printing parameters and the mechanical behavior of TPU 98A and PEBA 90A was found: the layer height and the infill are statistically influential parameters for both materials.

Worldwide, the ocurrence of acute subdural hematomas (ASDHs) in road traffic crashes is a major public health problem. ASDHs are usually produced by loss of structural integrity of one of the cerebral bridging veins (CBVs) linking the parasagittal sinus to the brain. Therefore, to assess the risk of ASDH it is important to know the mechanical conditions to which the CBVs are subjected during a potentially traumatic event (such as a traffic accident or a fall from height). Recently, new studies on CBVs have been published allowing much more accurate prediction of the likelihood of mechanical failure of CBVs. These new data can be used to propose new damage metrics, which make more accurate predictions about the probability of occurrence of ASDH in road crashes. This would allow a better assessement of the effects of passive safety countermeasures and, consequently, to improve vehicle restraint systems. Currently, some widely used damage metrics are based on partially obsolete data and measurements of the mechanical behavior of CBVs that have not been confirmed by subsequent studies. This paper proposes a revision of some existing metrics and constructs a new metric based on more accurate recent data on the mechanical failure of human CBVs.

This contribution reports the effects of an ultrasonic-vibration assisted ball burnishing process on the topological descriptors of nickel-based alloy Udimet®720. This material is of high interest for the transportation industry, and specifically for the aeronautical sector. Despite the acknowledged necessity to finish this material to achieve excelling mechanical performances of parts, surface integrity enhancement by means of plastic deformation through ball burnishing has seldom been explored in previous references so far. In this paper, different surface descriptors are used to report how the topology changes after ultrasonic-assisted ball burnishing, and how burnishing conditions influence that change. The burnishing preload and the number of passes are the only influential factors on surface change, whereas the feed velocity of the tool and the strategy reveal not to be relevant on the result. Additionally, the extent to which the process successfully modifies the objective surfaces is highly divergent depending on the original scale of the treated surface. The assistance of the process with vibrations also shows that the resulting topologies are characterized by a periodical pattern of repetitive peaks and valleys that are extended on the surface with a higher frequency in comparison to the non-assisted process, which could influence in the functional deployment of workpieces treated through it, and could deliver an advantage with regard to its non-assisted homologous process.

This paper aims to analyse the mechanical properties response of polylactic acid (PLA) parts manufactured through fused filament fabrication. The influence of six manufacturing factors (layer height, filament width, fill density, layer orientation, printing velocity, and infill pattern) on the flexural resistance of PLA specimens is studied through an L27 Taguchi experimental array. Different geometries were tested on a four-point bending machine and on a rotating bending machine. From the first experimental phase, an optimal set of parameters deriving in the highest flexural resistance was determined. The results show that layer orientation is the most influential parameter, followed by layer height, filament width, and printing velocity, whereas the fill density and infill pattern show no significant influence. Finally, the fatigue fracture behaviour is evaluated and compared with that of previous studies’ results, in order to present a comprehensive study of the mechanical properties of the material under different kind of solicitations.