THERMAL METAL REMOVAL PROCESS
What is thermal process ?
Thermal energy usually
applied to small portion of
work surface, causing that
portion to be removed by
fusion and/or
vaporization.
Thermal Energy Processes - Overview
Very high local temperatures
Material is removed by fusion or vaporization
Physical and metallurgical damage to the new work
surface
In some cases, resulting finish is so poor that
subsequent processing is required
Thermal Energy Processes
Electric discharge machining (EDM)
Electron beam machining(EBM)
Laser beam machining(LBM)
Plasma arc machining(PAM)
Ion beam machining (IBM)
Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM)
Required electrically conductive materials.
Work piece anode and tool cathode. Independent of material
hardness.
Removal of material through melting or vaporisation caused by a high
frequency spark discharge.
EDM machined surface may be deleterious to fatigue properties due
to the recast layer.
good selection of the proper electrode material for the work piece
Produce deep holes, slots cavities in hard materials without drifting or
can do irregular contour.
Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM)
EDM process involves a controlled erosion of electrically conductive
materials by the initiation of rapid and repetitive spark discharge between
electrode tool and work piece
Separated by a small gap of about 0.01 0.05 mm (spark gap)
Spark gap either flooded or immersed under the dielectric fluid
Spark discharge is produced by controlled pulsing of DC between the
work piece and tool
Dielectric fluid in the spark gap is ionized under the pulsed application
of DC
Enabling a spark discharge to pass between the tool and work piece
Each spark produces enough heat to melt and vaporize a tiny volume of
work piece material, leaving a small crater on its surface
The energy contained in each spark is discrete
It can be controlled so that the MRR, surface finish and tolerance can
be predicted
Electric current 0.5 to 400 A
Voltage 40 to 300 V DC
Pulsed duration 2 to 2000 sec
Dielectric fluid pressure 2 Kg/cm2 or less
Basic scheme of EDM process:
Machine
EDM equipment manufacturers offer a variety of machine
tools, ranging from small machines to massive units
All the machines are of vertical C type construction consisting
of a base, column and head
The column is fixed to the base and supports the head
A coordinate table which supports the work piece is mounted
on the base
A dielectric fluid tank is constructed around the table and is
provided with an automatic level controller
Machine
It is also equipped with a safety device to shut down operation in
case the temperature exceeds a certain limits
Work pieces can be mounted on the machine table with work
holding devices like magnetic table, vice, chucks or special work
holding devices
Ensure that there is a good circulation and flushing of the dielectric
fluid
Classification of EDM
Dielectric Fluid
Dielectric fluid is flushed through the spark gap and is supplied through a hole
in the tool or external jets
It may also supplied through the holes in the work piece
Suction and pressure pots serve as work piece holding devices
Dielectric fluid serves as a spark conductor, concentrating the energy to a very
narrow region
It serves as a coolant to quench the spark
It cools the electrodes and flushing medium for disposal of products of
machining
Selection (Choice) of dielectric fluid
1. It should have sufficient and stable dielectric strength to serve as
insulation between the tool and work piece
2. It should deionize rapidly after the spark discharge has taken place
3. It should have low viscosity and a good wetting capacity
4. It should be chemically neutral
5. Its flash point must be high to avoid any fire hazard
6. It should not emit any toxic vapour or have unpleasant odours
7. It should be easily available at reasonable price
Selection (Choice) of dielectric fluid
These qualities are found in the hydrocarbon oils having a
viscosity of 5 6 centistokes at 20oC such as kerosene which is
most widely used dielectric fluid
Other dielectric fluids are silicon oils, deionized water and polar
liquids such as aqueous solution of ethylene glycol
Dielectric Fluid
The choice of dielectric depends on the work piece size, complexity of shape,
tolerance, surface finish and MRR
White spirit is used to machine tungsten carbide and small parts with
complicated details and good surface finish
Surface finish of 1.6 m and above dielectric of viscosity 6-12 Cst used
Surface finish of 6.3 m and abovedielectric of viscosity 12-20 Cst used
The dielectric liquid is kept in circulation through the machining gaps by the
use of pumps
It is continuously filtered to remove the debris of machining
Filtering medium does not allow particle size more than 5 m
Spark Generator
The essential functions of a spark generator are :
To supply adequate voltage to initiate and maintain the
discharge
