The feasibility study on a fabricated micro slit die using micro EDM

Abstract

A micro slit die easily manufactured using a micro electrical discharge machining (MEDM) is proposed for micro heat sink fabrication. In the investigations described in this paper, processed concave and rectangular shaped copper foils were combined piece by piece to form an assembled electrode. This electrode was used to fabricate a micro slit die. This die included 15 micro fins in a small tungsten carbide plate. The micro heat sink was made by applying a pressing or scraping method when the micro slit die was used. The experiments showed that debris, produced by the MEDM, might cause a discharge concentration effect because of the narrow gaps between the workpiece and electrode. Parts of the micro fin were seriously melted during this process. Flushing dielectric could effectively remove the debris from the narrow gap, generating an appropriate discharge dispersing effect. However, the discharge effect was unstable when large flushing pressure was applied, thus reducing the machining precision. The micro fins were formed into a rectangular shape using kerosene as the MEDM dielectric. Using distilled water as the MEDM dielectric produced a higher material removal rate and serious assembled electrode wear. Therefore, the micro fins formed as triangle profiles. The micro heat sink was higher even when the pressing method was used. The heat sink deviated and was full of burrs on the fin edge when the scraping method was used.