Abstract
The performance of electrical discharge machining for drilling holes decreases with machining depth because the conventional flushing and electrode cannot completely eliminate debris particles from the machining area. In this study, a modified electrode for self-flushing in the electrical discharge machining process with a step cylindrical shape was designed to improve machining performance for deep hole drilling. The experimental results of the step cylindrical electrode showed that the material removal rate increased by approximately 215.7%, 203.8%, and 130.4%, and the electrode wear ratio decreased by approximately 47.2%, 63.1%, and 37.3%, when compared with a conventional electrode for the diameters of 6, 9, and 12 mm, respectively. In addition, the gap clearance and concavity of the side wall of the drilled hole was reduced with the step cylindrical electrode. The limited high flank of the electrode led to an increase in the escape area of the debris that was partially removed from the machining area, and the limited secondary spark on the side wall of the electrode resulted in a reduction in machining time.
Highlights
Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is a modern processing machining method for materials that are difficult to use with conventional methods [1,2,3] as a result of high hardness, high wear resistance, and other special properties [3,4,5,6,7,8,9]
This study focused on the improvement in machining performance for a deep hole drilling tool composed of AISI P20 in the electrical discharge machining process using a step cylindrical electrode
The machining performance of the step cylindrical electrode clearly increased by approximately 215.7%, 203.8%, and 130.4% compared with the conventional electrode for electrode diameters of
Summary
Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is a modern processing machining method for materials that are difficult to use with conventional methods [1,2,3] as a result of high hardness, high wear resistance, and other special properties [3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. EDM is a machining process that removes some of the work material from the workpiece using the high temperature produced by spark discharges to erode the workpiece [3,8,10]. The principle of the EDM process is the controlled removal of material using an electrode as a cutting tool, which conducts electricity well and moves toward the workpiece by controlling the release of the electric current flowing through the sparking part under the machining gap [1,3]. The spark discharge conducted in the dielectric fluid is suitable to machine most conductive materials, regardless of the hardness of the workpiece due to the non-contact of the cutting tool (electrode) and workpiece [19,20]. The obtained surface quality texture properties depend on the EDM parameters such as discharge current, discharge voltage, pulse duration, pulse interval, and flushing method [21,22]
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