BÜ LENT EKMEKCICharacteristics of electric discharge machined (EDM) surfaces of normalized, quenched, and quenched and tempered-treated steels in kerosene and deionized-water dielectric liquids are investigated. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffractometry are employed to analyze the machined surface. Surface cracks are examined in terms of white layer composition, heat treatment of the workpiece material, and operational parameters used, such as average discharge current and pulse-on duration. The present results reveal that base material properties and white layer composition have a distinctive function on crack formation that results in different crack network layouts on the surface and penetration depths in the substrate. Surface cracks, which initiate at the surface, travel down perpendicularly toward the interferential zone, and terminate at this interference, are mainly formed due to an increase in nonhomogeneities of metallurgical phases within the white layer. Such cracks are usually encountered on the surfaces when machining is performed in a hydrocarbon-based dielectric liquid using high pulse-on duration and low average discharge current. On the other hand, penetrating cracks, which penetrate the entire white layer thickness to an extent into the parent material, are mainly formed due to contraction of the recast structure joined to the circumferential edge of a crater rim during solidification. This type of crack is common when machining is performed in deionized water and the work material is brittle. Crack penetration depth is found to be proportional to the used pulse energy, and its path has a tendency to form parallel cracks to the machined surface at decreased pulse-on duration.
The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the record. Please see the repository URL above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription.
The violent nature of the electric discharge machining (EDM) process leads to a unique structure on the surface of a machined part. In this study, the influence of electrode material and type of dielectric liquid on the surface integrity of plastic mold steel samples is investigated. The results have shown that regardless of the tool electrode and the dielectric liquid, the white layer is formed on machined surfaces. This layer is composed of cementite (Fe 3 C) and martensite distributed in retained austenite matrix forming dendritic structures, due to rapid solidification of the molten metal, if carbon-based dielectric liquid is used. The intensity of cracking increases at high pulse durations and low pulse currents. Cracks on the EDM surfaces have been found to follow the pitting arrangements with closed loops and to cross perpendicularly with radial cracks and continue to propagate when another discharge takes place in the neighborhood. The amount of retained austenite phase and the intensity of microcracks have found to be much less in the white layer of the samples machined in de-ionized water dielectric liquid. The number of globule appendages attached to the surface increased when a carbon-based tool electrode material or a dielectric liquid was used during machining.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.