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Precision Engineering
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a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: Together with the product miniaturization trend, manufacturing technologies to fabricate small size
Received 18 June 2012 shapes are highly demanded for micro-mold and die industry. Among the versatile machining processes,
Received in revised form micro-EDM milling is superior owing to its negligible cutting force. By using layer by layer removal
20 September 2012
strategy in association with CAM software for tool path generation, intricate 3D micro-shapes could be
Accepted 3 November 2012
produced. However, there exist some systematic errors which affect the dimensional accuracy and the
Available online 16 November 2012
nal form of obtained shapes. This study attempts to identify and analyze the error components of 3D
micro-EDM milling process. It is found that aside from the inherent machining gap and the indispensible
Keywords:
3D micro-EDM milling
electrode wear, the corner radius of virtual electrode is also of prime importance in determining the
Compensation machining accuracy. In this study, geometric models are presented to simulate its effects. It is detected
Corner radius that the prole error could be reduced by implementing the corner radius into virtual electrode model.
Electrode wear For verication, typical 3D micro-shapes formed by the inclined planes and a partial sphere are fabricated
Machining gap with and without the new model for virtual electrode geometry.
Virtual electrode geometry 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction die. Due to tool wear issue, the electrode needs to be replaced
with a fresh one after a certain usage time [8]. However, when the
With the high demand of smaller equipments, the product electrode size falls within micro-scale, continuous substitution and
miniaturization trend is indispensible. In order to manufacture alignment of tiny electrode are problematic. In order to overcome
parts with feature size smaller than few hundred microns for micro- this issue, micro-EDM and micro-milling have been combined in
mold and die industry, innovations of manufacturing processes are a process called contour micro-EDM milling [9]. In this technique,
required [1]. Therefore, conventional metal cutting processes have an electrode in simple form moves along the preset tool path to
been developed for micro-scale applications. Among these machin- remove the materials like conventional milling. Nevertheless, the
ing processes, micro-milling is a highly feasible method to fabricate removal mechanism is still based on the discharges, not the shear-
intricate micro-molds and dies. In association with computer-aided ing of material. Although this approach is effective in reducing the
manufacturing (CAM) systems, freeform micro-mold could be pro- electrode replacement routines, the electrode wear still occurs.
duced [2,3]. However, one drawback of micro-milling process is This inherent characteristic changes the electrode shape during
the occurrence cutting forces during machining. These forces may machining, affecting the dimensional accuracy and the nal form
lead to tool deection which affects the accuracy of machined parts. of fabricated workpiece [8].
Especially, when the milling tool diameter or the feature size is less In that scenario, the uniform wear method, a prominent idea,
than few hundred microns, micro-milling seems to be ineffective has been proposed to resolve the tool wear issue in micro-EDM
because there is high probability of tool breakage and permanent milling [10]. Electrode wear in micro-EDM has been classied into
workpiece deformation [46]. two types: the corner wear and the bottom wear. The corner wear
Micro-EDM is a superior process in machining micro-features changes the electrode shape whereas the bottom wear reduces its
owing to the negligible cutting force yielded by its non-contact length. Because the wear phenomenon is inescapable, this uniform
material removal mechanism [7]. For that reason, the electrode wear method attempts to eliminate the corner wear and thus main-
as small as a couple tens of microns in diameter could be tain the original shape of electrode. Consequently, the electrode
used. Notwithstanding this remarkable advantage, micro-EDM die- wear is merely the bottom wear thereby it could be completely
sinking alone is impractical in manufacturing complex mold and compensated in the longitudinal direction. To fulll this require-
ment, the material needs to be removed layer by layer and the
tool path of micro-EDM milling must comply with certain motion
Corresponding author. Tel.: +65 16 4644. rules. Furthermore, in order to fabricate intricate 3D shapes for
E-mail addresses: dang@nus.edu.sg, nmdang85@yahoo.com (M.D. Nguyen), micro-mold, CAM systems must be applied to automatically gener-
mpewys@nus.edu.sg (Y.S. Wong), mpemusta@nus.edu.sg (M. Rahman). ate the motion code for machine tool. However, most current CAM
0141-6359/$ see front matter 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.precisioneng.2012.11.002
400 M.D. Nguyen et al. / Precision Engineering 37 (2013) 399407
Fig. 1. Illustration of electrode wear in micro-EDM milling: (a) only bottom wear
(d < machining gap), (b) both bottom wear and corner wear (d > machining gap) Fig. 3. Illustration of 3D view and cross-sectional view of the virtual electrode (g is
where d is the depth of each layer. the machining gap).