To adjust the discharge current intensity
To adjust the discharge duration
To control recurring rhythm of the discharge
Relaxation Generator
The earliest and simple systems was the relaxation or R C generator
These generators produce sinusoidal current pulses
The main draw back of these generators are that the current, discharge duration
and energy are inter dependent and cannot be chosen individually
The values of these vary from cycle to cycle and the machining process is
unpredictable
The time required for charging the capacitor is high and consequently it limits
the use of high frequencies
The introduction of pulse generators has over come the draw backs of the
relaxation generators
Pulse Generator
These generators possess the accurate control over discharge duration
pause time and the current
These factors determine the overcut, accuracy and surface finish
High frequency and maximum amperage results optimum MRR,
leading to a better surface finish
Finishing high frequency and low amperage are used
Roughing low frequency and high amperage are used
EDM Tools (Electrodes)
Material used as an electrode is to convey electrical machining pulses
to allow erosion of work piece to take place with little or no erosion of
the electrode
Electrically conductive materials can be used as electrode
Depending upon material and type of generator used, certain materials
are more suitable than other
The performance of electrode material is judged by its MRR, low wear,
ability to accurately machined and cast
Electrode materials can be classified as
Metallic materials: Electrolytic copper, tellurium or chromium copper,
copper tungsten, brass, tungsten, steel, zinc and zinc alloys, tungsten
carbide, aluminium
Non-metallic materials: Graphite
Combination of metallic and non-metallic materials: Copper Graphite
Table: Electrode materials for various applications
Electrode material Work piece material Type of machining
Graphite Steel Roughing/Finishing
Brass All metals Roughing/Finishing
Copper All metals Roughing/Finishing
Tungsten All metals Semi finishing
Aluminium Steel only Roughing
Steel Non ferrous materials Semi finishing
Electrode manufacture:
Conventional machining methods and castings used to make electrodes
Metal spraying, press forming & electro plating techniques are also used
Electrodes are made by conventional machining such as turning, drilling
and milling, grinding, etc.
Graphite materials are widely used because of low cost & wear resistant
Dust collection system should be used when machining graphite
Method of reducing dust problem with graphite is to soak it in kerosene
for few hours before machining
Flow holes for dielectric fluid may be provided through electrode
Electrode Wear:
Proper knowledge of electrode wear is essential for determining the
electrode size and no of electrodes
Electrode is a function of polarity, thermal conductivity, melting point,
duration and intensity of spark discharge, type of power supply, type of
work material in relation to tool material
Any particular type of wear to be considered is dependent upon the
application (finishing, roughing, cavity sinking, etc.)
Corner wear ratio is to be considered in finish machining
Volume wear is the controlling factor in cavity sinking
Modern pulse generators has permitted a significant reduction in
electrode wear
Proper adjustment of parameters like duration, intensity and polarity for
each operation with respect to size and nature of work, electrode wear
can be reduced
Limited wear or no wear EDM operations are possible using graphite
electrode and pulse generator (reversed polarity)
High current densities and low pulse frequency (sparks having longer on
time compared to the off time) are employed in this process
Relation of on time to off time is approximately 95% on to 5% off
MRR with no wear EDM is 10-20% lower than in conventional EDM
roughing, but results in reduction in electrode wear
Surface finish of the order of 3.2m can be achieved in this process
No wear EDM does not produce good surface finish
No wear EDM is suitable for applications that require removal of a large
amount of material
The electrode wear is depends on the dielectric flow in the machining
zone and if the flow is turbulent, it results in an increase in electrode
wear
Table: values of corner wear and volume wear ratios for commonly used electrode material in
relation to work piece materials
Electrode material Work piece material Volume wear Volume wear
ration in ration in
roughing finishing
Graphite Steel 100:1 5 :1
Brass All metals 1:1 7:1
Copper All metals 2:1 1:1
Tungsten All metals 10:1 5:1
Aluminium Steel only 5:1 5:1
Steel Non ferrous materials 4:1 4:1
EDM Electrode Holders:
Various types of electrode holders are used to enhance the productivity of
EDM machines
These electrode holders enable quick and accurate loading of the
electrodes on the machine
They incorporate a device for quickly aligning the electrodes on the
