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CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION
Electrical discharge machining (EDM) referred to as spark machining, is a nontraditional method of removing metal by a series of rapidly recurring discrete electrical discharges between an electrode (the cutting tool) and the workpiece in the presence of a dielectric fluid. In the last years dry electrical discharge machining (DEDM) has been proposed as an alternative to the traditional EDM. The main reason for these efforts is the absence of a liquid dielectric which results in a simpler and environmentally friendly machine. In case of electrical discharge machining process conducted with gaseous dielectric, the dielectric supply system is significantly simplified, comparing to that used in standard EDM process .Effective way of reduction of hazardous effects on environment is elimination of liquids used as working media or coolants during machining processes[1]. Dry EDM is a 'green' environment friendly EDM technique in which instead of mineral oil based liquid dielectric, gas at high pressure is used as the dielectric
medium[3]. This method brings advantages in process performance, like lower tool wear, lower residual thermal stresses and higher precision. Important factor is the simplicity of the machine construction, not requiring sophisticated and spacious dielectric circulation and cooling system the same design, manufacturing and material costs can be reduced. Due to the lack of oils (which are usually flammable), the risk of fire hazards is also lowered to the minimum[3]. However the method is very promising, it still needs to be investigated in details before practical application at the industrial scale. Dry EDM is a promising EDM technology with a number of advantages over traditional techniques: low tool electrode wear ratio (TWR), thin recast layer, and general environmental friendlines. For industrial application however, the machining performance of dry EDM must be improved to achieve desirable material removal rates
(MRR) and surface integrity. In efforts to improve the MRR of dry EDM, researchers have attempted various assisted methods. Near-dry EDM exhibits some advantages over dry EDM that include higher MRR, a sharper cutting edge, and a reduction in debris deposition. Compared with liquid EDM, near-dry EDM exhibits a higher MRR at a lower discharge energy input, and is more likely to improve workpiece surface integrity. Considering the benefits of dry machining processes, presented in the Figure 1.1, companies and research centres involved in development of electrodischarge machining are aiming towards reduction of amount of organic based dielectric fluids, by exchanging them with pure water or low concentration water solutions[1].
R. Roth et al. [2] showed that feeding gaseous molecular oxygen into the erosion gap in case of EDM with water based dielectric the material removal rate (MRR) can be increased. They present measurements of material removal rate in function of different flushing gases. Significant progress has been made in enhancing the capabilities of EDM processes via so called additives-mixed electrical discharge machining (AEDM) approaches [4], such as powder-mixed EDM and gas-mixed EDM. These AEDM approaches achieve a higher MRR and a smoother surface than when no additive is present in the main medium (usually a liquid). In effect, the near-dry EDM technique also constitutes an AEDM approach, in which a minimum qualities liquid is mixed with a gas (or gases) to create the EDM medium. Furthermore, oxygen is a desirable gas in dry EDM as its presence results in a higher MRR compared with a dry EDM process without oxygen [4]. In the present study, motivated by the high MRR in oxygen-assisted EDM and an analysis of the oxygen EDM process, the mixing of oxygen into other gases (oxygen-mixed) is performed. The machining of cryogenically cooled materials in EDM is another promising approach. Much previous work exists that includes machining performance estimates for cryogenic cooling machining [4]. They observed that the TWR and SR are both lower in cryogenic EDM (CEDM) than in conventional EDM for the same set of Parameters. The existing literatures however only describes work performed with conventional liquid EDM, with a focus on the machining performance of a cryogenically cooled electrode. Studies of cryogenic EDM in a gaseous medium, especially those involving cryogenically cooled workpieces in dry EDM scenarios, are hard to find. Since the lower viscosity and thermal conductivity of gas may produce a weak cooling effect on the workpiece, the machining performance should be improved with such an approach. Therefore, a dry EDM method is investigating using cryogenically cooled workpieces in this study.
Two dry EDM approaches were proposed- oxygen-mixed dry EDM and EDM with cryogenically cooled workpieces with the aim of achieving fast machining and improved surface finish.
