Increasing discharge energy of micro-EDM with electrostatic induction feeding method through resonance in circuit

This paper describes the method to increase discharge energy in micro-EDM using electrostatic induction feeding as the pulse generator. In a previous study, controlled pulse train method was introduced to increase discharge energy and enlarge unit removal per discharge by allowing multiple discharges to occur at the same spot. During observation, it was found that the oscillation of discharge current is excited at higher amplitude even if the same capacitance is used. In this paper, the influence of frequency on discharge energy was investigated. It was found that higher discharge energy can be obtained when machining was done at the resonant frequency of the circuit. Influence of capacitance and inductance on resonant frequency was studied. Probability of discharge continuity at different frequencies was examined. The results confirmed that higher discharge continuity within the pre-determined pulse train duration can be achieved when machining is conducted at resonant frequency, leading to higher material removal rate (MRR).     

Study of EDM cutting of single crystal silicon carbide

Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is developing as a new alternative method for slicing single crystal silicon carbide (SiC) ingots into thin wafers. Aiming to improve the performance of EDM slicing of SiC wafers, the fundamental characteristics of EDM of SiC single crystal were experimentally investigated in this paper and compared to those of steel. Furthermore, EDM cutting of SiC ingot by utilizing copper foil electrodes was proposed and its performance was investigated. It is found that the EDM characteristics of SiC are very different from those of steel. The EDM machining rate of SiC is higher and the tool wear ratio is lower compared to those of steel, despite SiC having a higher thermal conductivity and melting point. Thermal cracks caused by the thermal shock of electrical discharges and the Joule heating effect due to the higher electrical resistivity are considered to be the main reasons for the higher material removal rate of SiC. It is concluded that the new EDM cutting method utilizing a foil electrode instead of a wire electrode has potential for slicing SiC wafers in the future.     

Research of micro EDM/ECM method in same electrolyte with running wire tool electrode

A micro rod machining method which can switch between electrical discharge machining (EDM) and electrochemical machining (ECM) by attaching/detaching a diode to/from a bipolar pulse generator in parallel to the working gap was newly developed using a wire electrode made of tungsten. The problem of the wire electrode wear was eliminated by the use of the wire electrochemical turning (WECT) method in which the tungsten wire electrode is continuously running. The ultra-short bipolar pulse current was generated by the electrostatic induction feeding method where a pulse voltage is coupled to the working gap through a feeding capacitance. The machining characteristics of three types of wire guide; disk-shaped WC guide, laminated wire guide and cylindrical acrylic guide, were studied. The experimental results showed that the cylindrical acrylic guide has the best machining characteristics without the influence of guide wear and with less stray current flowing through the working gap. Using the cylindrical acrylic guide, the influences of the feeding capacitance C₁, and the total amplitude of the pulse voltage on the machining characteristics were studied. Finally, a stainless steel SUS 304 micro-rod with a high aspect ratio of 14 was fabricated efficiently by using the EDM and ECM modes for rough and finish machining in sequence with the same setup, pulse generator, and neutral electrolyte.     

Research on improvement of machining accuracy of micro-rods with electrostatic induction feeding ECM

Micro-rods were machined by electrochemical machining using the electrostatic induction feeding method, with which ultra-short current pulse duration of several tens of ns can easily be obtained. A tungsten plate and stainless steel (SUS304) rod were used as the tool electrode and workpiece, respectively. To improve the machining accuracy, the machining characteristics when the workpiece is fed in the axial and radial directions were investigated using NaCl aqueous solution as the electrolyte. When fed in the axial direction, the machinable length of the micro-rods was found to peak at the optimum feed speed because of the influence of pitting corrosion and collision between electrodes. When the workpiece was fed in the radial direction, the influence of pitting corrosion decreased, however, the micro-rod was shortened with increasing feed distance in the radial direction because of the stray current flowing through the end of the micro-rod. The simulation results of the material removal process agreed qualitatively with experimental results. Next, machining characteristics were compared between the electrolytes, NaCl and NaNO₃ aqueous solutions, by feeding the workpiece in the axial direction. It was found that the influence of pitting corrosion was eliminated with the NaNO₃ aqueous solution, and there was no machinable length limitation with suitable feed speeds. In addition, the taper angle and gap width were smaller with the NaNO₃ aqueous solution, compared with those of the NaCl aqueous solution. Stainless steel micro-rods of 100 μm in diameter with a high aspect ratio of 20 were fabricated with the NaNO₃ aqueous solution. According to the preliminary research results, the machinable minimum diameter of the micro-rods was investigated and micro-rods with an average diameter of 9 μm and length of 78 μm were machined successfully.     