machine itself
It is advisable to have similar locating devices on the EDM machine and
on the machine used for manufacturing the electrodes
This helps in machining the electrodes mounted on electrode holders and
locating them quickly on the EDM machine
Two types of electrode holding devices are in use:
1. Electromagnetic holders 2. Quick change taper holders
The magnetic system provides for a location and relocation accuracy of
0.002mm and 10 seconds of arc
It can support an electrode assembly of up to 30 kg
Magnetic electrode holder chuck is mounted on the quill
Has a cylindrical pin and ground flat as reference surface at 90o
The taper shank system also provides for high accuracy as in the
magnetic system
EDM Tool Design:
Tool design for EDM can be divided into 2 categories
1. Cylindrical hole machining 2. 3-D cavity machining
Cylindrical hole machining:
Includes all through holes and cavities machined with an electrode of
constant cross section
3-D cavity machining:
Includes any cavity machined with one or more electrodes of varying
cross section
Tool design procedure is same for both the cases
Choice of Machining Operation:
Use more than one operation to achieve required surface finish and
accuracy viz; roughing, semi finishing and finishing
Even use several electrodes of different dimensions, saving in EDM time
Three operations are employed if required surface finish is 1.2m & less
For small holes only two operations are sufficient
Difference in surface finish between two successive operations should
not exceed 0.8m
Electrode Material Selection:
Various materials are used in relation to work material
Copper, Copper tungsten and Graphite are used
Graphite is not suitable for machining carbides and on machines
equipped with relaxation generators
When selecting electrode materials, it is important to consider the cost
and machining methods to be employed for making electrodes
Machine Settings:
Actual EDM tool size is depend on settings
For all materials, required surface finish is obtained by selecting the
capacitor value of relaxation generator
The machining polarity is always negative
In the case of pulse generator, more variables are involved machining
polarity, current intensity level, discharge time and pause time
Help of these factors it is possible to determine spark gap, length of
electrode, surface finish, MRR and percentage of electrode wear
Under Sizing and Length of Electrode:
Roughing electrodes must be under sized by amount of max spark gap
Spark gap does not include a safety margin to take into account
Possible positioning errors and differences of shapes which can occur
between roughing and finishing electrodes
The additional safety under sizing depends in precision of the electrode
Under sizing lies between 0.1 to 0.3 mm
The roughing electrode is longer than the finishing electrode, to take into
consideration higher rate of wear during roughing
Machining Time:
Machining times are difficult to evaluate with precision and a variation
of 5% is possible in through hole machining
In cavity machining, the variation is nearly 14%
The data supplied by the manufacturers also includes the MRR for the
settings chosen
It is easy to determine the machining time for roughing, semi-finishing
and finishing if the method to be removed in roughing and finishing is
known
Flushing:
Flushing is the correct circulation of dielectric fluid between
the electrodes and the work piece
Machining efficiency is highly dependent on the correct layout
and adjustment of flushing system
If eroded particles are not flushed thoroughly, they act as
obstacles in the gap, reducing the dielectric strength, so that
discharges of low energy can develop
Consequently, the MRR is affected
Based on the problem to be solved, different methods of
flushing are employed
1. Pressure flushing
2. Suction flushing
3. Side flushing
4. Pulsed flushing synchronized with electrode movement
Pressure Flushing:
Pressure Flushing:
Dielectric fluid is injected through work piece via pot or through
electrode
Work piece is predrilled and mounted on a pot connected to the flushing
supply
Electrode is drilled and the dielectric is fed through it
The pressure employed is of the order of 1.5 to 2.0 Kg/cm2
Components machined under pressure flushing are slightly tapered
This is due to the particles being forced up the sides of the electrode
producing lateral discharge
Slight taper is desirable as in the case of press tools
Suction Flushing:
Suction Flushing:
The dielectric is sucked either through the work piece via a pot or
through the electrode
The taper effect is absent in this method
The vacuum pressure is of the order of 0.8 to 0.9 Kg/cm2
Vacuum is provided by the same pump unit by changing the pump and
the filter out put connections
Side Flushing:
Side Flushing:
This is done only when it is impossible to drill flushing holes either in
the electrode or in the work piece
