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Study on material erosion mechanism of ultrasonic vibration-assisted micro-EDM based on heat-flow coupling analysis

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Abstract

Ultrasonic vibration-assisted micro-EDM can improve the machinability of difficult to machine materials such as titanium alloy and superalloy. To explore the influence mechanism of ultrasonic vibration on material erosion in micro-EDM, a heat-flow coupling model was proposed. In the study, the effects of ultrasonic vibration, including workpiece vibration and electrode circular vibration, on the formation of discharge craters, were explained based on the theories of heat transfer and hydrodynamics. The simulation results showed that the material is mainly removed by evaporation at the initial stage of discharge, and then the molten material splashes away from the workpiece through the edge of the discharge crater, while the molten material not separated from the workpiece cools and solidifies around the discharge crater to form a bulge. The workpiece vibration is conducive to strengthening the splashing of molten liquid, so as to form larger and deeper discharge craters. The electrode circular vibration can cause the discharge spot to slip on the surface of the workpiece, forming discharge craters with larger area and shallower depth. The morphologies of the discharge craters obtained by single-pulse discharge experiments were in good agreement with the simulated craters. The results of square cavity machining experiment indicated that the machining efficiency under workpiece vibration and electrode circular vibration assistance were improved by 24.3% and 23.0%, respectively. The material removal depth under workpiece vibration is larger, while the material removal depth under electrode circular vibration is smaller, but electrode circular vibration is conducive to reducing the roughness of machined surface. The results of single-pulse discharge experiments and square cavity machining experiments were in good agreement with the simulation results, which indicates that the proposed simulation model is suitable to explain the influence of ultrasonic vibration on micro-EDM.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51575137), the Key Project of Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province of China (No. ZD2019E005), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51975156).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, No.92 West Dazhi Street, Nangang District, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, People’s Republic of China

    Shaojie Hou, Jicheng Bai, Huan Liu, Zimu Zhou & Zhuang Lu

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  1. Shaojie Hou
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  2. Jicheng Bai
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  3. Huan Liu
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  4. Zimu Zhou
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Contributions

Shaojie Hou: conceptualization, methodology, writing—original draft preparation, investigation, data curation, visualization, editing. Jicheng Bai: supervision, project administration, funding acquisition, writing—review.

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Correspondence to Jicheng Bai.

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Hou, S., Bai, J., Liu, H. et al. Study on material erosion mechanism of ultrasonic vibration-assisted micro-EDM based on heat-flow coupling analysis. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 125, 465–478 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-10695-1

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