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Surface Preparation of Powder Metallurgical Tool Steels by Means of Wire Electrical Discharge Machining

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Abstract

The surface of two types of powder metallurgical (PM) tool steels (i.e., with and without nitrogen) was prepared using wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM). From each grade of tool steel, seven surfaces corresponding to one to seven passes of WEDM were prepared. The WEDM process was carried out using a brass wire as electrode and deionized water as dielectric. After each WEDM pass the surface of the tool steels was thoroughly examined. Surface residual stresses were measured by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The measured stresses were found to be of tensile nature. The surface roughness of the WEDM specimens was measured using interference microscopy. The surface roughness as well as the residual stress measurements indicated an insignificant improvement of these parameters after four passes of WEDM. In addition, the formed recast layer was characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), XRD, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The characterization investigation clearly shows diffusion of copper and zinc from the wire electrode into the work material, even after the final WEDM step. Finally, the importance of eliminating excessive WEDM steps is thoroughly discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the financial support from the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF) and The Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (MISTRA) through the ProEnviro research program. In addition, Uddeholms AB (Hagfors, Sweden) is acknowledged for supply of materials and technical support. The following staff members of the Department of Materials and Manufacturing Technology (Chalmers University of Technology) are thanked for their technical assistance: Messrs. Seyed B. Hosseini, Urban Jelvestam, Pouya Habibzadeh, and Seshendra Karamchedu.

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Author notes

  1. Sepehr Hatami (Postdoctoral Researcher, R&D Engineer)

    Present address: AB SKF, 415 50, Gothenburg, Sweden

  2. Mehrdad Shahabi-Navid (Master’s Student, PhD Student)

    Present address: Department of Environmental Inorganic Chemistry, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials and Manufacturing Technology, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Sepehr Hatami (Postdoctoral Researcher, R&D Engineer), Mehrdad Shahabi-Navid (Master’s Student, PhD Student) & Lars Nyborg (Professor and Head of the Department)

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  1. Sepehr Hatami
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  2. Mehrdad Shahabi-Navid
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  3. Lars Nyborg
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Correspondence to Sepehr Hatami.

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Manuscript submitted June 23, 2011.

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Hatami, S., Shahabi-Navid, M. & Nyborg, L. Surface Preparation of Powder Metallurgical Tool Steels by Means of Wire Electrical Discharge Machining. Metall Mater Trans A 43, 3215–3226 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-012-1137-1

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