RESEARCH

The central focus of our research is the development of high-performance and sustainable micro/mesoscale manufacturing processes to meet a broad spectrum of current and future manufacturing needs.

Our research approach consists of
(a) Physics-based modeling and uncertainty quantification of existing manufacturing processes to gain a deeper insight into the process mechanisms that can lead to productivity improvements;
(b) Design and implementation of new micro/mesoscale technologies to improve energy efficiency and sustainability of the manufacturing processes; and
(c) Development of new high-performance manufacturing processes to process a wide range of materials.

Here are some of the research areas we are currently working on.

Research Areas

Lights
Micro Electrical Discharge Machining

We are developing multi-physics models and diagnostic tools to obtain a fundamental understanding of this complex and stochastic process and its recent variants including atomized dielectric-based EDM and powder-mixed EDM.
One of the pathways of performance-improvement in EDM is through the design of dielectrics. Therefore, we study the effect of different dielectrics, including fiber or powder mixed dielectrics and their chemical composition on the micro-EDM process characteristics.
Lights
Cutting Fluids for Mechanical Machining

We are designing new cutting fluid compositions and delivery techniques. These cutting fluid system are aimed to significantly reduce the use of chemicals and coolants additives that are hazardous to envorinment and human health, while providing effective cooling and lubrication at the cutting zone.
One of the directions is investigation of atomization-based cutting fluid delivery system as a sustainable cutting fluid delivery system for machining difficult-to-cut alloys such as stainless steel and titanium-alloys. We are also interested in studying various nanofluids for machining applications.
We are also developing a novel micro/nanobubble-mixed cutting fluid delivery method to achieve a high-performance micro deep-hole drilling process with a significant reduction in the consumption of cutting fluid.
Lights
Additive Manufacturing

Porosity is a major quality issue in additively manufactured (AM) materials due to the improper selection of raw materials or process parameters. While porosity is kept to a minimum for structural applications, parts with intentional (engineered) porosity find applications in prosthetics, sound dampeners, mufflers, catalytic converters, electrodes, heat exchangers, filters, etc. We are exploring various methods including in-situ laser remelting as an effective method to mitigate porosity and other surface defects in laser-directed energy deposition (L-DED). We are also interested in controlling the mechanical properties of L-DED components via engineered microstructures. (in Collaboration with Prof. Ramesh Singh)

Lights
Hybrid (Additive-Subtractive) Manufacturing

We are addressing the problem of the lack of in-situ diagnostic techniques for assessing the quality of additively manufactured parts. Such techniques, if developed, could enable closed-loop feedback of the additive process to produce parts with minimal or finite engineered porosity. In hybrid manufacturing processes with alternate additive and subtractive cycles, we propose to use the machining signals for additive process monitoring. The information of cutting forces, vibrations, acceleration, and temperature during the subtractive cycles, monitored continuously or after several additions of material layers, could provide localized structural information in the manufactured parts that can lead to actions such as correction of the 2D-deposition patterns, or removal and re-deposition of layers.
Lights
Micro-lens Arrays via Hot Embossing

Micro-lenses (optical lenses with diameter smaller than 1 mm) are widely used in digital projectors, photocopiers and mobile-phone cameras. Typically, these lenses are fabricated by moulding or embossing using a metal mold. However, fabrication of these micro-molds is a complicated process requiring multiple steps. Aim of this project is to explore better alternatives for the fabrication of the micro-lens molds.

Sponsors

Sponsored Projects

Duration Description Funding (106 INR) Sponsors
2023-2026 Development of Atomized Dielectric-based Electrical Discharge Machining for Reduced Water Consumption and Improved Sustainability, PI: Prof. Soham Mujumdar, Co-PI: Prof. Deepak Marla, Sparkonix India Pvt. Ltd. 7.3 Water Technologies Cell DST
2023-2026 High-performance Electrical Discharge Machining of Superalloys for Space Technology, PI: Prof. Soham Mujumdar 6.3 Core Research Grant SERB
2023-2026 Multifunctional Additive & Ablative Materials Processing via Quasi-Continuous Wave Fibre Laser for Novel Industrial applications, PI: Prof. Ramesh Singh, Co-PI: Prof. Soham Mujumdar, Prof. Deepak Marla, CMTI Bengaluru (It is a 2+2 consortium project with IIT Bombay & CMTI as Institutes, and Aditya Birla Science & Technology and Bharat Forge as Industries) 15.7 IMPRINT-IIC.2 DST, Aditya Birla Science & Technology, and Bharat Forge
2019-2024 Development of Micro/nanobubble-mixed Cutting Fluid Delivery for Micro Deep-hole Drilling, PI: Prof. Soham Mujumdar 8.8 IRCC IIT Bombay
2019-2022 Sustainable Cutting Fluid Technology for Micro Deep-hole Drilling, PI: Prof. Soham Mujumdar 3.1 Start-up Research Grant SERB