混粉电火花加工中粉末对工件表面的影响

对不同加工条件下混粉电火花加工后工件表面的硅含量进行了对比测量。实验结果表明：当峰值电流小于4A时，混粉电火花加工后的工件表面硅含量随峰值电流的增大而急剧减小，而当峰值电流大于4A时，工件表面硅含量随峰值电流的增大而缓慢增加；混粉电火花加工后的工件表面硅含量随脉宽的增大而增加；在其他加工条件相同的情况下，对于相同的单次放电脉冲能量，混粉电火花加工获得的工件表面硅含量随峰值电流变化的关系呈近似二次曲线。引入熵的概念，对产生上述结论的原因进行了分析，并解释了混粉电火花加工可以改善工件表面质量的机理。     

基于刀轨广义偏置的电火花摇动加工补偿方法

针对电火花加工中电极摇动产生加工误差的问题,结合电极自由曲面数控加工的基本原理,提出基于数控刀轨广义偏置的补偿方法。通过对电极自由曲面原始加工刀轨的广义偏置计算,可有效、统一地解决自由曲面电极典型摇动方式所引起的加工误差问题,同时对偏置计算后产生的刀轨自交问题进行讨论。针对实际生产加工对象和不同的电极摇动方式,进行补偿计算和生产加工验证。检测结果表明,该方法能够较大地提高加工精度,缩短生产周期。     

Improvement of EDM efficiency of silicon single crystal through ohmic contact

This paper describes the improvement of the machining rate of electrical discharge machining (EDM) for silicon single crystals by reducing the contact resistance between the silicon single crystal and metal electric feeder. To decrease the resistance of the rectifying contact between a p-type silicon wafer and the metal feeder, attempts to achieve ohmic contact were made by plating the contact surface of the silicon wafer with aluminum by vacuum evaporation, followed by the diffusion process. To accomplish an ohmic contact between n-type silicon and metal, gold–antimony alloy was used in place of aluminum. The influence of polarity on the machining rate is also discussed from the viewpoint of the rectifying nature of the interface between the arc plasma and silicon single crystal.     

Feasibility study of micro-slit EDM machining using pure water

This study addresses micro-slit EDM machining feasibility using pure water as the dielectric fluid. Experimental results revealed that pure water could be used as a dielectric fluid and adopting negative polarity EDM machining could obtain high material removal rate (MRR), low electrode wear, small slit expansion, and little machined burr, compared to positive polarity machining. In comparing kerosene versus pure water, pure water was observed to cause low carbon adherence to the electrode surface. Also discharge energy does not decrease and the discharge processes are not interrupted. Therefore, MRR was higher, and related electrode wear ratio compared to kerosene use was lower. In a continual EDM with multi-slit machining, kerosene will cause carbon element adherence, creating an initially high MRR and electrode wear, with rapid decline. However, pure water will not cause carbon element adherence on the electrode surface, so MRR and electrode wear is always stable in this process.     

Observation of relationship between bubbles and discharge locations in EDM using transparent electrodes

This paper describes the observation of EDM gap phenomena through a transparent electrode from the direction normal to the machining surface using a high-speed video camera. To visualize the gap, SiC single crystal was used as the electrode material since it is optically transparent and electrically conductive. It was found that more than 70% of the working surface was occupied by bubbles generated by discharge after a few hundred pulse discharges from the start of machining. Electrical discharge occurs not only in liquid but also in bubble and at the boundary between liquid and bubble. The probability of discharge occurrence per unit area of each atmosphere was highest at the boundary between liquid and bubble. Furthermore, the probability of discharge occurrence through debris particles located at this boundary generated by the last discharge was highest.     

