Dry air or gas is filtered and compressed by passing it through the filter and compressor.
A pressure gauge and a flow regulator are used to control the pressure and regulate the flow rate of the compressed air.
Compressed air is then passed into the mixing chamber. In the mixing chamber, abrasive powder is fed. A vibrator is used to control the feed of the abrasive powder.
The abrasive powder and the compressed air are thoroughly mixed in the chamber. The pressure of this mixture is regulated and sent to nozzle.
The nozzle increases the velocity of the mixture at the expense of its pressure. A fine abrasive jet is rendered by the nozzle. This jet is used to remove unwanted material from the work piece.
When an abrasive particle (like Al2O3 or SiC) having sharp edges hits a brittle and fragile material with a high speed, it makes dent into the material and lodges a small particle from it by a tiny brittle fracture. The lodged out or wear particle is carried away by the air or gas. The operating elements in AJM are abrasive, carrier gas and the nozzle as schematically shown in the following Figure
The distance between the nozzle tip and the work surface has great influence on the diameter of cut, its shape and size and also rate of material removal. The following Figure shows the variation in the diameter of cut with change in the stand off distance (SOD). It is evident that the SOD changes the abrasive particles spreads (i.e. covers wider area) on the work surface and consequently increases the diameter of the cut.