Capabilities evaluation of WSEM,milling and hobbing for meso-gear manufacturing

This paper describes manufacturing capabilities evaluation of wire spark erosion machining (WSEM), milling and hobbing to manufacture meso straight bevel gear (MSBG) and meso helical gear (MHG) made of SS 304 using microgeometry, macrogeometry, flank surface topology, surface finish, microstructure, microhardness, manufacturing time and cost, and gear material loss. Experiments were conducted using the parameters of WSEM, milling and hobbing processes optimized through trial experiments. This study reveals that WSEM manufactured MSBG and MHG possess better microgeometry (DIN 5-7), macrogeometry (29, 33, and 46?µm deviation in span, tooth thickness and outside diameter for MHG), topology, higher microhardness, superior microstructure, lower manufacturing time (25 and 20?min, respectively) and cost ($ 4 for both), smaller loss of gear material but poor surface finish (1.07 and 6.60?µm as average and maximum surface roughness for MHG and 1.04 and 6.16?µm for MSBG) than milled MSBG and hobbed MHG. Microstructure study showed presence of burrs and marks of the cutting tool on the flanks of the best quality hobbed MHG and milled MSBG. It proves that WSEM is a superior, economical, material efficient, and environment friendly process to manufacture meso-sized cylindrical and conical gears of higher accuracy and better quality with excellent repeatability.     

Surface integrity and removal mechanism in grinding sapphire wafers with novel vitrified bond diamond plates

In order to improve machining efficiency of sapphire wafer machining using the conventional loose abrasive process, fixed-abrasive diamond plates are investigated in this study for sapphire wafer grinding. Four vitrified bond diamond plates of different grain sizes (40?µm, 20?µm, 7?µm, and 2.5?µm) are developed and evaluated for grinding performance including surface roughness, surface topography, surface and subsurface damage, and material removal rate (MRR) of sapphire wafers. The material removal mechanisms, wafer surface finish, and quality of the diamond plates are also compared and discussed. The experiment results demonstrate that the surface material is removed in brittle mode when sapphire wafers are ground by the diamond plates with a grain size of 40?µm and 20?µm, and in ductile mode when that are ground by the diamond plates of grain sizes of 7?µm and 2.5?µm. The highest MRR value of 145.7?µm/min is acquired with the diamond plate with an abrasive size of 40?µm and the lowest surface roughness values of 3.5?nm in Ra is achieved with the 2.5?µm size.     

Surface Roughness and Microhardness Evaluation for EDM with Cu–Mn Powder Metallurgy Tool

In the present research, composite electrode (Cu–Mn) manufactured through powder metallurgy has been used to machine hot die steel (H11) by electrical discharge machining (EDM) process with the aim of inducing manganese and carbon into the machined surface. Such alloying is expected to improve the microhardness and other surface characteristics. Best level of process parameters for better surface finish and high microhardness are found using Taguchi method. Six processing parameters are considered and their significance is investigated by analysis of variance. Techniques like energy dispersive spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction are used to ascertain the surface characteristics. Surface machined at optimum process conditions for microhardness shows 93.7% improvement due to formation of cementite, ferrite and manganese carbide phases. Surface roughness having Ra value of 3.11 µm has been achieved.     

Investigations on surface quality of WEDM-manufactured meso bevel and helical gears

This article presents investigations on and analysis of surface finish of meso bevel and helical gears made of stainless steel (SS 304) manufactured by wire electric discharge machining (WEDM) process using thin soft plain brass wire of 0.25?mm diameter. Effects of eight WEDM process parameters, namely, peak current, pulse-on time, pulse-off time, wire feed rate, wire tension, servo-gap voltage, dielectric pressure, and cutting speed on average and maximum surface roughness of the meso bevel and helical gears have been studied by conducting 31 experiments using one-factor-at-a-time approach to identify their optimum ranges/values for further experiments. Tooth profile, microstructure, microhardness, and topography of tooth flank surface have been studied for the best quality meso gears. Average and maximum surface roughness of tooth flank surfaces of meso bevel and helical gears increase with increase in peak current, servo-gap voltage, pulse-on time, wire feed rate, wire tension and cutting speed, and decrease with increase in pulse-off time while dielectric pressure does not significantly influence surface roughness. This work establishes that WEDM process can be an economic and sustainable manufacturing alternative for net-shaped meso-sized bevel and helical gears having better surface finish which will eliminate need of any subsequent finishing processes.     