Realization of micro EDM drilling with high machining speed and accuracy by using mist deionized water jet

In electrical discharge machining, both the gas and liquid dielectric have unique advantages and inevitable disadvantages. The mist medium with a special property between gas with liquid is expected to have a better performance in EDM. In this paper, the performance of mist deionized water jet has been studied based on the disadvantages of deionized water in deep micro hole drilling: electrolysis action, electrophoresis action and gap-contamination by debris. Based on the analyzation on the advantages of mist jet, three projects of experiments have been done to verify its performance on the suppressing of electrolysis action and improving the debris exhaust. The results show that the micro EDM drilling with high machining speed and accuracy can be realized with mist jet. This method is particularly effective in deep micro hole drilling, since deeper holes can be obtained at faster machining speed with mist jet due to its significant improvement in debris exhaust.     

Novel methods for high-speed observation of material removal and molten pool movement in EDM

This paper proposes two new methods to observe discharge phenomena without interference from the plasma in electrical discharge machining. The first method uses a bandpass filter with a bandwidth of 800–820 nm and laser illumination with a wavelength of 800–820 nm. The second method also uses a bandpass filter with a bandwidth of 800–820 nm; however, in this method, the tungsten material is used not only as the tool electrode but also as the illumination source. First, the discharge process was observed using traditional methods to investigate the influence of the plasma on the observation of the discharge process. Then, the process of removing molten material from both the tool electrode and workpiece, as well as molten pool movement, was observed using the first method proposed in this paper. The material removed from the tool electrode was scattered upward along the end profile of the tool electrode, while the material removed from the workpiece was distributed along the horizontal direction. To explain these phenomena, the flow distribution in the gap was qualitatively analyzed using a fluid simulation. Finally, the discharge process was also observed using the second method proposed in this paper. A tungsten tool electrode can emit light with a wavelength of 800–820 nm, which shines on the observed region during the discharge process. The observation results verified the phenomenon of multiple explosions of the molten pool during the discharge process. Moreover, it was found that the material removed by the explosion of the molten pool was scattered in different directions and hardly influenced by the flow distribution in the gap.     

节能式电火花加工脉冲电源的系统设计

在对比传统电阻限流独立式电火花加工脉冲电源和节能式脉冲电源电路结构和控制策略的基础上，提出了节能式电火花加工脉冲电源的系统设计方案，并且通过工艺试验，在检验节能式电火花加工脉冲电源加工工艺性能的同时，也考察了其系统设计的方案可行性和加工稳定性。     

正交磁场对电火花单脉冲放电间隙的影响

通过普通电火花单脉冲放电（EDM）与磁场辅助电火花单脉冲放电（MF-EDM）放电间隙对比试验,分析得出不同磁感应强度、开路电压、放电电容及电极外伸端长度对磁场辅助电火花加工放电间隙的影响规律。试验发现：随着磁感应强度的增大,放电间隙增大;开路电压和放电电容对放电间隙的影响较小;随着电极外伸长度的增大,放电间隙变小。最后对试验数据进行部分析因分析,得出磁场辅助电火花加工中影响放电间隙的主要因素为磁感应强度、电极外伸长度及其交互耦合作用。     

小孔加工电火花脉冲电源实验研究

针对传统脉冲电源普遍存在的电能利用率低、电阻发热严重、散热设备庞大等问题,提出了一种取消限流电阻的电火花脉冲电源结构。电源由PWM控制器、DC/DC变换器、加工脉冲时序发生器等组成。电源本身具有自动调节输出电压的功能,可实现空载击穿电压、脉冲宽度、脉冲间隔独立可调,取消了体积庞大的工频变压器。通过多次小孔加工实验获得了脉冲电源加工过程中电极损耗率、小孔椭圆度以及单边放电间隙等和电源稳定性相关参数的数据曲线,所得数据表明电源具有较好的加工稳定性和可靠性。     

