The need for mechanical deep hole drilling is gaining attention for small diameter applications in automobile, aerospace, and medical industries, etc. This leads to the manufacturing industry looking for an advanced method to produce such holes. In recent trends, the use of abrasive waterjet drilling is increasing tremendously owing to its exceptional drilling capability of almost all types of materials with good dimensional stability. However, this method of manufacturing incurs higher initial investment, as well as higher maintenance and running costs. As a result, the identification of drilling process parameters is critical for the economical, efficient, and successful use of this method. The focus of this investigation is to find the appropriate range of water pressure and standoff distance in the abrasive waterjet drilling process and their impact on kerf angle (KA) and drilling rate during the making of deep holes on stainless steel AISI 316L with a high aspect ratio (1:45). According to the outcomes of this experimental work, water pressure is the most influential parameter for improving drilling rate and minimizing KA. However, with the specified range of drilling process parameters, the standoff distance reduces the drilling rate and increases the KA.

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