This is the case when machining coining dies or deep narrow slots
To carry out side flushing, it is necessary to use nozzles which are
carefully adjusted so that the whole area is evenly flushed
The direction of the flushing must coincide with the inset form of the
work piece
Side flushing must never be directed simultaneously from both sides of
the electrode
Side flushing is carried with pulsation of the electrode to assist the
flushing action
Pulsed Flushing Synchronized with Electrode Movement:
When machining with metallic electrodes using pressure or suction
flushing, there is an abnormal wear of the electrode
This wear increases with the flushing pressure
To prevent this, most of the EDM manufacturers now provide a system
which employs dielectric injection which is synchronized with the
withdrawal or upward movement of the electrode
The spark gap is under dielectric pressure only during that part of the
cycle when no machining takes place, thus reducing the wear of the
electrode
EDM Process Characteristics:
Metal Removal Rate:
The MRR is proportional to the working current value
It is described as the volume of metal removed in unit time
Also defined as the volume of metal removed per unit time per ampere
which then yields a basis for the out put comparison of different
machines or different electrode materials
The machining rate during roughing of steel with a graphite electrode
and 50A generator is about 400 mm3/min
With a 400 A generator it is about 4800 mm3/min
For precision machining with low amperage and high frequency the
MRR is as low as 2 mm3/min
Table: MRR as a function of current and pulse frequency
MRR Pulse Frequency Current Surface Roughness
mm3/min kc A m
460 5 1-20 6-12
130 10 5-17 4-6
65 20 4-12 2.5-4
27 450 3-10 1.2-2
0.15-1.5 1000 0.5-3 0.2-0.8
Accuracy:
Tolerance value of 0.05mm can be achieved in normal production
By closed control of the variables 0.003mm can be achieved
EDM produces taper, overcut and corner radii
Taper:
Taper value is about 0.005 0.05 mm per 10 mm depth
Taper effect decreases to zero after about 75mm penetration
Taper can be eliminated if suction flushing is employed
Overcut:
An overcut of 5-100 m is produced, depending upon finishing or
roughing
EDM equipment manufacturers publish the charts for their generator
under different working conditions
Corner Radii:
Corner radii which is equal to spark gap and is inevitable in spark
erosion machining
Corner radii is minimum in finish machining where a very low spark gap
is used
Overcut Chart:
Surface Finish:
In EDM machining, electrical spark discharge produces a spherical crater
in the work piece
The volume of which is directly related to the energy contained in the
spark
Depth of this crater defines the surface finish
Surface finish depends on the amperage, frequency and finish on the
electrode
High frequency and low-amperage settings give the best surface finish
The best surface finish achieved on steel is 0.4 m
In no wear machining, using a graphite electrode for maximum MRR a
surface finish within 3.2 m can be achieved
Table: Values of surface finish and crater size on the work piece and tool under different
working conditions
Current MRR Surface Crater depth mm
A mm3/min Roughness m W/P Electrode
1-20 460 6-12 0.05-0.10 0.030
5-17 130 4-6 0.04-0.05 0.014
4-12 65 2.5-4 0.03-0.04 0.010
3-10 27 1.2-2 0.01-0.015 0.004
0.5-3 0.15-1.5 0.2-0.8 0.0025 0.0008
Heat Affected Zone:
The work piece material which gets melted is not completely expelled
during the process
It resolidifies on the machined surface of the work piece to form a hard
skin of about 2-10 m deep
The hardness of this top layer is about 60 HRC
Thermal stresses, plastic deformation and fine cracks may form in this
grain boundary
Depth of this layer is small in finishing operation and can be removed by
polishing
Below this there is a layer 0.05-0.2 mm deep in a tempered condition
Heat Affected Zone
EDM Accessories Application:
Punches and forming tools can be machined with a circular rotating
electrode called the rotary forming attachment
Curved hole drilling is also possible with EDM
EDM trepanning of circular and non circular profiles
EDM equipment to produce complex profiles using simple washer type
electrodes and a template copying system
Produce cavities with minimum corner radii, low electrode wear and
better surface finish
Electrical Discharge Grinding:
This process is similar to EDM except that the electrode is a rotating
wheel of graphite or brass
wheel can be easily formed to any complex shape and desired profiles
can be obtained on the work piece
EDG wheels rotate slower at 100-125 rpm
The table is under servo control to maintain a constant gap
Standard EDG machines are available
Conventional grinding machines can be converted and adopted to this
process
EDG is advantageously adopted in grinding steel & carbide, thin and
fragile sections, grinding of brittle materials, grinding complex forms etc.
