Analysis of rotary electrical discharge machining characteristics in reversal magnetic field for copper-en8 steel system

The material removal rate (MRR), along with the electrode wear rate (EWR), plays an important role in analysing machine output during electrical discharge machining. This work focuses on the improvement of machine output by introducing an induced magnetic field on the workpiece during rotary electrical discharge machining (REDM) of EN-8 steel with a rotary copper electrode. The workpiece was placed inside the induced magnetic field, wherein polarity of the magnetic field gets reversed periodically. Using Taguchi’s recommended design of experiments, we initially conducted experiments with eight input parameters at different levels . Significant parameters were identified with the help of the signal-to-noise ratio and ANOVA. Finally, another set of experiments was conducted for analysis of the process and development of empirical expressions for MRR and EWR. Experimental results established that rotary electrical discharge machining with a polarity reversal magnetic field delivers better machining output than machining in a non-magnetic field. Thus, this work benefits the EDM process by reducing the machining costs and by producing better geometrical trueness on workpieces, as MRR increased and EWR decreased.     

Experimental investigations into electrical discharge machining with a rotating disk electrode

In electrical discharge machining, when the provision of holes in the electrode is impracticable, flushing of the working gap poses a major problem. Use of a rotating disk electrode is proposed as a more productive and accurate technique than use of a conventional electrode. Material removal rate, tool wear rate, relative electrode wear, corner reproduction accuracy, and surface finish aspects of a rotary electrode are compared with those of a stationary one. The effective flushing of the working gap brought about by the rotation of the electrode remarkably improves material removal rate and machines surfaces with a better finish. Despite the prevalent high tool wear rate, the reproduction accuracy is least affected as the wear gets uniformly distributed over the entire circumference of the disk. Machining of a sharp corner is possible even with an aluminum electrode, whose relative electrode wear is greater than unity.     

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.     

Optimization of machining parameters in rotary EDM process by using the Taguchi method

Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is one of the advanced methods of machining. Most publications on the EDM process are directed towards non-rotational tools. But rotation of the tool provides a good flushing in the machining zone. In this study, the optimal setting of the process parameters on rotary EDM was determined. A total of three variables of peak current, pulse on time, and rotational speed of the tool with three types of electrode were considered as machining parameters. Then some experiments have been performed by using Taguchi's method to evaluate the effects of input parameters on material removal rate, electrode wear rate, surface roughness, and overcut. Moreover, the optimal setting of the parameters was determined through experiments planned, conducted, and analyzed using the Taguchi method. Results indicate that the model has an acceptable performance to optimize the rotary EDM process.     

Accretion of titanium carbide by electrical discharge machining with powder suspended in working fluid

A surface modification method by electrical discharge machining (EDM) with a green compact electrode has been studied to make thick TiC or WC layer. Titanium alloy powder or tungsten powder is supplied from the green compact electrode and adheres on a workpiece by the heat caused by discharge. To avoid the production process of the green compact electrode, a surface modification method by EDM with powder suspended in working fluid is proposed in this paper. After considering flow of working fluid in EDM process, the use of a thin electrode and a rotating disk electrode are expected to keep powder concentration high in the gap between a workpiece and an electrode and to accrete powder material on the workpiece. The accretion machining is tried under various electrical conditions. Titanium powder is suspended in working oil like kerosene. TiC layer grows a thickness of 150 μm with a hardness of 1600 Hv on carbon steel with an electrode of 1 mm in diameter. When a disk placed near a plate rotates in viscous fluid, the disk drags the fluid into the gap between the disk and the plate. Therefore, the powder concentration in the gap between a workpiece and a rotational disk electrode can be kept high. A wider area of the accretion can be obtained by using the rotational electrode with a gear shape.     

