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Experimental investigation of a new method combining EDM and ECM to cut the workpiece with foil electrode

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Abstract

The discharge craters and recast material are the characteristics of the surface machined by using EDM, which deteriorate the surface quality and other properties such as fatigue strength of the workpiece. In this study, a new combined machining method which utilizes a thin foil as tool electrode and combines EDM and ECM into a single process for slicing workpiece is proposed and investigated through experiments. The method can improve the surface quality by using ECM to remove the discharge craters and recast layer of EDM surface. The advantages of utilizing a foil instead of a wire as tool electrode for slicing the workpiece is that tool vibration can be considerably reduced and the efficiency of electrochemical dissolution increased. The experimental results show that good surface quality can be obtained by eliminating the craters and recast layer of EDM surface without sacrificing the cutting efficiency. Two factors of the combined machining, namely the height and the feed rate of the foil electrode, which have significant influence on the final surface quality are investigated. The taper of the kerf, kerf width, and tool wear are discussed experimentally. The combined machining with a thin foil as tool electrode provides a promising method for workpiece slicing in the future.

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Funding

The Scientific Research Program is funded by the Shaanxi Provincial Education Department (Program No. 19JS037) and Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi (Program No. 2020JM-567).

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  1. School of Mechatronic Engineering, Xi’an Technological University, Xi’an, 710021, China

    Xiaoyu Wu

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  1. Xiaoyu Wu
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Correspondence to Xiaoyu Wu.

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Wu, X. Experimental investigation of a new method combining EDM and ECM to cut the workpiece with foil electrode. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 110, 705–715 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-020-05923-5

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