INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTS OF EDM PARAMETERS ON SURFACE INTEGRITY,MRR AND TWR IN MACHINING OF Ti–6Al–4V

Ti–6Al–4V is a kind of difficult-to-cut material with poor machinability by traditional machining methods, while electrical discharge machining (EDM) is suitable for machining titanium alloys. In this paper, three input machining parameters including pulse current, pulse on time and open circuit voltage were changed during EDM tests. To investigate the output characteristics; material removal rate (MRR), tool wear ratio (TWR) and different aspects of surface integrity for Ti–6Al–4V samples such as topography of machined surface, crack formation, white layer (recast layer) thickness and microhardness were considered as performance criteria. The variations of MRR and TWR versus input machining parameters were investigated by means of main and interaction effect plots and also verified by ANOVA results. The effect of pulse energy based on pulse on time and pulse current variations against recast layer thickness and microhardness was studied. The possibility of forming different chemical elements and compounds on the work surface after EDM process was investigated by EDS and XRD analyses. The experimental results revealed that general aspects of surface integrity for machined samples are mostly affected by pulse current and pulse on time. The approximate density of cracks, micro holes and pits on the work surface is intensively dependent on pulse energy variations. Although increase of pulse energy improves the material removal efficiency but leads to increase of average thickness and microhardness of recast layer.     

Electrical discharge precision machining parameters optimization investigation on S-03 special stainless steel

S-03 is a novel special stainless steel, which is widely used in precision aerospace parts and electrical discharge machining technology has the merit of high-accuracy machining. This paper aims to combine gray relational analysis and orthogonal experimental to optimize electrical discharge high-accuracy machining parameters. The four process parameters of gap voltage, peak discharge current, pulse width, and pulse interval are required to optimize in the fewest experiment times. The material removal rate and surface roughness are the objective parameters. The experiment were carried out based on Taguchi L9 orthogonal array, then we carried out the gray relational analysis to optimize the multi-objective machining parameter, finally, we verified the results through a confirmation experiment. The sequence of machining parameters from primary to secondary are as follows: discharge current 7A, pulse interval 100 μs, pulse width 50 μs, and gap voltage 70 V. Using the above machining parameters, we can obtain good surface roughness Ra1.7 μm, and material removal rate 13.3 mm³/min. The machined work piece almost has no surface modification layer. The results show that combining orthogonal experiment and gray relational analysis can further optimize machining parameters, the material removal rate increased by 23.8 %, and the surface roughness almost has no change.     

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.     

放电参数对PCD表层材料微观结构影响的实验研究

通过调整电火花成形加工的主要放电参数,对聚晶金刚行（PCD）样品进行放电加工。进而对加工样品进行X射线衍射分析,并住扣描电子显微镜下观察其表层结构。弄清了放电加：亡后PCD表面变质层的主要成分,分析了变质层产生的原因,总结了脉冲宽度和加工电流对PCD表面变质层深度、表面粗糙度影响的关系曲线。为制定PCD放电加工工艺提供了重要的实验依据。     

激光微涂敷层的电火花后处理及其加工性能

分析、测量了不同加工条件下的材料去除率、相对电极损耗和电火花加工表面粗糙度,并研究了表面微裂纹和微硬度分布。实验结果表明,不同的材料具有类似的电火花加工性能,材料去除率随脉冲电流的增加而增加,峰值电流比脉冲宽度对表面粗糙度的影响更显著。研究结果对于选择合适参数进行电火花后处理具有重要意义。     

The skin-effect in ferromagnetic electrodes for wire-EDM

In wire electrical discharge machining (wire-EDM) material is removed by the thermal energy of an electric spark that has been initiated between two electrodes (the wire and the workpiece), submerged in demineralised water. The use of high frequency current pulses for sparking leads to excellent machining performance, in terms of the work piece roughness, the material integrity of the cut and the material removal rate. To reach the highest frequencies, the wire-EDM generator mostly consists of a voltage source with an as low as possible internal inductance. The working current delivered to the spark and, hence, the material removal rate of the process depends on the total impedance of the electrical circuit. In this article the importance of the wire’s impedance will be shown. Due to the skin-effect, this impedance depends on the frequency of the current signal, especially for ferromagnetic wires, such as steel wire. Coatings will prove to be primordial to prevent the machining speed from dropping significantly.     