Characteristic investigation of pipe cutting technology based on electro-discharge machining

Pipe cutting technology plays an important role in the process of offshore platforms decommissioning, as many devices such as tubing, drill pipe, and casing need to be decommissioned. In this study, a novel cutting pipe technology based on electro-discharge machining (EDM) is proposed, and a cutting pipe mechanism is developed to cut the pipes for decommissioning offshore platforms. The machining principles and characteristics of the technique are described. The effects of machining parameters, including tool polarity, dielectric fluid, electrode material and width, pulse on-time, pulse off-time, peak voltage, and electrode rotation speed to machining performance, are investigated. The material removal rate (MRR) of the machined casing and tool electrode wear ratio (EWR) is obtained based on the calculation of the percentage of mass loss per machining time. The experimental results show that a better cutting performance can be obtained with negative tool polarity at the conditions of dielectric fluid of emulsion, pulse on-time of 500 μs, pulse off-time of 200 μs, peak voltage of 70 V, copper electrode width of 28 mm, and electrode rotation speed of 250 rpm is a better choice. Additionally, the cutting slots surface has been investigated by the means of SEM. The cutting slots machined by the rotary EDM are clean and smooth.     

Influence of machining parameters on surface roughness in finish cut of WEDM

Surface roughness is significant to the finish cut of wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM). This paper describes the influence of the machining parameters (including pulse duration, discharge current, sustained pulse time, pulse interval time, polarity effect, material and dielectric) on surface roughness in the finish cut of WEDM. Experiments proved that the surface roughness can be improved by decreasing both pulse duration and discharge current. When the pulse energy per discharge is constant, short pulses and long pulses will result in the same surface roughness but dissimilar surface morphology and different material removal rates. The removal rate when a short pulse duration is used is much higher than when the pulse duration is long. Moreover, from the single discharge experiments, we found that a long pulse duration combined with a low peak value could not produce craters on the workpiece surface any more when the pulse energy was reduced to a certain value. However, the condition of short pulse duration with high peak value still could produce clear craters on the workpiece surface. This indicates that a short pulse duration combined with a high peak value can generate better surface roughness, which cannot be achieved with long pulses. In the study, it was also found that reversed polarity machining with the appropriate pulse energy can improve the machined surface roughness somewhat better compared with normal polarity in finish machining, but some copper from the wire electrode is accreted on the machined surface.     

Micro-electrodischarge machining using water as a working fluid—I: micro-hole drilling

Micro-electrodischarge machining (medm) using water as a working fluid is systematically studied to find its characteristics. As a result, the unique advantages of high removal rate, low electrode wear and consequently higher working efficiency, without formation of carbonaceous materials are found under optimum experimental conditions, as compared with the case when kerosene is used. This was achieved by the choice of suitable combinations of electrode and workpiece materials and electrode polarity. Use of a tungsten electrode with straight polarity is exceedingly good with respect to high removal rate and low electrode wear. This makes it possible to obtain a non-tapered straight micro-hole around 0.1 mm in diameter with a certain anticipative working gap. The advantageous properties of this machining method are effectively utilized to drill deep micro-holes with a ratio of depth to diameter of the order of 10–17 as in the case of 2.9 mm depth and 0.17 mm diameter, which is superior to the limits achievable with both electrodischarge drilling (edd) using kerosene and mechanical drilling with a micro-drill.     

Micro-hole Maching of Copper Using the Electro-discharge Machining Process with a Tungsten Carbide Electrode Compared with a Copper Electrode

This paper describes micro-hole machining of a copper plate using the electro-discharge machining (EDM) process. Tungsten carbide was selected as the material for the electrode and compared with a copper-electrode. A precision centreless grinding process was employed to grind the electrode down to the desired diameter. A series of experiments were performed on a traditional EDM machine to investigate the effects of electrode material polarity setting and of a rotating electrode. Results have shown that electrode wear and hole enlargement are both smaller when positive polarity machining is selected; whereas electrode wear is larger and machining speed is higher when negative polarity machining is selected. High-quality micro-hole machining in copper can be achieved by the proposed method.     