1.2 DISADVANTAGES OF DRY EDM. Low material removal rate (MRR) Poor process stability Surface Roughness
CHAPTER -2 REVIEW
In efforts to improve the MRR of dry EDM, researchers have attempted various assisted methods. G. Skrabalak et al [1] presented the results of the studies in the area of dry electrodischarge machining. The main comparison coefficients were tool wear ratio, material removal rate and machining accuracy / quality. Important aspect of dry EDM milling is also the way that gas is supplied to the interelectrode gap. They cover comparison, and influence on machining performance, of gas supply method: through electrode and from outside of the electrode. Influence of gas pressure, flow rate and rotational speed of the electrode were also discussed- resulted in finding optimal conditions for machining, depending on the optimization criteria. R. Roth [2] et al presented the measurements of material removal rate in function of different flushing gases. They showed that the heat energy from the oxidation has only a little effect on the material removal rate and that the main difference between oxygen and less oxidizing gases is to find in different stability and time efficiency of the process. MRR and discharge behavior of DEDM had been systematically analyzed for different more or less oxidizing gases. Current specific and power specific MRR were presented and hypothesis of the ruling mechanisms regarding the influence of oxygen in DEDM were elucidated. The results showed an already known major influence on the MRR where oxygen is used as flushing gas. Grzegorz Skrabalak et al[3] presented results of simulation and mathematical modeling of the material removal rate of electrodischarge milling process with compressed air as dielectric. They also presented basic characteristic of the DEDM milling process and comparison of this green machining method with kerosene based EDM milling. Presented results refer to the experiments of micro machining with thick walled electrodes. The crucial problem during machining with this environment friendly
method was the evacuation of machined material particles out from the working gap It was very probable that particles get addicted to the electrode. On one hand this phenomena is good for the milling process having its influence on very low tool wear, but on the other it makes the process useless for machining holes deeper than twice the electrode radius. During this machining process, particles attaching to the electrode are slowing down the process, finally stopping it. DEDM milling process may be very useful especially for micro machining. Due to the tool wear ratio it is more precise than EDM milling in kerosene, what is important aspect in case of machining in micro-scale. Also process of preparing tool paths is much easier, as the tool wear is negligible. However application fields of DEDM in micro-scale are almost borderless (apart from drilling deep holes), application of this way of EDM in macro-scale is rather limited. The existing literatures however only describes work performed with conventional liquid EDM, with a focus on the machining performance of a cryogenically cooled electrode. Studies of cryogenic EDM in a gaseous medium, especially those involving cryogenically cooled workpieces in dry EDM scenarios, are hard to find. Since the lower viscosity and thermal conductivity of gas may produce a weak cooling effect on the workpiece, the machining performance should be improved with such an approach. Therefore, we also investigate a dry EDM method using cryogenically cooled workpieces in the present paper.
Table: 1.1 Wt% of Cu deposited on the surface of the workpiece EDMed in different gases[4]
The surface topography of samples EDMed in the different gases is shown in Fig. 3.2, where it can be seen that craters in the surface of the oxygen EDMed workpiece are deeper than those of the workpieces EDMed in other gases. Recast craters were formed in the surface that had been dry EDMed in argon. There are several reasons for the high MRR for the oxygen EDM. Chemical reactions, mainly oxidation, are seen as one such reason; oxidation reactions are exothermic processes, which therefore contribute to the high MRR of oxygen EDM.
Fig:3.2 Surface topography of the workpiece EDMed in different gases (The scale in the pictures is 0.3mm.)[4]
The relatively lower ionization energy for oxygen is another reason for the higher MRR. Table 3.2 lists the first ionization energies (FIE) of oxygen, nitrogen, and argon. Use of a gas that is more easily ionized will help to achieve a higher MRR. However, we note that the difference between the FIE for the different gases is not particularly large for instance, the FIE ratio between oxygen and argon is: 12.5/15.69= 0.7967 whilst there is a great difference between the MMRs of EDM with oxygen and with argon: (MRR of oxygen)/ (MRR of argon) = 31.22. Thus, there must be other factors besides the ionization energy affecting the MRR of oxygen EDM.
Electronegativity of oxygen is also responsible for the high MRR result. Electronegativity denotes the ability of an atom to attract electrons, where a larger electronegativity corresponds to a higher probability for an atom to capture electrons. Among the three gases, the electronegativity of oxygen is the greatest as seen in Table 3, which lists the electron affinity energy (EAE) of the three gases Oxygen has the largest EAE value, suggesting that oxygen atoms more easily capture electrons and form anions. Conversely, Argon has a negative EAE value, which means an argon atom must absorb a certain amount of energy before it can combine with an electron. Therefore, compared with oxygen, the argon is hardly ionized and once it is ionized, it is difficult to recover its deionization, and this easily results in an unstable discharge. In contrast, oxygen is easily ionized, and after the oxygen medium breakdown, oxygen atoms may quickly capture electrons and combine with positive ions. The discharge passage is then deionised, creating a stable discharge state which ultimately leads to a high MRR.
