Bending strength analysis of micro WC-shaft manufactured by micro electro-discharge machining

Micro electro-discharge machining (micro-EDM) is a critical technology to fabricate high aspect ratio 3D micro-components. However, the surfaces of micro-components manufactured by micro-EDM will exhibit micro-cracks to produce notch effects, and lead to stress concentrate and reduction of fatigue strength. This paper performs micro-bending tests to investigate the influence of various roughness and size on the bending fracture strength of micro WC-shafts manufactured by micro-EDM. The experimental results indicate that the surface roughness, axial surface area, volume, and length of the specimen will affect its bending fracture strength. For specimens with the same size, the mean bending fracture strength decreases as the surface roughness increases, and the bending fracture probability of the specimens also increases (roughness effect). For specimens with the same roughness, reducing the length or axial surface area will increase the mean bending fracture strength, and reduces the bending fracture probability (size effect).