Machining Characteristics of Al2O3/6061Al Composite using Rotary EDM with a Disklike Electrode

This work optimises the cutting of Al₂O₃/6061Al composite using rotary electro-discharging machining (EDM) with a disklike electrode by using Taguchi methodology. The Taguchi method is used to formulate the experimental layout, to analyse the effect of each EDM parameter on the machining characteristics, and to predict the optimal choice for each EDM parameter. Four observed values, MRR, EWR, REWR, and SR, are used to verify this optimisation of the machining technique. In addition, six independent parameters are chosen as variables in evaluating the Taguchi method and are categorised into two groups: 1. Electrical parameters, e.g. polarity, peak current, pulse duration, and powder supply voltage. 2. Non-electrical parameters, e.g. circumferential speed of electrode, reciprocating speed. The analysis of the Taguchi method reveals that, in general, the electrical group more significantly affects the machining characteristics than the non-electrical group. Also derived herein are semi-empirical equation that contain all of the machining characteristics. Experimental results are presented to illustrate the proposed approach.     

The drilling of Al2O3 using a pulsed DC supply with a rotary abrasive electrode by the electrochemical discharge process

The electrochemical discharge machining (ECDM) process has the potential to machine electrically non-conductive high-strength, high-temperature-resistant (HSHTR) ceramics, such as aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃). However, the conventional tool configurations and machining parameters show that the volume of material removed decreases with increasing machining depth and, finally, restricts the machining after a certain depth. To overcome this problem and to increase the volume of material removed during drilling operations on Al₂O₃, two different types of tool configurations, i.e., a spring-fed cylindrical hollow brass tool as a stationary electrode and a spring-fed cylindrical abrasive tool as a rotary electrode, were considered. The volume of material removed by each electrode was assessed under the influence of three parameters, namely, pulsed DC supply voltage, duty factor, and electrolyte conductivity, each at five different levels. The results revealed that the machining ability of the abrasive rotary electrode was better than the hollow stationary electrode, as it would enhance the cutting ability due to the presence of abrasive grains during machining.     

金刚石砂轮金属结合剂的气中单脉冲电火花放电去除机理

针对金属结合剂金刚石砂轮修锐困难的问题,提出采用气中电火花接触放电修锐的方法。为有效地实现微细金刚石砂轮的修锐,建立单脉冲电火花放电去除加工的试验系统,研究金属结合剂的气中和液中电火花放电去除机理。在试验研究中,主要分析无负荷电压和放电极性对脉冲放电电流、脉冲放电间隙、脉冲放电去除量、电极磨耗比等的影响。结果表明,正极性不易发生短路现象,而且气中的脉冲放电间隙小于液中的 ,适应于微细金刚石砂轮的修锐。此外,在气中放电中存在由绝缘破坏引起的火花放电向附有电弧柱的电弧放电转变的临界无负荷电压,且电火花放电的去除量可以明显小于电弧放电的去除量,但是当无负荷电压小于某一定值时电极消耗比会快速增加。修锐的试验结果显示,利用气中单脉冲电火花放电去除加工条件可以实现金属结合剂微细金刚石砂轮的修锐,产生较好的砂轮出刃形貌,改善磨削表面质量。     

BLOCK EDG: ISSUES AND APPLICABILITY IN MULTIPLE PASS µED-MILLING

Fabrication of micro-features by a Micro ED-milling (μED-milling) process requires machining of tool electrode and applying them in multi-pass trajectory. A real concern occurs when the tool has to be prepared before each pass and put into trajectory without disturbing the settings. This issue is attested to here by combining the process setup ofμED-milling, and Block Electric Discharge Grinding (Block EDG) without hindering the functionality of individual processes. But the Block EDG process itself suffers with a primary setback such as inability to predict the change in tool diameter during machining. The ability of Block EDG process is improved in this work by formulating regression model and tool quality loss characteristics evaluation. An empirical model for tool diameter as a function of energy and machining time is developed and validated to predict the diameter online at any point of machining. A data chart is prepared to show the typicalμ-tool defects during the fabrication process and possible remedies. Finally, the article concludes with employing the fabricated tools inμED-milling process to produce complex shapes through multiple pass machining technique.     

