Vortex machining is a unique localized material removal process in which footprints of several nanometer in depth are obtained. It employs a resonating quartz tuning fork and a fiber attached on its upper tine. When submerged in a layer of slurry, tip of the fiber produces vortices in the medium. These vortices cause a localized material removal of the workpiece, also placed in the slurry. Machining process is complex and the rate of material removal is governed by a number of parameters, such as slurry depth, offset distance between fiber tip and workpiece, fiber length, exciting frequency of tuning fork, etc. Also the imperfections such as misalignment between fiber and fork tine can impact the fiber tip displacement.The objective of this thesis is to study the factors that affect the displacement of the fiber tip, and to gain insights regarding maximizing the displacement of the fiber tip. Finite element analysis of the probe (assembly of the fork and fiber) is carried out to examine the impact of parameters such as fiber length, exciting frequency and imperfections on the tip displacement. Symmetric and anti-symmetric modes of longitudinal vibration of the fork are used to apply the loading in dynamic simulations. The finite element results predict that misalignments do not have a significant impact on the tip displacement. However, the imperfect bonding between fiber and fork can affect the fiber tip displacement. Furthermore, the results reveal that the glue between fiber and fork is an important factor affecting the fiber tip displacement, and should be considered in the finite element models. The results obtained are consistent for both the symmetric and anti-symmetric loadings.