Surface finish of the order of 0.4 m and accuracy of 0.02 mm can be
obtained
Corner radii can be controlled to about 0.1 mm
Wire EDM (Wire Cut EDM or Travelling Wire EDM):
Electrical Discharge wire cutting is commonly known as wire EDM
which is used to produce complex 2 or 3D shapes through electrically
conductive materials
Wire EDM, comparatively new in manufacturing, was first used in 1968
By 1975 its popularity was rapidly increasing because the process and its
capabilities were becoming better understood by industry
Mechanism:
Wire EDM differs from conventional EDM in that a thin 0.05 0.3 mm
in diameter wire perform as the electrode
The wire unwinds from the spool, feeds through the work piece and
taken up on a second spool
DC power of high frequency pulses are supplied to the wire and the w/p
The gap between the wire and w/p is flooded with deionized water,
which acts as the dielectric
Work piece in wire EDM is almost never submerged in dielectric fluid
Metal is removed ahead of the travelling wire by spark discharges
Either the w/p or wire can be moved to cause the wire to cut similarly to
a band saw
There is no contact between the wire and the w/p in wire EDM
The wire-w/p gap usually ranges from 0.025-0.05mm and constantly
maintained by a computer controlled positioning system
A complicated shape can be made on the difficult to machine metals
without expensive formed EDM electrodes
The high degree of accuracy & fine finish can be obtained by wire EDM
Equipments: A wire EDM consists of four subsystems
1. Positioning system 2. Wire drive system
3. Power Supply 4. Dielectric system
Positioning System:
It consists of a CNC 2-axis table and some cases, an additional multi axis
wire positioning system
Unique feature of this system is that it controls the gap between wire &
work piece
If wire should come in contact with the w/p or if a small piece of metal
bridges the gap and causes a short circuit
The positioning system must sense this condition and back up along the
programmed path, re-establish the proper cutting gap conditions
Wire Drive System:
The wire drive system continuously deliver fresh wire under constant
tension to the work area
The importance of constant wire tension is to avoid taper, wire breaks
and vibration marks
The wire delivery systems incorporate several stages of preparation to
ensure wire straightness
After supply spool, the wire passes through the several wire feed and
wire removal rollers
As the wire passes through the work piece, it is guided by a set of
sapphire or diamond wire guides
Before being collected by the take up spool, it passes through a series of
rollers
Most popular wire materials are chosed partly by the diameter of the
wire being used
When wire diameter are large ie 0.15-0.3mm Cu or brass is used
When wire diameter are fine ie 0.03-0.15mmMolybdenum steel is used
Major portion of the spark discharge occur at the leading surface of the
wire which passes through the work piece
As a result, the wire is no longer round after one pass through the work
piece and hence it is discarded
Dielectric System:
Deionized water is used as dielectric fluid
Having low viscosity, high cooling rate, high MRR and no fire hazard
Power Supply:
Major difference between the power supply used for wire EDM and
conventional EDM are frequency and current
To provide smoothest surface finish, pulse frequency used is 1MHz
High frequency ensures that each spark removes little material as
possible, thus reducing the size of the EDM crater
Wire used is small diameter and current carrying capability is limited
Wire EDM power supplies are built to deliver the current less than 20A