M.D. Nguyen et al. / Precision Engineering 37 (2013) 399407 401
Firstly, the 3D CAD model of removed volume is built and split 3. Experimental details
into a series of layer. Then, the volume of different layers could
be obtained. Accordingly, the longitudinal wear after machining a 3.1. Developed tool path generation system
certain layer i could be calculated using the following equation:
As aforementioned, the current CAM software could not be
Vi
li = directly applied for micro-EDM milling. Hence, the machining code
Ae
for performing 3D micro-EDM milling is obtained using the tool
where is the volumetric wear ratio between the workpiece and path generation system shown in Fig. 4. It is in-house developed
the electrode, Vi is the volume of the layer i, Ae is the cross section based on the 3D CAD software SolidWorks 2011 and the ESPRIT
area of the electrode. CAM 2010 provided by DP Technology Corporation [14,15]. The
Secondly, after the preliminary machining program has been compensation of machining gap and the electrode wear in this
generated by the CAM software, the iteration is used to compen- system are highlighted in Fig. 4.
sate for the longitudinal wear after each layer by modifying the Z
coordinate of next layer. The new Z coordinate of layer i + 1 could
be determined as follows:
3.2. Sample micro-shapes
Zi+1 = Zi d li
For demonstrating the effect of the systematic errors, two typical
where d is the layer depth and li is the longitudinal wear after micro-shapes shown in Fig. 5 are chosen. Fig. 5a is the micro-dome
layer i. formed by a partial sphere whereas Fig. 5b exhibits the truncated
Fig. 7. SEM images of fabricated micro-shapes: (a) micro-dome and (b) micro-pyramid.
Fig. 8. Cross-sectional prole of the micro-dome fabricated by micro-EDM milling without the compensation for machining gap and electrode wear.
Fig. 9. Cross-sectional prole of fabricated micro-shapes with the compensation of both machining gap and electrode wear: (a) micro-dome and (b) micro-pyramid.
Fig. 10. Measured proles vs. ideal proles of fabricated micro-shapes without corner radius compensation: (a) micro-dome and (b) micro-pyramid.
404 M.D. Nguyen et al. / Precision Engineering 37 (2013) 399407
Fig. 11. Comparison between measured proles, ideal proles and theoretical proles of fabricated micro-shapes: (a) micro-dome and (b) micro-pyramid.
Fig. 12. Illustration of virtual electrode geometry: (a) without corner radius (old
model) and (b) with corner radius (new model). 5. Geometric models to simulate the prole error induced
by the corner radius of virtual electrode
0.5 m, it can be seen that the theoretical proles and the ideal pro- Fig. 14 shows a geometrical model which manifests the prole
les have the close t. However, the measured prole is observed error in case of no compensation for corner radius of virtual elec-
to be apart from the theoretical by a signicant distance. It is also trode. The theoretical error ht is determined by the step height of
observed that the deviation is quite uniform for the inclined plane each layer:
while it gradually increases for the partial sphere. Hence, this devi-
ation is hypothesized to be attributed to the corner radius of virtual
ht = d cos (1)
electrode. The corner of the virtual electrode is not perfectly sharp
and it should be rounded off with a llet radius due to the limited
distance of machining gap and the imperfect sharpness at the edge where d is the layer depth and is the slope angle of the incline.
of real electrode, as illustrated in Fig. 12. When there exists the corner radius and it is not compensated,
Following this hypothesis, the prole generated by the over- the prole error will be:
lapped virtual electrode corner is further superimposed as plotted
in Fig. 13. It could be observed that when the corner radius exists, e = H + h (2)
Fig. 13. Illustration of proles generated by the electrode with virtual corner radius: (a) micro-dome and (b) micro-pyramid.
M.D. Nguyen et al. / Precision Engineering 37 (2013) 399407 405
Fig. 16. The two situations of intersection points corresponding to different elec-
trode position.
Fig. 14. Prole error of slanting section without the compensation of virtual corner
Consequently, the theoretical prole error would be:
radius.
d
2
where h is the scallop height formed by overlapped electrode prole h = r |zA | = r r2 (6)
and H is the deciency stemming from the corner radius: 2 sin
H = r( 2 1) (3) It could be seen that the H is deducted in theoretical prole error
at which r is the corner radius of the virtual electrode. as compared to Eq. (2), which is the result of corner radius com-
From this, it can be seen that with the existence of the corner pensation.
radius, the theoretical error ht is no longer valid and it is superseded
by prole error e.
5.2. On a spherical surface
5.1. On an inclined plane
On a spherical surface, the intersection point of the overlapped
electrode prole depends on the location of the electrode. Again,
Fig. 15 shows the geometric model when the corner radius of
the layer depth is much smaller than the machining gap (d r) to
virtual electrode is taken into account during tool path generation.
eliminate the corner wear, there are two situations determining
Instead of the sharp comer, the tool tip coordinate is now deter-
the intersection point as shown in Fig. 16. At the same layer depth
mined based on the contact of the ideal prole and the corner prole
d, when the x is larger than or equal the critical distance, the
of virtual electrode. Because the layer depth is much smaller than
intersection point will be dened by the dotted line (L) and the
the machining gap (d r) to eliminate the corner wear, the theo-
circle (C2 ), as illustrated in Fig. 16a. On the contrary, when the x
retical prole error h would be the scallop height formed by the
is smaller than the critical distance, it is the intersection between
overlapped corner radius.
the circle (C3 ) and (C4 ), as shown in Fig. 16b.
