Electrolyte Jet Machining Research Articles

Manufacturing Dimpled Saw Wires Using Electrolyte Jet Machining

This paper proposes a method to produce saw wires which have dimples on their surface to carry abrasives more effectively into the working gap, leading to improved efficiency and accuracy in slicing hard and brittle materials like monocrystalline silicon. The dimples were formed by electrolyte jet machining which can provide micromachining without causing any micro cracks, thermal damage, or residual stress in the workpiece. A flat electrolyte jet was used to machine dimples on the stretched wire which is traveling with a high speed, regardless of its vibration. The slit nozzle to jet the electrolyte was made by micro electrical discharge machining. Twin jets were used to improve the machining efficiency of dimples.

E17 スリットノズルを使用した電解液ジェット加工によるディンプルソーワイヤの製作(OS-8 放電加工(3))

This paper describes machining of micro dimples on saw wires of 140μm in diameter using electrolyte jet machining. Dimples were fabricated on saw wires to improve the slicing speed of hard and brittle materials. To increase the machining speed, a multiple flat jet system was developed. The nozzle newly developed can generate multiple flat jets of 50μm thickness and 2mm width. Furthermore, influences of machining voltage and jet flow rate on the machining speed were investigated.

Generating complicated surface with electrolyte jet machining

In the electrolyte jet machining (EJM), the electrolytic current is supplied between the anodic workpiece and the cathodic nozzle via the electrolyte which is ejected from the minute nozzle. Only the workpiece material exposed to the jet is removed due to the anodic dissolution, because the electrolytic current is restricted to the limited area by the jet. In this study, an electrolyte jet machining system which can be used to process the complicated three-dimensional surface was constructed. This system is composed of an XY stage, a rotating axis and a high-speed bipolar power supply, all of which are cooperatively controlled by a personal computer. An algorithm was developed to obtain the scanning path and speed of the nozzle to process complicated shape by superimposing simple patterns. The optimized path and speed were thus obtained so that the summation of the squared difference between the superimposed and the required patterns at every checking point becomes minimal. In order to verify the effectiveness of the developed algorithm, simulation and experiment were carried out and the machining accuracy was analyzed. The good agreement between the simulated and produced shapes with the required one proves that the algorithm meets the purpose properly. Besides, the effect of machining conditions, especially the current density on surface roughness of produced patterns was examined. It was clarified that a high current density is not only necessary to reduce machining time but also to improve the surface roughness.

マルチノズルを用いた電解液ジェット加工

The purpose of this research is to improve the efficiency of electrolyte jet machining using multiple nozzles. In electrolyte jet machining, removal occurs electrochemically under the jet selectively without using a mask. Multiple nozzles were used in order to improve the processing efficiency, and influences of the interference between the multiple jets on the machining characteristics were investigated. It was found that using the multiple nozzle is an effective way to improve both the processing efficiency and surface roughness. However, the machining accuracy deteriorates due to the interference between the adjacent electrolyte jet flows, if the distance between the pipe nozzles is too narrow.

Diffusion Bonded EDM Electrode with Micro Holes for Jetting Dielectric Liquid

This paper describes improvement of machining characteristics of electrical discharge machining of deep slots using a tool electrode which has micro holes for jetting dielectric liquid over the working surface. The tool electrode was made by the diffusion bonding of two copper plates, over an interface on which micro grooves for jetting the dielectric fluid were formed using electrolyte jet machining. In conventional machining, it is difficult to drill micro holes at the end of a slim electrode and circulate the dielectric fluid from the other end. Hence a solid tool electrode is used and periodically lifted up during machining to flush debris particles out of the discharge gap. Use of the newly developed tool electrode was found to shorten the processing time and improve machining accuracy significantly compared with the conventional solid tool electrode. Since the holes are micro, the outlet shapes are not replicated onto the bottom surface of the slot machined.