光纤法珀式SiC耐高温压力传感器的制造与测试

针对高温环境下压力参数的原位测试需求,基于碳化硅（SiC）材料优异的耐高温特性,研制了一种光纤法珀式全SiC结构耐高温压力传感器。采用超声振动铣磨的加工方法制备了表面粗糙度Ra约11.9 nm的SiC传感膜片。利用SiC晶片氢氟酸辅助直接键合技术,实现SiC传感膜片与SiC基板的高强度气密性键合。搭建了高温压力测试系统,对制备的SiC耐高温压力传感器样机进行了高温环境下的性能测试。结果表明,该传感器能够实现600 ℃高温环境下 0~4 MPa范围内的压力测量;600 ℃下传感器的压力灵敏度达到104.42 nm/MPa,具有较高的线性度,R2＞0.99。     

分布式内冲液对多孔质电极电火花加工性能的影响

对分布式内冲液条件下的多孔质电极电火花加工性能进行了实验研究。实验结果表明,采用分布式内冲液方法能够达到充分降低极间蚀除产物浓度的目的,不仅可代替抬刀和平动方法,而且可采用较小的脉冲间隙以较大的占空比进行加工,获得较高的加工效率;对冲液流量影响的研究发现,随着冲液流量的增大,在冲液降低极间蚀除产物浓度和冲液干扰等离子体放电通道的双重作用下,加工材料去除率曲线变化呈现双峰值特征。通过获取极间电压和分析长连续开路时间对加工总时间的占比可知,冲液流量在增大过程中,首先使极间蚀除产物浓度降低至理想水平,再使等离子体通道扰动达到理想水平。     

钛合金小孔电火花加工有限元仿真研究

为有效地预测钛合金材料电火花小孔加工的体积去除率,利用有限元法建立了单脉冲电火花加工钛合金小孔的数学模型。模型考虑了诸多因素：高斯热源模型、能量分配率、随放电时间变化的放电半径以及熔融潜热。应用生死单元法模拟出去除体积形貌图,然后计算出单脉冲去除体积。采用K1C高速小孔机加工钛合金小孔,记录加工时间,利用称重法得出加工前后重量,从而算出单脉冲体积去除率。验证实验得出,实际加工单脉冲体积去除率和模拟结果的误差小于10%,结果表明,仿真模型可较准确地预测体积去除率,为指导电火花加工钛合金小孔提供了依据。     

基于灰色理论的钛合金电火花加工工艺参数优化试验

为对材料去除速度、电极损耗和表面质量等工艺目标进行综合评价,以钛合金材料为试验对象,基于成熟的电火花加工设备,对峰值电流、脉冲宽度、占空比和抬刀周期等可调工艺参数进行正交试验研究,运用灰色理论进行试验数据分析,将多工艺目标转化为单一考量指标（灰关联度）,简化了试验过程,得到了工艺参数组合优化方案。验证试验结果表明,该参数组合能够在保证表面质量要求的同时,有效提高加工效率和降低电极损耗。     

超声振动辅助电火花微小孔加工中超声参数对加工效率的影响

利用研制的超声振动辅助电火花微小孔加工系统进行加工试验,研究了超声波激励电压的频率、幅值、脉宽与脉间对复合加工微孔的影响。为了考察加工效果,与传统电火花微孔加工试验进行了对比。试验结果表明,超声能显著改善极间工作液的循环,占空比为1/2时加工效率最高,超声激励电压、激励频率与加工时间成浴盆曲线关系,合理选择超声波参数可以有效提高加工效率。     

基于支持向量机的电火花加工8418钢表面粗糙度预测模型

由于电火花加工过程的复杂性,单纯通过电火花加工实验方法研究各种放电参数及非电参数对工件表面粗糙度Ra的影响不但耗费大量时间,而且实验成本较高,为此基于支持向量机提出了一种适用于电火花加工表面粗糙度预测的模型。利用遗传算法对该模型中的各参数进行优化,预测不同电火花加工参数组合下的表面粗糙度;以电火花加工8418模具钢为例,将预测值与实验值进行对比,并且通过实验验证了电火花加工8418钢表面粗糙度预测模型参数的准确性;最后进行了误差分析,模型的最大误差值为2.27%。