Machinability and Energy Efficiency in Micro-EDM Milling of Zirconium Boride Reinforced with Silicon Carbide Fibers

Abstract

Several types of advanced materials have been developed to be applied in many industrial application fields to satisfy the high performance required. Despite this, research and development of process suited to machine are still limited. Due to the high mechanical properties, advanced materials are often considered as difficult to cut. For this reason, EDM (Electrical Discharge Machining) can be defined as a good option for the machining of micro components made of difficult to cut electrically conductive materials. This paper presents an investigation on the applicability of the EDM process to machine ZrB2 reinforced by SiC fibers, with assessment of process performance and energy efficiency. Different fractions of the additive SiC fibers were taken into account to evaluate the stability and repeatability of the process. Circular pocket features were machined by using a micro-EDM machine and the results from different process parameters combinations were analyzed with respect to material removal, electrode wear and cavity surface quality. Discharges data were collected and characterized to define the actual values of process parameters (peak current, pulse duration and energy per discharge). The characteristics of the pulses were used to evaluate the machinability and to investigate the energy efficiency of the process. The main process performance indicators were calculated as a function of the number of occurred discharges and the energy of a single discharge. The results show interesting aspects related to the process from both the performances and the removal mechanism point of view.

Study on ZrB2-Based Ceramics Reinforced with SiC Fibers or Whiskers Machined by Micro-Electrical Discharge Machining

“…Here it is possible to identify very clearly, a sort of "protrusion" in correspondence of the fibers. Such as reported in a previous work [20], this aspect is probably related to incomplete machining because of SiC low electrical conductivity characteristic and the great extension of the area of the fibers. Figure 11b represents the ED-machined surface for the sample containing SiC whiskers.…”

“…From the 3D reconstruction it is possible to observe that the surfaces are not characterized by the typical aspect of the ED-machined surfaces which present a texture well-described by the presence of craters. The different aspect has already been presented in a previous study [20]. In his specific case, the UHTC is different, but the same considerations can be done.…”

Surface Characterization and Tribological Performance Analysis of Electric Discharge Machined Duplex Stainless Steel

“…The traditional machining processes are inappropriate to handle such hard materials. Therefore, under such circumstances, spark erosion commonly known as EDM employed as an emerging technique for treating such hard materials [ 27 , 28 ].…”

Improving Machining Performance for Deep Hole Drilling in the Electrical Discharge Machining Process Using a Step Cylindrical Electrode

“…Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is a modern processing machining method for materials that are difficult to use with conventional methods [1][2][3] as a result of high hardness, high wear resistance, and other special properties [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. EDM is a machining process that removes some of the work material from the workpiece using the high temperature produced by spark discharges to erode the workpiece [3,8,10].…”