Improving the machining performance characteristics of the µEDM drilling process by the online cryogenic cooling approach

Productivity and surface quality would significantly affect the performance of the micro electrical discharge machining process (µEDM). Thus, the machining performance would be enhanced by improving the material removal rate (MRR) and surface quality. In this investigation, cryogenic LN₂ cooling was introduced to the conventional µEDM setup for developing an innovative process of cryogenically cooled µEDM process (CµEDM). The favorable outcomes of this process were estimated by selecting discharge current (I_p) and pulse on duration (T_on) for determining the effects of the machining performance including MRR and surface integrity. Surface quality was also analyzed by microstructural analysis and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) for evaluating the effects of the cryogenically cooled µEDM process. The experimental result shows 54–62% improvement in MRR and 22–36% improvement in average roughness values. Hence, it is suggested that cryogenically cooled µEDM facilitates improvement in productivity and surface quality.     

Surface modification of WC-Co alloy using Al and Si powder through WEDM: A thermal erosion process

This paper presents the surface modification of WC-Co alloy with the use of aluminum and silicon powder in wire electric discharge machining (WEDM) process. A separate attachment with the stirrer is used to mix the metal powder in the dielectric, which is further supplied by a pump at the workplace continuously. The effects of different process parameters like peak current, pulse on-time, pulse off-time and servo-voltage are investigated on the material transfer, crack formation and white-layer formation with the help of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. It was observed that silicon powder enhances the surface quality (4?µm white layer) compared with aluminum (6?µm white layer) powder. The white-layer thickness without the use of metal powder was around 14?µm. The cracks density after the addition powders reduces significantly.     

Parametric Optimization for Selective Surface Modification in EDM Using Taguchi Analysis

This paper introduces selective modification of surface by electric discharge machining process and its parametric optimization. A hard layer of tungsten and copper mixture is created at selected area of aluminum surface. The process is done using W–Cu powder metallurgical green compact tool and masking technique in die-sinking electric discharge machining (EDM). The modified surface is evaluated by the performance measures such as tool wear rate, material transfer rate, surface roughness, and edge deviation from the pre-defined boundary line of deposited layer by analysis of variance using Taguchi design of experiment. Minimum surface roughness of 4.5 µm and minimum edge deviation of 37.29 µm is achieved. The hardness of the surface layer is increased more than three times of base metal. Overall effects of parameters are also analyzed considering multiple performance criteria using overall evaluation criteria. The modified surface is characterized using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis, which show the tool material transfer at the selected area of the surface.     

空气介质微细电火花沉积加工微结构机理

对微细电火花沉积加工中沉积所得不同微细结构的成形机理进行了研究．在电火花成形机床上，通过合理选择工艺参数，用黄铜电极在高速钢工件表面稳定沉积出外径约0．20mm、线径约0．09mm的微螺旋结构和直径约0．20mm微圆柱体．通过有限元法对工具电极放电点的瞬态温度场进行了模拟，分析结果表明，不同的放电能量密度影响材料的蚀除形式，继而影响蚀除电极材料在放电通道中的运动，最终影响微细结构的成形过程．对沉积材料微观组织结构分析表明，沉积材料与基体结合层为冶金结合方式，结合紧密，并由于凝固过程极大的冷却速率，使沉积材料在凝固过程中发生了晶粒细化现象．     

WEDM of Mg/CRT/BN composites: Effect of materials and machining parameters

The current work presents a detailed exploration on real-time wire electric discharge machining (WEDM) experiments and grey relational analysis (GRA)–based multi-criteria optimization of material and machining characteristics for lowered surface roughness (R_a) and improvised material removal rate (MRR) of the newly developed magnesium/boron nitride/cathode ray tube (Mg/BN/CRT) hybrid metal matrix composites (MMCs). The composites were fabricated through powder metallurgy (PM) route by reinforcing silica-rich E-waste CRT panel glass powder crushed for different particle sizes (10, 30, and 50?µm) at various weight percentages (5%, 10%, and 15%) and with 2% boron nitride (BN). Taguchi-based orthogonal array procedure was utilized to formulate the experimental plan for WEDM considering reinforcement level and size, pulse on time (P_on), pulse off time (P_off), and wire feed (W_f) as the input process parameters. ANOVA results reveal that P_on and wt% of reinforcement has more effect on R_a and MRR than any other considered parameters. The developed mathematical model for R_a and MRR predicted values similar to that of experimental results. Multi-criteria optimization was done through GRA technique and the so recommended optimum parameter set furnishes higher MRR (22.34?mm³/min) and reduced R_a (2.87?µm).     

Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) Characteristics Associated with Electrical Discharge Energy on Machining of Cemented Tungsten Carbide

In this investigation, cemented tungsten carbides graded K10 and P10 were machined by electrical discharge machining (EDM) using an electrolytic copper electrode. The machining parameters of EDM were varied to explore the effects of electrical discharge energy on the machining characteristics, such as material removal rate (MRR), electrode wear rate (EWR), and surface roughness. Moreover, the effects of the electrical discharge energy on heat-affected layers, surface cracks and machining debris were also determined. The experimental results show that the MRR increased with the density of the electrical discharge energy; the EWR and diameter of the machining debris were also related to the density of the electrical discharge energy. When the amount of electrical discharge energy was set to a high level, serious surface cracks on the machined surface of the cemented tungsten carbides caused by EDM were evident.     

Experimental investigation of surface topography in photochemical machining of Inconel 718

Surface topography is one of the important aspects of micro-components manufacturing. Photochemical machining (PCM) is the most commonly used method in the low-cost micro-manufacturing process. The present investigation focused on the study of the effect of process parameters on the surface topography in PCM of Inconel 718 of two different grain sizes using ferric chloride (FeCl₃). For this work, the input parameters considered are concentration, time and temperature of the etchant. The temperature of the etchant was found to be the most dominant parameter in the PCM of Inconel 718. Moreover, in this study, the effect of grain size of samples on surface roughness was considered. The average increase in surface roughness is 1.227 times due to variation in grain size from 59?µm to 42?µm.     

Constrained multi-objective optimization of EDM process parameters using kriging model and particle swarm algorithm

This paper investigates the highly nonlinear relationship between process parameters and machining responses, including material removal rate (MRR), surface roughness (SR), and electrode wear rate (EWR) of electric discharge machining (EDM) using Kriging model. Subsequently, an emerging multi-objective optimization algorithm called particle swarm is used to determine the best machining conditions that not only maximize the machining speed but also minimize the EWR with a constraint of the SR. The experiment was carried out with P20 steel on a CNC EDM machine using copper electrode. The research result shows that the MRR increases sharply when increasing the discharge current just like other researches pointed out. However, the relationship between EWR and current is complicated. EWR appears the minimum value when the current is around 30?A. The speed of change of MRR per unit of EWR is the highest when the SR is around 14.5?µm. The combination of Kriging regression model and particle swarm optimization is considered as an intelligent process modeling and optimization of EDM machining. The proper selection of process parameters helps the EDM operator to reduce the machining time and cost.     

