| Abstract: | An analogue wattmeter has been developed for direct measurement of electrical power dissipation at the discharge gap during electrical discharge machining (EDM). A microcomputer samples power and corresponding gap voltage at regular intervals. Digitally encoded waveforms, which represent blocks of continuous power and voltage pulse trains, are stored on floppy disks for subsequent display and analysis. The advantage of using this microcomputer-based integrated measurement system is the ability to capture both typical and random events or phenomena in EDM and also to extract and process information from the digitized waveforms which represent characteristics of these events.In this investigation, samples of power and voltage pulse characteristics during four EDM tests have been recorded, analysed for unit and time-averaged variations and meticulously studied with the aid of the microcomputer-based system. Power and voltage waveforms have been reconstructed from the digital data and are suitably displayed. Random and systematic or cyclic variations as shown by the analysed data, together with the corresponding reconstructed waveforms, are presented. Reasons for the variations are discussed in the light of similar observations verified by other researchers.This paper reports part of a continuing programme involving the use of microcomputer-based measurement systems for both on-line monitoring and off-line analysis of the EDM process. |
