Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) of High-Performance Ceramics

Materials and Process Development for Wear Resistant Precision Tools with High Geometrical Complexity

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Proceedings of the III Advanced Ceramics and Applications Conference

Abstract

Important and high value adding applications of modern structural ceramics are in the field of tools and dies in manufacturing engineering. That is, processing of highly abrasive materials in powder injection molding or extrusion requires mold materials with high wear resistance to increase the durability of the tools and to sustain a high quality of the manufactured products. High-performance ceramics, which exhibit high hardness, bending strength, and toughness, features the perfect combination of properties for these applications. Their drawback is that they cannot be economically customized in complex shapes and small lot sizes, as they are required in tool and mold design. Recent development of electrically conductive oxide ceramics enabled the use of EDM, the most used process for machining of hard materials, as an alternative to conventional ceramic manufacturing technologies. By combining the shaping and final machining of ceramics by EDM in one process step, complex shaped assemblies with fine structures, small tolerances, and the benefits of ceramic material properties can produced. The focus is on ZTA-based ceramics with the addition of titanium carbide that can be machined by wire-EDM and die sinking. Mechanical and electrical properties of the materials as well as the characteristics of the machining process and its influence on the workpiece material are analyzed. Additionally, the feasibility of the ceramic material for tool inserts is shown by real wear tests in extrusion dies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 179.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 229.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. N. Claussen, Fracture toughness of Al2O3 with an unstabilized ZrO2 dispersed phase. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 59(1–2), 49–51 (1976)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. J. Wang, R. Stevens, Review Zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA) ceramics. J. Mater. Sci. 24, 3421–3440 (1989)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. F. Sommer, R. Landfried, F. Kern, R. Gadow, Mechanical properties of zirconia toughened alumina with 10–24 vol.% 1.5 mol% Y-TZP reinforcement. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 32(15), 3905–3910 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. F. Sommer, R. Landfried, F. Kern, R. Gadow, Mechanical properties of zirconia toughened alumina with 10–24 vol.% 1Y-TZP reinforcement. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 32(16), 4177–4184 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. W. Koenig, D.F. Dauw, G. Levy, U. Panten, EDM—future steps towards the machining of ceramics. CIRP Ann. Manuf. Tech. 37(2), 623–631 (1988)

    Google Scholar 

  6. B. Lauwers, J.P. Kruth, W. Liu, W. Eeraerts, B. Schacht, P. Bleys, Investigation of material removal mechanisms in EDM of composite ceramic materials. J. Mater. Proc. Technol. 149, 347–352 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. R. Landfried, F. Kern, W. Burger, W. Leonhardt, R. Gadow, Development of electrical discharge machinable ZTA ceramics with 24 vol% of TiC, TiN, TiCN, TiB2 and WC as electrically conductive phase. Appl. Ceram. Tech. 10(3), 509–518 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. R. Landfried, F. Kern, W. Burger, W. Leonhardt, R. Gadow, Wire-EDM of ZTA-TiC composites with variable content of electrically conductive phase. Key Eng. Mater. 504–506, 1165–1170 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. C.-C. Liu, J.-L. Huang, Effect of the electrical discharge machining on strength and reliability of TiN/Si3N4 composites. Ceram. Int. 29, 679–687 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. R. Landfried, F. Kern, R. Gadow, Electrical discharge machining of Alumina-Zirconia-TiC composites with varying zirconia content. Key Eng. Mater. 554–557, 1916–1921 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. K. Niihara, A fracture mechanics based analysis of indentation based cracks in ceramics. J. Mater. Sci. Lett. 2, 221–223 (1983)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. R. Landfried, F. Kern, R. Gadow, Electrically conductive ZTA–TiC ceramics: Influence of TiC particle size on material properties and electrical discharge machining. Int. J. Refract. Met. Hard Mater. 49, 334–338 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. R. Gadow, F. Kern, R. Landfried, M. Maier, W. Schinköthe, W, Spritzgusswerkzeuge mit keramischen Formbereichen zur prozessintegrierten induktiven Erwärmung von Einlegeteilen, in Proceedings of the 23. Stuttgarter Kunststoff-Kolloquiums 2013, 6–7 March, ISBN 978-3-00-041203-5

    Google Scholar 

  14. R. Landfried, Funkenerosiv bearbeitbare Keramiken für den Werkzeug- und Formenbau. PhD thesis, Universität Stuttgart (2014)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank AiF (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Industrielle Forschung, BMWi) for funding the present work under Grant numbers KF2121001SU8 and KF2121007GZ1, and Graveurbetrieb Leonhardt for assistance in ED-machining.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Fertigungstechnologie keramischer Bauteile, Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

    Rainer Gadow, Richard Landfried & Frank Kern

Authors
  1. Rainer Gadow
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Richard Landfried
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Frank Kern
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rainer Gadow .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials, Faculty of Engg, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom

    William E. Lee

  2. University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

    Rainer Gadow

  3. Faculty of Electronic Engineering, University of Nis, Nis, Serbia

    Vojislav Mitic

  4. Institute of Technical Sciences, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Belgrade, Serbia

    Nina Obradovic

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Atlantis Press and the author(s)

About this paper

Cite this paper

Gadow, R., Landfried, R., Kern, F. (2016). Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) of High-Performance Ceramics. In: Lee, W., Gadow, R., Mitic, V., Obradovic, N. (eds) Proceedings of the III Advanced Ceramics and Applications Conference. Atlantis Press, Paris. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-157-4_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-157-4_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Atlantis Press, Paris

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-6239-156-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-6239-157-4

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation