A new method of optimising material removal rate using EDM with copper–tungsten electrodes

Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is widely used in the production of dies. This paper describes an investigation into the optimisation of the process which uses the effect of carbon which has migrated from the dielectric to tungsten–copper electrodes. This work has led to the development of a two-stage EDM machining process where different EDM settings are used for the two stages of the process giving a significantly improved material removal rate for a given tool wear ratio.     

Machining characteristics of magnetic force-assisted EDM

The gap conditions of electrical discharge machining (EDM) would significantly affect the stability of machining progress. Thus, the machining performance would be improved by expelling debris from the machining gap fast and easily. In this investigation, magnetic force was added to a conventional EDM machine to form a novel process of magnetic force-assisted EDM. The beneficial effects of this process were evaluated. The main machining parameters such as peak current and pulse duration were chosen to determine the effects on the machining characteristics in terms of material removal rate (MRR), electrode wear rate (EWR), and surface roughness. The surface integrity was also explored by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to evaluate the effects of the magnetic force-assisted EDM. As the experimental results suggested that the magnetic force-assisted EDM facilitated the process stability. Moreover, a pertinent EDM process with high efficiency and high quality of machined surface could be accomplished to satisfy modern industrial applications.     

Experimental characterization of dry EDM performed in a pulsating magnetic field

This paper presents an investigation of the hybrid dry EDM process performed in a pulsating magnetic field for improving process performance. In this study, the pulsating magnetic field is applied tangential to the electric field, for increasing the movement of electrons and degree of ionization in the plasma. Experiments with parametric variations showed that this hybrid approach leads to productivity-improvement by 130% and zero tool wear as compared to the dry EDM process without the magnetic field. The improvement in surface quality is illustrated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).     

微细电火花加工电极磨损几何形状研究及仿真

通过实验研究了微细电火花加工盲孔的电极损耗,并基于Matlab软件,在二维矩阵的基础上,通过选取网格设定大小,设定工具运动情况、放电间隙、放电间隙影响因子、单个脉冲去除凹坑大小及相对电极损耗率等参数,仿真电极形状变化的全过程。该模型经后续完善后可用于预测补偿。为了验证仿真模型,对比了仿真结果与实际实验,证明该仿真方法可行。     

High-speed dry electrical discharge machining

A novel high-speed dry electrical discharge machining (EDM) method was proposed in this study. Using this method, the material can be rapidly melted by extremely high discharge energy and flushed out of the discharge gap by high-pressure and high-speed air flow. The material removal rate (MRR) of dry EDM was significantly improved by the proposed method. The MRR of dry EDM is usually in tens mm³/min, whereas the MRR of the proposed method can be as high as 5162 mm³/min, which improves the MRR by 2nd to 3rd order of magnitude. Investigation was conducted systemically. The influences of work piece polarity, discharge current, pulse duration time, gas pressure, and electrode rotation speed on machining performance were studied. The machining mechanism of this method was thoroughly analyzed. Moreover, the re-solidified layer, surface morphology, elementary composition, and phase of AISI 304 stainless steel for high-speed dry EDM were also investigated. Theoretical and technical foundations were laid for the industry application of dry EDM.     

Investigation of wire electrical discharge machining of thin cross-sections and compliant mechanisms

The wire electrical discharge machining (EDM) of cross-section with minimum thickness and compliant mechanisms is studied. Effects of EDM process parameters, particularly the spark cycle time and spark on-time on thin cross-section cutting of Nd–Fe–B magnetic material, carbon bipolar plate, and titanium are investigated. An envelope of feasible wire EDM process parameters is generated for the commercially pure titanium. The application of such envelope to select suitable EDM process parameters for micro feature generation is demonstrated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of EDM surface, subsurface, and debris are presented. SEM observations lead to a hypothesis based on the thermal and electrostatic stress induced fracture to explain the limiting factor for wire EDM cutting of thin-sections. Applications of the thin cross-section EDM cutting for manufacture of compliant mechanisms are discussed.     

NAK80模具钢混粉电火花加工的实验研究

利用NAK80模具钢作为被加工工件，通过实验和理论分析的方法探索了电火花混粉加工的机理。为加工参数的优化及建立电火花混粉加工专家系统提供了实验依据和技术基础。     

Real-time Tool Wear Compensation in Milling EDM

Accurate machining by milling EDM (i.e. CNC contouring EDM with a rotating cylindrical or tubular electrode) necessitates compensation of the tool electrode wear. Existing anticipated wear compensation is based on off-line tool wear simulation prior to machining. This can be combined with corrections based on periodical measurements of tool length during machining. Anticipated wear compensation involves an important restriction: an exact model of the blank geometry must be available in order to perform the tool wear simulation. This paper presents a new method of wear compensation. On-line estimation of tool wear is used for combining anticipated compensation with real-time compensation. This extends the scope of milling EDM to the machining of blanks of which the exact shape is not known in advance.     

Investigation on the influence of the dielectrics on the material removal characteristics of EDM

A systematical and comprehensive investigation of the material removal characteristics of the electrical discharge machining (EDM) process using various dielectrics as the working fluids was conducted in this work. Five dielectrics, including gaseous dielectrics, air and oxygen, and liquid dielectrics, de-ionized water, kerosene and water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion were used as the working fluids. The whole geometry parameters of the craters, including the recast material in the craters, were precisely determined by metallographic method. The volume of melted and removed material and removal efficiency in different dielectrics were comparatively investigated. By relating the material removal characteristics to the evolution of the discharge generated bubbles in different dielectrics which was done by computer simulation, it seems that the pressure above the discharge point is an important factor that can affect material removal characteristics. The results of this work were supposed to be helpful for further clarifying the complicated material removal mechanism of EDM.     

电火花加工工具电极耐电蚀性能的试验研究

电火花成形加工过程中，工具电极的损耗是影响工件几何形状精度的主要因素之一。从工具电极的制作工艺着手，分别利用直流和脉冲电流电铸工具电被，进行了电极放电损耗试验。通过试验和SEM形貌研究分析了工艺参数对电极耐电蚀性能的影响，并用正交试验法优化了工艺参数。结果表明，脉冲电铸铜电极可降低损耗，且在一定工艺条件下脉冲电铸电极具有优异的耐电蚀性能。     

振动辅助液中喷气电火花加工性能研究

提出了振动辅助液中喷气电火花加工方法。该方法通过工件机械振动改善了极间的放电状态,降低了短路率。通过实验研究了机械振动的频率和振幅对液中喷气电火花加工性能的影响,研究了振动辅助作用下电加工参数、气体压力、工具电极转速对加工性能的影响。结果表明,工件的机械振动可有效提高液中喷气电火花加工的材料去除率,改善加工表面质量,而电极损耗几乎为零。     

CPLD在电火花加工脉冲电源设计中的应用

用AHDL语言设计了适用于电火花加工机床脉冲电源的脉冲控制电路。该电路可以和MCU或拨码盘连接，可精密控制脉冲宽度和脉冲间隔，通过对设计项目的编译，综合及对CPLD器件的编程下载，即可硬件实现本文设计。     

数字化控制的电火花加工电源研究

针对电火花加工的特点，分析了关键指标的影响因素和改善的方法，提出了利用单片机控制电火花加工电源的策略。采用先进的开关电源技术和新型的控制电路，通过软件编程。可根据加工工艺的需要，自由设定并产生最合理的加工参数，最终提高产品的精度和加工的效率。     

谐振型电火花加工脉冲电源的研究

分析了限制电火花加工脉冲电源高频化的因素，利用并联谐振软开关技术和高速功率MOSFET器件，设计了一种新型电火花加工脉冲电源，对这种新型电源的工作原理进行了探讨与分析。     

Study of precision micro-holes in borosilicate glass using micro EDM combined with micro ultrasonic vibration machining

Because of its excellent anodic bonding property and surface integrity, borosilicate glass is usually used as the substrate for micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS). For building the communication interface, micro-holes need to be drilled on this substrate. However, a micro-hole with diameter below 200 μm is difficult to manufacture using traditional machining processes. To solve this problem, a machining method that combines micro electrical-discharge machining (MEDM) and micro ultrasonic vibration machining (MUSM) is proposed herein for producing precise micro-holes with high aspect ratios in borosilicate glass. In the investigations described in this paper, a circular micro-tool was produced using the MEDM process. This tool was then used to drill a hole in glass using the MUSM process. The experiments showed that using appropriate machining parameters; the diameter variations between the entrances and exits (DVEE) could reach a value of about 2 μm in micro-holes with diameters of about 150 μm and depths of 500 μm. DVEE could be improved if an appropriate slurry concentration; ultrasonic amplitude or rotational speed was utilized. In the roundness investigations, the machining tool rotation speed had a close relationship to the degree of micro-hole roundness. Micro-holes with a roundness value of about 2 μm (the max. radius minus the min. radius) could be obtained if the appropriate rotational speed was employed.     

Study on Factors Determining Limits of Minimum Machinable Size in Micro EDM

This paper describes an investigation on factors determining the limits of the minimum machinable diameter of micro rods obtained by micro EDM. Possible factors which influence the limits are discharge crater size, depth of heat affected zone, residual stress, and material micro-structure. In this paper, the influences of residual stress and material micro-structure were especially examined. For the negative effects of residual stress, both residual stress already present prior to machining and residual stress generated by machining itself were investigated using tungsten and cemented tungsten carbide as micro-rod workpiece materials. To determine the effects of material micro-structure, the influence of tungsten carbide grain size on the limits of minimum machinable diameter of cemented tungsten carbide rods was investigated. Comparing the limits between poly-crystal tungsten and mono-crystal tungsten, it was found that micro-machining characteristics were affected significantly by the anisotropy of the mono-crystal tungsten.     

节能型电火花脉冲电源低电极损耗波形控制与工艺研究

分析了电火花加工中存在电极损耗的问题及原因,提出了节能型脉冲电源的低电极损耗波形控制方法,并设计了控制回路。在研制电源的基础上,以铜加工钢材料进行了工艺研究和实验,确定了梯形波电流的初值设定,掌握了二种波形条件下、不同加工规准和关键电参数的影响规律。研究结果为节能型电源实现低电极损耗的粗加工奠定了基础。     

基于非接触给电的高主轴转速微细电火花加工特性研究

在实现非接触给电的微细电火花加工的基础上,分别研究了圆柱电极和削边电极的主轴转速对材料去除率及电极损耗的影响。结果表明:无论是圆柱电极还是削边电极,随着主轴转速的提高,材料去除率增加,电极损耗率降低;且在削边电极的情况下,主轴转速的提高对于材料去除率和电极损耗率的改善更明显。     

日本放电加工的新方法和新技术

综述了日本在放电加工领域的最新研究动态，包括成形放电加工、微细放电加工和线切割放电加工三部分内容。在成形放电加工方面，主要介绍一项新技术——气中放电高速三维空腔铣的原理、实验装置及加工效果；在微细放电加工方面，主要介绍一种新近开发的可同时加工微细轴和微孔的自动微孔加工装置和目前已加工出的微细轴的最小尺寸；在线切割放电加工方面，主要介绍了提高圆角加工精度的新方法、提高放电位置可控性的新方法和新的硅锭切片方法。