小直径PCD麻花钻头电火花磨削加工系统的研制

基于数控电火花磨削加工机床,研制了用于加工小直径PCD麻花钻头的数控螺旋伺服进给加工系统,介绍了系统的加工原理、机械系统和伺服控制系统的设计方法。     

空气中微细电火花沉积与去除可逆加工技术研究

论述了一种新的电火花加工方法。它使用通用的电火花成形加工机床,利用常见的电极材料,在空气介质中,通过脉冲放电在工件表面上沉积生长电极材料,再通过反转极性和适当的轨迹控制对所生成的沉积材料进行有选择的去除加工,进而实现材料的生长与去除可逆加工。通过对电火花加工理论的研究,预测和论证了实现这一新加工方法的可能性和实现条件。通过试验成功地将钢、铜和钨三种电极材料沉积到工件上,形成直径为 100~240 mm、高度为1 000~2 500 mm的微小圆柱体。并对沉积物进行了选择去除,实现了在同一设备上的可逆电火花加工。对沉积材料的致密性、硬度及其与工件的结合强度等进行了系统的分析,表明沉积物组织致密、坚硬,可以满足功能材料的要求。     

On the temperature and specific energy during electrodischarge diamond grinding (EDDG)

Electrodischarge diamond grinding (EDDG) is a hybrid machining process comprising conventional grinding and electrodischarge machining (EDM) as its constituent processes. It has the potential of shaping advanced engineering materials. Temperature of the workpiece and material removal rate are chosen as responses in full factorial (3³) design with current, pulse-on time, and wheel speed as process parameters. Specific energy is a vital consideration for any machining process. EDM is known for its inefficiency. Experiments were conducted with a specially fabricated bronze disk as tool electrode to evaluate specific energy in EDM, and the results were compared with that of EDDG. It has been found that specific energy required in EDDG is less than that in EDM with a rotating disk electrode.     

Experimental research on effects of process parameters on servo scanning 3D micro electrical discharge machining

Servo scanning 3D micro electrical discharge machining (3D SSMEDM) is a novel and effective method in fabricating complex 3D micro structures with high aspect ratio on conducting materials.In 3D SSMEDM process,the axial wear of tool electrode can be compensated automatically by servo-keeping discharge gap,instead of the traditional methods that depend on experiential models or intermittent compensation.However,the effects of process parameters on 3D SSMEDM have not been reported up until now.In this study,the emphasis is laid on the effects of pulse duration,peak current,machining polarity,track style,track overlap,and scanning velocity on the 3D SSMEDM performances of machining efficiency,processing status,and surface accuracy.A series of experiments were carried out by machining a micro-rectangle cavity (900 μm×600 μm) on doped silicon.The experimental results were obtained as follows.Peak current plays a main role in machining efficiency and surface accuracy.Pulse duration affects obviously the stability of discharge state.The material removal rate of cathode processing is about 3/5 of that of anode processing.Compared with direction-parallel path,contour-parallel path is better in counteracting the lateral wear of tool electrode end.Scanning velocity should be selected moderately to avoid electric arc and short.Track overlap should be slightly less than the radius of tool electrode.In addition,a typical 3D micro structure of eye shape was machined based on the optimized process parameters.These results are beneficial to improve machining stability,accuracy,and efficiency in 3D SSMEDM.     