旋转电极电解电火花切割玻璃微结构试验研究

针对高深宽比非导电硬脆材料(如石英玻璃和陶瓷)微结构的加工需求,对微细电解电火花切割加工方法进行了深入研究。首先,提出了使用旋转螺旋微工具电极的电化学放电切割方法,并对切割缝宽模型进行了讨论;其次,对旋转螺旋电极电解电火花切割加工工艺进行了深入的试验研究,试验研究了加工电压、脉冲频率、占空比和主轴转速这些关键工艺参数对切割加工精度的影响。实验结果表明,缝宽随着施加电压和占空比的增加而增加,随着频率、主轴转速和进给速率的增加而减小。最后,通过优化后的参数成功加工出缝宽为135μm的微缝阵列、复杂的封闭微结构以及深宽比达6∶1的微图形结构。由此表明该方法是一种可有效加工高深宽比绝缘硬脆材料微结构的新工艺。     

Surface crack density and recast layer thickness analysis in WEDM process through response surface methodology

In this work, quantitative assessment of surface damage in terms of parameters like surface crack density and recast layer thickness in wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) process has been undertaken. The effect of processing conditions on crack formation is studied using scanning electron microscope. Surface crack density and recast layer thickness analysis in terms of machining parameters such as pulse on time, pulse off time, peak current, spark gap voltage significantly deteriorate the microstructure of machined samples, which produces the deeper, wider overlapping craters, pock marks, globules of debris and micro cracks. The microstructure analysis of WEDM surface was based upon the theory of electrical discharge phase and metallurgical physics. It is found that the pulse on time, pulse off time and peak current are the most dominating parameters for both surface crack density and recast layer thickness.     

Some studies into wire electro-discharge machining of alumina particulate-reinforced aluminum matrix composites

Non-traditional process like wire electro-discharge machining is found to show a promise for machining metal matrix composites. However, the machining information for the difficult-to-machine particle-reinforced material is inadequate. This paper is focused on experimental investigation to examine the effect of electrical as well as non-electrical machining parameters on performance in wire electro-discharge machining of metal matrix composites (Al/Al₂O₃p). Taguchi orthogonal array was used to study the effect of combination of reinforcement, current, pulse on-time, off-time, servo reference voltage, maximum feed speed, wire speed, flushing pressure and wire tension on cutting speed, surface finish, and kerf width. Reinforcement percentage, current, and on-time was found to have significant effect on cutting rate, surface finish, and kerf width. The optimum machining parameter combinations were obtained for surface finish, cutting speed, and kerf width separately. Wire breakages were found to pose limitations on the cutting speed in machining of these materials. Wire shifting was found to deteriorate the machined surfaces.     

甚高频共振式脉冲源放电蚀除

针对传统微细电火花脉冲电源普遍存在的放电频率低、脉宽较大、纳米级高效蚀除能力难以日益提高的问题,设计出了一种基于电路共振原理的甚高频微能脉冲源,该脉冲源可产生放电频率55 MHz、电压峰峰值220 V的开路电压波形,电压脉宽可压缩至9.1 ns。进行了不同开路电压下的放电实验,获得了各实验条件下的放电波形。实验结果证明所设计的甚高频微能脉冲源具有良好的加工工艺性能。     