Characteristics of array holes with large aspect ratio in aluminum-based cast alloy

Array holes were obtained by machining methods or nontraditional machining methods, and casting process was rarely used in the preparation of array holes. In this experiment, stainless steel thin rods coated with alcohol group graphite paint were chosen as cores to prepare array holes on aluminum-based cast alloys, and the roughness and roundness of holes were analyzed. The results show that array holes cast with 2?mm pitch of holes, 0.54?mm diameters, and large aspect ratio of 100 were obtained. The roundness and roughness of holes were influenced by consumption of carbon element from surface of hole core and wettability between molten metal and hole core surface; the lower roughness and the better roundness could be acquired under these experimental conditions. And roughness of holes (R_a) was about 6.3?µm, which is close to that obtained by machining, and the value of hole shape factor (K, characterizing the roundness of the hole) was above 0.7; the shape of the hole approached a circular shape.     

Surface and porous recast layer analysis in µ-EDM of MWCNT-Al2O3 composites

Machining of ceramic materials has been a major challenge owing to high hardness and brittleness. The reinforcement of a conducting filler allows permissible machining in electrical discharge machining (EDM) process. The current effort analyses the impact of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) of concentrations of 2.5 and 5 vol. %, as conducting filler towards machinability of alumina composites in µ-EDM process. The influence of tool materials and its rotation are closely analyzed. A successful machining process is observed in both the two composites, with a higher material removal rate (MRR) in 5 vol. % MWCNTs. When the tool starts to rotate at 750 rpm, an increment of around 60–65% is observed in MRR for both the two composites. Similarly, the surface roughness (R_a) decreases by a factor of 20?25%. The brass tool is observed to yield better machining capabilities due to the frequent initiation of sparks. A highly porous machined surface is observed in both the two composites. This scenario depicts the spalling effect as more dominant than melting-evaporation effect. The extent of porous recast layer on the drilled edges is found to reduce with increasing the speed of tool rotation.     

Experimental investigations in powder mixed electric discharge machining of Ti–35Nb–7Ta–5Zrβ-titanium alloy

The present research is the first type of study in which the application of powder mixed electrical discharge machining (PMEDM) for the machining of β-phase titanium (β-Ti) alloy has been proposed. β-Ti alloys are new range of titanium alloys, which has a wide-spread application in dental, orthopedics, shape memory, and stents. The aim of the present study is to fabricate submicro- and nanoscale topography by PMEDM process to enhance the biocompatibility without affecting machining efficiency. The effect of Si powder concentration along with pulse current and duration on the surface and machining characteristics has been investigated. A significant decrease in surface crack density on the machined surface with 4 g/l Si powder concentration was observed. When β-Ti alloy was modified at 15 A pulse current, longer pulse interval with 8 g/l concentration of Si powder particles, the interconnected surface porosities with pore size 200–500 nm was observed. Moreover, at Si powder concentrations of 2 g/l and 4 g/l, the recast layer thickness is 8 µm and 2–3 µm, respectively. Elemental mapping analysis confirmed that PMEDM also generated carbides and oxides enriched surface, a favorable surface chemistry to enhance the biocompatibility of β-Ti alloy. Furthermore, PMEDM also enhances the machining performance by improving material removal rate and reducing tool wear rate.     

Angular and radial dependence of the energy response factor for LIF-TLD micro-rods in 125L permanent implant source

EGSnrc Monte Carlo simulations were used to calculate the angular and radial dependence of the energy response factor for LiF-thermoluminescence dosemeters (TLDs) irradiated with a commercially available (125)I permanent brachytherapy source. The LiF-TLDs were modelled as cylindrical micro-rods of length 6 mm and with diameters of 1 mm and 5 mm. The results show that for a LiF-TLD micro-rod of 1 mm diameter, the energy response relative to (60)Co gamma rays is 1.406 +/- 0.3% for a polar angle of 90 degrees and radial distance of 1.0 cm. When the diameter of the micro-rod is increased from 1 to 5 mm, the energy response decreases to 1.32 +/- 0.3% at the same point. The variation with position of the energy response factor is not >5% in a 6 cm x 6 cm x 6 cm calculation grid for the 5 mm diameter micro-rod. The results show that there is a change in the photon spectrum with angle and radial distance, which causes the variation of the energy response.     

