Monitoring of Processing Conditions of an Ultrasonic Vibration-Assisted Ball-Burnishing Process

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.