EFFECT OF THE TOOL SURFACE AREA AND WORKPIECE VIBRATION ON THE μEDM PERFORMANCE

This work investigates the influence of tool surface area (TSA) on the average surface roughness (Ra), tool wear rate (TWR) and material removal rate (MRR) in the micro-electrical discharge machining (mu EDM). The effects of three different TSAs were investigated at three different discharge energy settings. It was observed that the TSA had substantial influence on mu EDM performance owing to scaling effect. Therefore, the low-frequency workpiece vibration was applied to improve the mu EDM performance. The surface topography of machined surfaces was examined using scanning electron microscopy to disclose the effect of TSA as well as vibration frequency on mu EDMed surfaces.

Automated summary

This study investigated the influence of tool surface area (TSA) on micro-electrical discharge machining (μEDM) performance, revealing that TSA has a substantial impact on the process due to the scaling effect. Low-frequency workpiece vibration was applied to improve μEDM performance, with scanning electron microscopy used to examine the machined surfaces and disclose the effects of TSA and vibration frequency.