Investigation of emulsion for die sinking EDM

Machining fluid is a primary factor that affects the material removal rate, surface quality, and electrode wear of electrical discharge machining (EDM). Kerosene is the most commonly used working fluid in die sinking EDM, but it shows low ignition temperature and high volatility; if the improper operations are undertaken, it can cause conflagration. Using distilled water or pure water as the machining fluid in EDM, no fire hazard occurs, and the working environment is well; however, using distilled water or pure water as the machining fluid in EDM, the material removal rate of machining large surface is low, and the machine tool is easily eroded. Emulsion-1 and emulsion-2 used as working fluid in die sinking EDM are developed. The compositions of emulsion-1 and emulsion-2 are introduced. In comparison with kerosene, emulsion-1 and emulsion-2 used in EDM show high material removal rate, low surface roughness, high discharge gap, and good working environment. The electrode wear ratio in emulsion-1 is lower than that in kerosene. The electrode wear ratio in emulsion-2 is higher than that in kerosene. The effects of composition and concentration of emulsifier on the emulsion property and EDM performance have been investigated. The comparative tests of EDM performance with kerosene, emulsion-1, and emulsion-2 have been done.     

电火花机械复合磨削反应烧结SiC陶瓷的表面特征

研究了基于电火花机械复合磨削技术加工的反应烧结碳化硅(RB-SiC)陶瓷的表面特征。用电火花机械复合磨削(EDDG)、电火花磨削(EDG)以及普通磨削(CG)三种方法加工RB-SiC陶瓷,并采用激光共聚焦显微镜和扫描电子显微镜对加工后的SiC陶瓷的表面粗糙度、表面形貌及微观裂纹进行测量和对比试验,获得了RB-SiC陶瓷的EDDG加工特性。实验显示:EDDG加工的RB-SiC陶瓷的表面粗糙度优于EDG加工的表面粗糙度,为0.214 9μm,但比CG加工的表面粗糙度0.195 6μm略差。对加工后的SiC陶瓷表面形貌观察显示,传统磨削加工后的表面存在明显划痕,EDG加工表面主要由放电凹坑组成,而EDDG加工表面同时存在放电凹坑和磨削划痕;另外,传统磨削表面也存在磨削裂纹和晶界裂纹,但EDG加工后的表面只存在热裂纹,而EDDG加工后的表面存在磨削裂纹和热裂纹,不过热裂纹可以用金刚石磨粒磨削去除。对比实验显示RB-SiC陶瓷的EDDG加工与EDG和CG加工获得了不同的表面特征。     

Application of TOPSIS to Taguchi method for multi-characteristic optimization of electrical discharge machining with titanium powder mixed into dielectric fluid

Mixing powder into dielectric fluid in electrical discharge machining (PMEDM) is a very interesting technological solution in current research. This method has the highest efficiency in simultaneously improving the productivity and quality of a machined surface. In this study, material removal rate (MRR), surface roughness (SR), and the micro-hardness of a machined surface (HV) in electrical discharge machining of die steels in dielectric fluid with mixed powder were optimized simultaneously using the Taguchi–TOPSIS method. The process parameters used in the study included workpiece materials (SKD61, SKD11, SKT4), electrode materials (copper, graphite), electrode polarity, pulse-on time, pulse-off time, current, and titanium powder concentration. Some interaction pairs among the process parameters were also used to evaluate the effect on the optimal results. The results showed that MRR and HV increased and SR decreased when Ti powder was mixed into the dielectric fluid in EDM. Factors such as powder concentration, electrode material, electrode polarity, and pulse-off time were found to be significant in the optimal indicator (C*) and the S/N ratio of C*. Powder concentration was also found to be the most significant factor; its contribution to C* was 50.90%, and S/N ratio of C* was 51.46%. The interactions of the powder concentration and certain process parameters for C* were found to be largest. The optimum quality characteristics were MRR?=?38.79 mm³/min, SR?=?2.71 μm, and HV?=?771 HV. The optimal parameters were verified by experiment, and its accuracy was good (max error ≈13.38%). The finished machined surface under optimum conditions was also analyzed. The machined surface quality under optimum conditions was good. In addition, the results of the study showed the TOPSIS limitations of TOPSIS in a multi-criteria optimization problem.