微细电火花加工用晶体管脉冲电源的研究

在传统晶体管脉冲电源的基础上，研制开发了一种适用于微细加工的晶体管脉冲电源，这种脉；中电源可以满足微细加工中粗加工、精加工的不同需要，可实现最小脉宽为50ns的放电电流。通过微细孔加工实验，对所开发的晶体管脉冲电源的加工特性与传统的RC脉冲电源进行了分析比较，实验结果表明前者的加工效率约为后者的2～6倍。     

Precision machining of high aspect-ratio rotational part with wire electro discharge machining

Precision and micro rotational parts are widely used in various industries, such as micro probes for medical instruments, contact pins for micro assembly applications, micro electrodes for micro Electrical discharge machining (μ-EDM) or micro Electro-chemical discharge machining (μ-ECDM). In this research, a uniform annular area layer by layer feeding strategy was proposed to fabricate high aspect ratio, small radii rotational components on a conventional Wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) machine equipped with an auxiliary spindle. The uniform annular area layer by layer feeding strategy consisted of the roughing and finishing stages. First, the theoretical Material removal rate (MRR) and radial infeed rate for each layer were determined for the roughing stage, and the theoretical surface roughness, Rz in the finishing stage was researched. Then, a series of optimization experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of the parameters on MRR and the machined surface roughness. A group of pin electrodes were machined by applying this feed strategy with the optimized parameters, and the minimum diameter of the pin electrodes was 40 μm with an aspect-ratio of 60. Finally, micro electrodes for an injection nozzle were achieved with this novel process and a qualified injection nozzle for powder metallurgy was fabricated with the machined micro electrodes.

     

Effect of machining parameters on surface integrity of silicon carbide ceramic using end electric discharge milling and mechanical grinding hybrid machining

A novel hybrid process that integrates end electric discharge (ED) milling and mechanical grinding is proposed. The process is able to effectively machine a large surface area on SiC ceramic with good surface quality and fine working environmental practice. The polarity, pulse on-time, and peak current are varied to explore their effects on the surface integrity, such as surface morphology, surface roughness, micro-cracks, and composition on the machined surface. The results show that positive tool polarity, short pulse on-time, and low peak current cause a fine surface finish. During the hybrid machining of SiC ceramic, the material is mainly removed by end ED milling at rough machining mode, whereas it is mainly removed by mechanical grinding at finish machining mode. Moreover, the material from the tool can transfer to the workpiece, and a combination reaction takes place during machining.     

Surface modification using semi-sintered electrodes on electrical discharge machining

This study investigates how machining characteristics and surface modifications affect low-carbon steel (S15C) during electrical discharge machining (EDM) processes with semi-sintered electrodes. Among the machining characteristics determined, the material removal rate (MRR), surface deposit rate (SDR), and electrode wear rate (EWR) are included. Additionally, exactly how semi-sintered electrodes affect the surface modifications is also evaluated by electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA), micro hardness, and corrosion resistance tests. The experimental results confirmed that the composition of the semi-sintered electrodes is transferred onto the machined surface efficiently and effectively during the EDM process, and that the process is feasible and can easily form a modified layer on the machined surface.     

An experimental study on micro-EDM in low-resistivity deionized water using short voltage pulses

Deionized water has been used as dielectric fluid for micro-electrical discharge machining (micro-EDM) because it gives higher material removal rate and lower tool wear than hydrocarbon oil. Moreover, it is a relatively low-cost and eco-friendly substance. Therefore, deionized water tends to be more favorable for micro-EDM. However, it causes weak electrochemical reaction during micro-EDM due to its slight conductivity. This leads to the unanticipated additional material removal from the workpiece which affects the machining shape and quality. The study in this paper aims to suppress the electrochemical reaction in die-sinking micro-EDM using deionized water by employing short voltage pulse. Experiments were carried out to fabricate micro-holes using the developed nanosecond pulse circuit. Different pulse parameters were applied to identify the main factor affecting the electrochemical reaction rate. Machining gap was found to be thinner and workpiece surface adjacent to the rim of micro-holes were found to be free of defects caused by material dissolution when pulse duration reached a critical value. Moreover, the influence of pulse parameters on material removal rate and machined shape was also investigated. Besides, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis showed that the machined surface using deionized water was less affected from material migration during micro-EDM process in comparison to hydrocarbon oil.     

