The Downsizing Effects in EDM Drilling of Micro Holes

Abstract:

The recent miniaturization trend in manufacturing, has enhanced the production of new and highly sophisticated systems in various industrial fields. In recent years, machining of the so called difficult to cut materials has become an important issue in several sectors. Micro Electrical Discharge Machining (micro-EDM) thanks to its contactless nature, is one of the most important technologies for the machining of this type of materials and it can be considered as one of the most promising manufacturing technologies for the fabrication of micro components. One of the most relevant applications of micro-EDM is micro-drilling. Micro holes in fact, are widely used for example in micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), serving as channels or nozzles to connect two micro-features, and in micro-mechanical components. The present study is about micro drilling of metal plates by means of micro-EDM technology. In particular, the aim of this work is to investigate the effects of the downsizing of the micro holes diameter on the drilling performances. The influence of the reduction of the diameters in terms of both process performances (e.g., tool wear, taper rate, diametrical overcut) and general quality of the holes was investigated. Steel plates having thickness equal to 0.8 mm were taken into account. The drilling process was carried out using a micro-EDM machine Sarix SX 200 with carbide electrodes having diameter equal to 300, 200, 100 and 50 μm. Since the standard electrodes adopted in this study had a diameter equal to 300 μm, a wire EDM unit was used to obtain the other electrodes. The relationship between the process parameters considered the most significant and the final output, was studied. Furthermore, the geometrical and dimensional properties of the micro-holes were analyzed using both optical and scanning electron microscopes. In particular, it is demonstrated that the diameter size has a significant influence on the final value of the diametrical overcut while peak current and frequency parameters have a negligible effect.

• Periodical: Key Engineering Materials (Volume 549)
• Pages: 503-510
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.549.503
• Online since: April 2013
• Authors: Gianluca D'Urso, Giancarlo Maccarini, C. Merla
• Keywords: Downsizing Effects, Micro-Drilling, Micro-EDM

References

[1] K. Monroy, A. Attanasio, E. Ceretti, H.R. Siller, N. Hendrichs, C. Giardini in: Proceedings of ICOMM, 7th International Conference on MicroManufacturing (2012)

[2] T. Masuzawa in: CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology Vol 49-2 (2000), p.473–488

[3] M. Aziz, O. Ohnishi, H. Onikura: Journal of Manufacturing Processes Vol. 14 (2012), pp.224-232

[4] P. Kuppan, A. Rajadurai, S. Narayanan: The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology Vol. 38-1, (2008), pp.74-84

[5] T. Masuzawa, X. Cui, M. Fujino in: CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology Vol. 41-1 (1992), p.239–242

[6] Y. Yahagi, T. Koyano, M. Kunieda, X. Yang in: Procedia CIRP, Vol. 1 (2012), p.162–165

[7] Y. Yahagi, T. Koyano, M. Kunieda, X. D. Yang in: Key Engineering Materials Vol. 447 – 448 (2010), p.268

[8] Y. Yahagi, T. Koyano, M. Kunieda, X. D. Yang in: Journal of the Japan Society for Precision Engineering. Vol. 77-4 (2011), pp.394-399

[9] S. Kumagai, N. Misawa, K. Takeda, ET Abdukarimov: Thin solid films, (2004), Vol. 457-1 pp.180-185

DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2003.12.019

[10] T. Asokan, S. S. Reddy, P. D. E. Costa in: Proceedings of the 19th AIMTDR (2000), pp.161-165

[11] G. D'Urso, M. Longo, G. Maccarini, C. Ravasio in: Proceedings of ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences (2011), pp.417-424

[12] T. Kawakami, M. Kunieda in: CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology Vol. 54-1 (2005), pp.167-170

[13] K. Egashira., Y. Morita, Y. Hattori: Precision Engineering, Vol. 34 (2010), p.139–144

[14] P. Carlos Kaminski, M. N. Capuano: International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture Vol. 43-11 (2003), p.1143–1149