Fabrication of high-density micro holes by upward batch micro EDM

Abstract

A large number of micro holes are needed for biomedical parts, ink-jet nozzles and micro droplet spraying parts. In this study, an inexpensive machining approach for producing a batch of micro holes is proposed. A set of previously introduced w-EDM mechanisms is employed to horizontally cut the batch micro electrodes precisely. Through the process arrangement, the micro electrodes and workpiece are not unloaded, repositioned and re-corrected until all the tasks are completed. The micro workpiece is clamped onto the specially designed jig and moved above the micro electrodes to perform machining of the mass micro holes by upward batch micro EDM. The entire procedure is carried out on a developed multifunctional tabletop CNC machine tool. An array of 400 through holes of the identical sizes is successfully fabricated on a stainless-steel plate with a thickness of 30 µm by using the modified peck-drilling method. Experimental results confirmed that the proposed approach could accelerate the removal of debris, reduce the occurrence of abnormal discharges and decrease the machining time.

Microvascular-based self-healing materials

“…Risers were similarly drilled between a brittle coating surface to an underlying 3-D printed matrix for fluid access [62]. The broader field of microfluidics has similarly used CNC (computer numeric control) milling to achieve features 100 mm to 1 mm in diameter [63,64] or EDM (electrical discharge machining) to produce features on the order of 10 mm [65,66].…”

Energy Adaptive Glass Matter

“…Once constructed the network was embedded into a epoxy matrix with the wax based inks being removed by temperature liquefaction and vacuum. Forming these microvascular network within a domain body can also be achieved by CNC machines that 'are capable of producing feature sizes on the order of tens of microns, Chen [22] or the application of micromachining technology to fabricate the network 'microchannels in a layer by layer fabrication approach' Saxena [23] at a sub-micron resolution. However the innovation of nano-materials, for example the potential of graphene could be the innovation of network mediums.…”

Fabrication of a micro-pin array with high density and high hardness by combining mechanical peck-drilling and reverse-EDM

“…Furthermore, Egashira and Mizutani (2002) used the micro-tools with a D-shaped cross-section and cutting edge of 0.5 m to mechanically drilling micro-hole with diameter of 22 m and depth of 90 m in monocrystalline silicon. Furthermore, Chen (2008) applied wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) to manufacture micro-pin array of tungsten carbide with a square section of 21 m × 21 m, in which the pitch is 45 m and the total number of pins is 100 (10 × 10). This micro-pin array was further used to fabricate a square array of micro-holes by micro-0924-0136/$ -see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.…”

“…Fofonoff et al (2004) used brass wires of Ø100 m for WEDM to produce polygonal micro-pin arrays. The number of micro-pins can be from dozens to 1141 with a minimum side length of 80 m and a pitch of 170 m. Chen (2008) conducted WEDM with brass wires of Ø20 m to manufacture a square-section micro-pin array of tungsten carbide with the number of 100 (10 × 10). The side length of the square section of the micro-pins is 21 m and their length and pitch are 709 m and 45 m, respectively.…”