Improvement in micro-EDM characteristics using rotational electrode during micro through hole machining on Ti-6Al-4V

Abstract

Ti-6Al-4V is an advanced classic material having typical properties and can be utilized in number of advanced applications. Micro through hole generation on Ti-6Al-4V work-piece is very important, as there are many applications of this alloy in aviation, biomedical, turbines, aerospace etc., which requires micro through hole generation, micro features generation and micro channel generation. However, machining on Ti-6Al-4V is extremely challenging as it shows poor performance using traditional machining methods, specifically during drilling of micro through holes. Hence, micromachining of Ti–6Al–4V using nontraditional machining processes such as micro-electro discharge machining (micro-EDM) is often recognized as the most appropriate machining process. The present work emphasizes machining of micro through holes on Ti-6Al-4V work-piece using micro-EDM process. Experiments were conducted at various parametric blends of important process parameters with and without rotating electrode. It is observed that with tool rotation, percentage improvement in various micro-EDM characteristics such as material removal rate, overcut, tool wear rate and taper have been observed as 14.16, 9.76, 12.44 and 15.92 respectively with the overall percentage improvement as 13.07.