Study on the machining of Al–SiC functionally graded metal matrix composite using die-sinking EDM

Functionally graded aluminum matrix composites (FGAMCs) are new materials with excellent capabilities for design and development of complex engineering works. In this work, FGAMCs are machined using electrical discharge machining (EDM) with the process input parameters such as pulse current, pulse on time, and zone position in brake disk. Design of experiments is used for the experimental planning with full factorial method. The selected input process parameters are optimized using gray relational analysis to minimize the electrode wear ratio, overcut, power consumption, and surface roughness. The influential studies of input process parameters on the output responses are also conducted. The optimal EDM parameter setting for achieving better output parameters is pulse current at 5 A, pulse on time at 50?µs and 45?mm zone position distance in the brake disk. The pulse current (39.40%) contributed the maximum in minimizing the output responses. Further, the surface morphology is also analyzed on the material to observe the crater formation and the erosion mechanism.     

Fabrication of an array of micro-fins using Wire-EDM and its parametric analysis

The fabrication of micro-fin is very critical due to its higher debility nature. In this paper, a simple methodology is proposed for fabricating an array of micro-fins using 2-Axis wire electric discharge machining process, which gives a faster production rate with good accuracy. Arrays of 625 (25 × 25) micro-fins have been fabricated on stainless steel and copper square rods. The average height of the fabricated fins is 850 µm. The effects of process parameters such as pulse-on-time, pulse-off-time, current, and table feed on performance measures like material removal rate, overcut, and cutting rate have been studied. Taguchi L₁₆ orthogonal array has been employed to conduct the experimentation. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been applied to observe the significant process parameters and their contribution to the responses. Moreover, the overall evaluation criteria (OEC) have also been formulated to obtain the best parametric combination. The characterization of fabricated micro-pin-fins has been carried out using scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray techniques.     

Experimental Analysis of Reverse Micro-EDM for Machining Microtool

High aspect ratio microtools find numerous applications in the production of miniaturized components and structures, e.g., drilling of microholes in ink jet nozzles, air bearings, and biomedical devices. The present study aims to machine microrods using reverse microelectrical discharge machining (R-μEDM) process. These microrods can be used as microtools for drilling microholes. A detailed experimental investigation has been carried out with the help of Taguchi's orthogonal array for understanding the mechanism of the process. The process parameters such as voltage, feed rate, and capacitance are considered to perceive their effect on response measures such as machining time, deviation in length, deviation in average diameter, standard deviation (SD) in diameter, and surface roughness. The optimal process parametric condition of R-μEDM has been determined for desired performance, i.e., obtaining the target length and average diameter of the microrod and ensuring its straightness with minimum time duration. Confirmation experiment has been carried out at the optimum condition and accordingly the results have been presented. Surface morphology of the machined microrod at the optimum condition has also been investigated. Microrod of diameter 170 µm with a high aspect ratio of 18 has been successfully machined using this process.     

Processing of duplex stainless steel by WEDM

This study investigates the manufacturing process of 2205 duplex stainless steel by wire electrical discharge machining where the effects of pulse-on time (PONT), wire tension and pulse-off time (POFT) on surface finish, kerf width, and material removal rate (MRR). It was found that the kerf width was unchanged with the change of PONT at long pulse-of time and higher wire tension. However, it decreased initially and then increased due to the rise of PONT at low values of wire tension and POFT. Low wire tension and PONT, POFT and contributed towards widest kerf. Longer PONT increased MRR due to higher machining/processing speed. Lower wire tension and shorter POFT increased MRR more than that of higher wire tension and POFT. Craters and recast layer were on the machined surfaces at all machining conditions. Increased PONT raised surface roughness at the lower POFT and tension in the wire. The surface finish at high wire tension and longer PONT is always better than that at smaller PONT and lower tension in the wire. The microstructure underneath the recast layer remains unchanged and the failure of wire electrode occurred at higher wire tension, longer PONT and shorter POFT.