Abstract: A cooling system and method for a machining process. The system includes a coolant supply and a coolant activation assembly, where the coolant supply is configured to provide coolant to the coolant activation assembly. The coolant activation assembly includes a plurality of piezoelectric actuators. Each of the plurality of piezoelectric actuators is configured to emit a coolant stream and to impart an ultrasonic or megasonic vibration component to each coolant stream. The coolant activation assembly is configured to provide cooling to a focal point in a work zone by directing multiple coolant streams emitted by the plurality of piezoelectric actuators to the focal point such that multiple coolant streams converge at the focal point.

Abstract: Described herein is a system for generating a plurality of coolant beams that converge at a focal point for advanced heat transfer. The system utilizes a variable strength activation of coolant and superposition of coolant beams generated by multiple actuators for increased cooling strength increase, thereby avoiding activation saturation in conventional systems. Each coolant beams is activated to carry an ultrasonic or megasonic vibration component. In addition, the system includes a coolant activation assembly having a plurality of actuators for generating the coolant beams. The coolant activation assembly further includes supporting components for positioning the actuators so that all of the coolant beams generated by these actuators converge at the focal point. Experimental results show that the system provides significantly improved workpiece quality in a machining process. Compared with the most advanced existing system, this system offers a further improvement of up to 12.