Table: 3.3 The first electron affinity energy (EAE) of three atoms[4]
Based on the aforementioned advantages of oxygen EDM, and considering the relatively low MRR resulting from use of other gases, we performed additional EDM experiments using oxygen mixed with other gases. These were aimed at improving the MRR of dry EDM.
As the main objective of these experiments was to investigate whether the MRR of oxygen-mixed dry EDM could be improved, each experiment was repeated three times and the mean MRR recorded for several oxygen contents in the final gas mixture (30%, 50%, and 70%). Results from experiments with oxygen mixed into compressed air are shown in Fig. 3.4. The MRR is improved with oxygen-mixed EDM compared with the no oxygen result (that is, the compressed air result from the previous section). Additionally, it is noted that the MRR increases with oxygen content. The experimental results for EDM with oxygennitrogen mixtures are displayed in Fig. 3.5. Again, it can be seen that the MRR for oxygen-mixed EDM is higher than that for pure nitrogen EDM.
Finally, we conducted experiments involving oxygenargon mixtures. The results are shown in Fig. 3.6, where it can be clearly seen that the MRR is increased compared with the MRR of pure argon EDM. The trend seen in the results for the oxygen-argon mixtures is similar to the one seen for the oxygen-nitrocgen mixtures.
Fig4.2 MRR and SR comparison for cooled and uncooled workpiece with workpiece as anode[4]
Compared with results for uncooled workpieces, cryogenically cooled machining marginally improves the SR value. The SR improvements were 0.7% and 4% for runs with peak currents of 29A and 20A, respectively. The SR improvement is visible in an SEM topography comparison (Fig. 4.3), where the cooled surface clearly has a greater surface integrity than the uncooled surface. Furthermore, experiments with cryogenically cooled workpieces serving as cathodes were carried out; here the peak current was 29A with the mean temperature of the machining point maintained near -15C. Fig. 4.4 shows the experimental results, where one can see that the MRR and SR are improved if the workpiece is cryogenically cooled. The MRR was improved by approximately 30%, and the SR was approximately 10% better. Fig. 4.5 displays the SEM pictures of the dry EDMed cathode workpieces. The tool electrode wear, however, was substantial with a negative workpiece polarity in our dry EDM experiments.
Fig:4.3 Surface topography comparison of uncooled and cooled workpieces as they served as anodes with peak current of 29A (The scale in the pictures is 150)[4]
Fig:4.4 MRR and SR comparison for uncooled and cooled workpiece with workpiece as cathode[4]
The MRR and SR can be improved for cryogenically cooled workpieces with both positive and negative polarities. For positive polarity machining, the MRR was improved
by approximately 30-50%, while the SR was improved only slightly over that of an uncooled workpiece. The surface topography of the cooled workpiece was found to be uniform and regular, due to the decreased probability of debris reattachment on the surface as debris was swiftly cooled and ejected. With the debris ejected, the state of the discharge passage was improved, which consequently contributed to the desirable MRR values.
Fig:4.5 Surface topography comparison of uncooled and cooled workpieces as cathodes at peak current of 29A (The scale in the pictures is 300)[4]
Additionally, a small amount of water mist may help improve MRR, owing to the electronegativity of water. For higher energy parameters, the MRR and SR were improved greatly when the workpiece was at a lower temperature. However, the workpiece must not be overcooled, as this leads to a layer of frost and excessive water vapour produced during machining, which negatively affect the machining.
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS
Two new dry EDM techniques, namely oxygen-mixed dry EDM and dry EDM with cryogenically cooled workpieces, with the objective of increasing MRR and surface integrity. The machining mechanisms of underlying these dry EDM techniques were analysed. Experimental results validate the theoretical analysis, and demonstrate the feasibility of the two approaches. Oxygen-mixed dry EDM was shown to improve MRR more than 200% over non-oxygen results at our chosen experimental conditions. Generally, it was found that oxygen-mixed air achieved a high MRR, and that MRR increases with oxygen content in a two-gas mixture. Electronegativity, the lower FIE of oxygen and the Penning effect are believed to be the main drivers that lead to increased MRR oxygen-mixed dry EDM. Dry EDM with cryogenically cooled workpieces was also shown to improve both the MRR and SR at the chosen experimental conditions. The MRR was improved approximately 30-50%, and SR approximately 1%-10%, over what could be achieved with uncooled pieces. An enhanced ejection of debris in this approach is suspected to be the main reason for the improvements over uncooled EDM experiments. Combining the two approaches that is, oxygen-mixed dry EDM with a cryogenically cooled workpiece may constitute a new dry EDM method capable of high performance.
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