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This study adopts the application of the electrodischarge machining (EDM) hole-drilling method to the measurement of residual stress in AISI D2 cold work tool steel, AISI H13 hot work tool steel, and AISI 1045 medium carbon steel. A calibration procedure based on the thermal conductivity of the material is conducted to compensate for the additional compressive stress induced in the workpiece by the EDM hole-drilling operation. Since the formation of this white layer influences the magnitude of the induced stress, the scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and nanoindentation techniques are used to examine the microstructure and hardness of the white layer resolidified on the EDMed surface. The experimental results reveal that combination of the hole-drilling strain-gage method (ASTM standard E837) with an EDM drilling process provides the effective means of determining the residual stress in materials with high hardness and good wear resistance.

This paper presents an investigation into the drilling of micro-holes of diameter 0.3 mm in tool steel H13 by means of the Micro-EDM process. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Scanning White Light Interferometry (SWLI) techniques are used to determine the influence of the drilling process parameters upon the surface roughness. The results reveal a series of randomly overlapped craters upon the machined surface, which represent the position and chronological sequence of individual sparks during the machining process. As the voltage and current increases, the crater appearance changes from a conical to a cylindrical shape, and its depth and diameter both increase. It is shown that surface roughness deteriorates as the pulse voltage increases. Finally a regression equation is established between the diameter of the crater and the pulse voltage, pulse current and pulse-on duration parameters. This equation enables the diameters of the craters, and hence the surface integrity of the machined surface, to be predicted for a given set of process parameters, and is therefore a valuable tool in achieving the goal of precision machining.