Let the O1 XZ be the rectangular coordinate system as shown in
In order to determine the theoretical prole error for these two
Fig. 15. The coordinate of intersection point A of two circles (O1 )
circumstances, the geometric model shown in Fig. 17 is used.
and (O2 ) will be the result of a set of two equations: 2
2 2 2 Case 1, x = xO2 xO1 r 2 (d r)
x +z = r
d 2 (4)
x + z2 = r 2
sin
Solving for zA , it gives:
d
2
zA = r2 (5)
2 sin
Fig. 15. Prole errors of slanting section with the compensation for corner radius Fig. 17. Prole errors of curved section with the compensation of virtual corner
of virtual electrode. radius.
406 M.D. Nguyen et al. / Precision Engineering 37 (2013) 399407
Let the O1 XZ be the rectangular coordinate system as shown in 6. Experimental verication of virtual electrode corner
Fig. 17. The coordinate of intersection point A will be the result of radius compensation
a set of two equations:
The above simulation shows that the prole error could be
z = r reduced when the corner radius is taken into account in new virtual
(7)
2
(x x) + (z + d) = r 2
2 electrode geometry. In order to validate this point, the same typi-
cal micro-shapes are fabricated with the implementation of corner
Then radius compensation during tool path generation. Based on the
machining condition used, the modied virtual electrode is dened
(xA , zA ) = (x
2
r 2 (d r) , r) (8) to have 6 m corner radius which consists of 5 m machining gap
So and 1 m corner radius of the real electrode. The cross-sectional
proles of obtained micro-shapes are plotted in Fig. 18. Compared
(xA , zA ) = (xA + xO1 , zA + zO1 ) (9) with the proles in Fig. 10, the measured proles in Fig. 18 are
observed to be closer to the ideal proles. This afrms that the
where
corner radius of virtual electrode is also a key factor determining
(xO1 , zO1 ) = (q sin 1 , q cos 1 ) (10) the dimensional accuracy of fabricated shape. The prole errors
induced by this corner radius essentially appears when intricate
d = q cos 1 q cos 2 (11)
shapes such as the curved surface or the inclined plane are fabri-
The resulting height of the scallop is: cated.
With the compensation of the corner radius and the setting of
h= xA2 + zA2 R (12) 0.5 m layer depth, the theoretical prole error is determined to
be 0.011 m for slanted section (Eq. (6)) and it ranges from 0.006
Case 2, x = xO4 xO3 < r 2 (d r)
2 to 0.3 m for curved section (Eqs. (12) and (18)). Meanwhile, the
Let the OXZ be the rectangular coordinate system. The coordi- measured average prole error is found to be 1.55 m for machined
nate of intersection point B will be the result of a set of equations: inclined plane and 0.89 m for curved section. These deviations
are probably attributed to the inherent surface roughness formed
x =0 by overlapped discharge craters (as can be seen in Fig. 7), the ran-
(13) dom error caused by the detection of contact point between the
(x + q sin )2 + (z q cos )2 = r 2 electrode and workpiece prior to machining, and the random error
where of measurements. However, it does show that the compensation
of the corner radius of virtual electrode is effective in reducing the
q=R+r (14) prole error. The average prole error e for curved section in Fig. 10a
is 1.49 m while it reduces to 0.89 m for Fig. 18a. A similar obser-
Then
vation is found for slanted section. It is observed to decrease from
zB " = q cos r 2 (q sin )2 (15) 4.06 m in Fig. 10b to 1.55 m in Fig. 18b. It should be highlighted
that this reduction amount 2.51 m is consistent with the H in
where Eq. (3), which is determined to be 2.485 m.
1 d
For the partial spherical shape, in order to isolate the random
= arccos cos 3 3 (16)
2 q error in detecting the contact point between the electrode and the
workpiece, the curved surface is intentionally designed to be lower
which is derived from
than the top surface by 5 m. By setting the top of spherical surface
4 3 = 2 as a common point, the measured proles of obtained micro-shapes
(17) are then superimposed in Fig. 19. It could be observed that the
d = q(cos 3 cos 4 ) obtained prole with the compensation of corner radius has better
The resulting height of the scallop is: t to the theoretical prole than that without the electrode corner
compensation. Hence, it is revealed that the compensation for the
h = zB " R (18)
Fig. 18. Measured proles vs. ideal proles of fabricated micro-shapes with corner radius compensation: (a) micro-dome and (b) micro-pyramid.
M.D. Nguyen et al. / Precision Engineering 37 (2013) 399407 407
Acknowledgements
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