Performance Analysis of Wire Electrodes on Machining Ti-6Al-4V Alloy using Electrical Discharge Machining Process

High-strength materials with complex shapes can be easily machined by electrical discharge machining process. In the present study, an attempt has been made to analyze the influence of wire electrode on Kerf width and workpiece surface roughness in wire EDM process. Due to its importance in the aircrafts and automobiles, Ti-6Al-4V alloy has been chosen as the workpiece material. The various experiments have been conducted based on a Taguchi L₉ orthogonal array with various types of wire electrodes, such as conventional brass wire, zinc-coated wire and diffused coated brass wire. From the experimental results, it has been observed that diffused coated wire produced better surface finish with minimum kerf width compared to the other two wire electrodes. It has also been observed that the pulse off-time has more influent nature on machining characteristics such as surface roughness and kerf width.     

Surface characterization and material migration during surface modification of die steels with silicon, graphite and tungsten powder in EDM process

The present study reports the results of an experimental work carried out to evaluate the improvement in machined surface properties of die steels machined using powder mixed electric discharge machining (PMEDM) process. Two surface responses, surface finish and microhardness were analyzed for changes when machined with Si, W and graphite powders mixed in dielectric fluid. The machined surfaces were subsequently analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) to study the element migration from powder, dielectric and the tool. The powder mixed with dielectric and its concentration, current and pulse on time were identified as the significant factors affecting surface finish. Brass electrode and tungsten powder resulted in good surface finish. Amongst the dielectrics used, kerosene provided a better cooling effect whereas EDM oil resulted in better surface finish. The microhardness of the machined surface was also affected by powder and its concentration, current, pulse on time and electrode material. W-Cu electrode and W powder resulted in a higher microhardness. The SEM and EDS analysis showed significant migration of material from the suspended powder, electrode and dielectric to the machined surface.     

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.     

Optimization of wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) process parameters using Taguchi method

Wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) is extensively used in machining of conductive materials when precision is of prime importance. Rough cutting operation in WEDM is treated as a challenging one because improvement of more than one machining performance measures viz. metal removal rate (MRR), surface finish (SF) and cutting width (kerf) are sought to obtain a precision work. Using Taguchi’s parameter design, significant machining parameters affecting the performance measures are identified as discharge current, pulse duration, pulse frequency, wire speed, wire tension, and dielectric flow. It has been observed that a combination of factors for optimization of each performance measure is different. In this study, the relationship between control factors and responses like MRR, SF and kerf are established by means of nonlinear regression analysis, resulting in a valid mathematical model. Finally, genetic algorithm, a popular evolutionary approach, is employed to optimize the wire electrical discharge machining process with multiple objectives. The study demonstrates that the WEDM process parameters can be adjusted to achieve better metal removal rate, surface finish and cutting width simultaneously.     

Finishing effect of abrasive flow machining on micro slit fabricated by wire-EDM

This experimental research use the method of abrasive flow machining (AFM) to evaluate the characteristics of various levels of roughness and finishing of the complex shaped micro slits fabricated by wire electrical discharge machining (Wire-EDM). An investigative methodology based on the Taguchi experimental method for the micro slits of biomedicine was developed to determine the parameters of AFM, including abrasive particle size, concentration, extrusion pressure and machining time. The parameters that influenced the machining quality of the micro slits were also analyzed. Furthermore, in the shape precision of the micro slit fabricated by wire-EDM and subsequently fine-finished by AFM was also elucidated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The significant machining parameters and the optimal combinations of the machining parameters were identified by ANOVA (analysis of variation) and the S/N (-to-noise) ratio response graph. ANOVA was proposed to obtain the surface finishing and the shape precision in this study.