CURRENTLY, THERE IS A MAJOR EFFORT UNDERWAY TO DEVELOP NEW AND ENHANCED CERAMICS, SEMICONDUCTORS, SUPERCONDUCTORS, AND COMPOSITE MATERIALS FOR COMPONENTS REQUIRING HIGHER ACCURACY, BETTER SURFACE FINISH, LOWER DEGREE OF SURFACE DEGRADATION, AND MORE COMPLEX GEOMETRY THAN EVER BEFORE. TYPICAL METHODS FOR MACHINING THESE MATERIALS HAVE HAD LIMITED SUCCESS PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF THE RESULTANT SURFACE IMPERFECTIONS. ULTRASONIC MACHINING IS A NONTRADITIONAL MECHANICAL MATERIAL REMOVAL PROCESS APPLICABLE TO BOTH CONDUCTIVE AND NONCONDUCTIVE MATERIALS AND PARTICULARLY SUITED TO THE MACHINING OF BRITTLE MATERIALS SUCH AS CERAMICS, GRAPHITE, GLASS, AND CARBIDE.