Prod. Eng. Res. Devel.
(2008) 2:227–233
DOI 10.1007/s11740-008-0094-4
PRODUCTION PROCESS
Machining of micro rotational parts by wire electrical
discharge grinding
E. Uhlmann Æ S. Piltz Æ D. Oberschmidt
Received: 2 May 2007 / Accepted: 4 April 2008 / Published online: 29 April 2008

German Academic Society for Production Engineering (WGP) 2008
Abstract Micro rotational parts are used in several
industrial sectors. Well-known applications are micro
shafts of gears, ejector pins in forming tools, pin electrodes
for micro electrical discharge drilling or micro stamping
dies. Depending on the geometrical complexity of micro
rotational parts different process variants of micro electri-
cal discharge machining characterized by a rotating work
piece can be used: wire electrical discharge grinding
(WEDG) with fine wire electrodes, electrical discharge
turning (EDT) with micro structured tool electrode, cylin-
drical electrical discharge grinding (CEDG) with micro
profiled disk electrode. Characteristic to these process
variants is the superimposed relative motion between the
rotating electrodes and the feed. This relative motion can
be varied in a wide circumferential velocity range to
improve the material removal process. The paper gives an
overview of kinematic and technological restrictions and
requirements of the WEDG process influencing the process
behavior with respect to the technological requirements of
micromachining.
E. Uhlmann
S. Piltz
Institute for Machine Tools and Factory Management,
TU Berlin, Pascalstr. 8-9,
10587 Berlin, Germany
D. Oberschmidt (&)
Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design
Technology, Pascalstr. 8-9,
10587 Berlin, Germany
e-mail: dirk.oberschmidt@ipk.fraunhofer.de
Keywords Production process
Electrical
discharge machining
Micro machining
1 Introduction
Rotationally and cylindrically formed components, as a
special group of micro mechanical parts, are more and
more applied in various products. Recent products are gear
shafts, components of micro air turbines and pumps, valves
and shafts of micro fluidic systems, contact pins for micro
assembly applications, miniaturized ejector pins in injec-
tion molds, special needle points for the human medicine,
tactile micro sensors, micro tools, or micro structured rolls
of bigger caliber. The dimension of these parts, with the
exception of rolls, is within a diameter range between
10 lm and 1 mm. The need for development of applicable
manufacturing technologies exists especially for parts with
diameters less than 100 lm. Because of enormous
mechanical load and durability requirements of such micro
parts and micro structures on rolls, the machined materials
have to possess high strength and hardness. This dramati-
cally reduces the range of applicable manufacturing
technologies. Machining and micro structuring of cylin-
drical parts made of hard materials is a challenge. That
applies, if the contour respectively the microstructure of
the rotational part has a complex geometry and small edge
radii. Alternatively to peripheral grinding and turning,
which are restricted in terms of geometrical complexity,
flexibility, and efficiency for small batch sizes, electrical
discharge machining (EDM) can be applied [1–3]. Com-
pared to chipping, EDM is almost free of process forces
and independent of the mechanical properties of the work
piece material [4–6]. Thus, it is a suitable manufacturing
process for micromechanical devices and micro structures.
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228 Prod. Eng. Res. Devel. (2008) 2:227–233

2 Rotational EDM process variants Table 1 Experimental set-up

Process WEDG
Depending on the part’s geometrical complexity or the
design of microstructures which have to be manufactured, Machine tool AGIECUT Evolution 2SFF
diverse process variants of EDM are available. In the case Spindle System3R, ball bearing, 0–2,000 rpm
of machining cylindrical parts, the work piece electrode Work piece Cold working steel 90 MnCrV 8, d = 40 mm
performs a rotary motion. Tool electrode MicroCut-wire, d = 0.05 mm
Here, it is possible to use a stationary form electrode Dielectric fluid Deionized water, 1 lS/cm
(Electrical Discharge Turning — EDT), a traveling wire
electrode (Wire Electrical Discharge Grinding — WEDG) or
a rotating disc electrode (Cylindrical Electrical Discharge
Grinding — CEDG) as tool electrode (Fig. 1) [7–10]. All Table 2 Generator parameter for 4-cut technology with Microcut
wire electrodes (diameter dD = 50 lm)
three alternatives have in common, that there is a relative
movement between work piece electrode and tool electrode, Discharge Maximum Discharge Discharge
which is superimposed to the feed as a result of the rotation. duration te discharge voltage ue energy We
currency (V) (lJ)
This rotation influences the process behavior and Iˆe(Å)
obtainable work results, depending on velocity, direction,
and constancy. In case of EDG, there are several experi- Step roughing 341 nsa 14 22 34
mental results about the influence of the circumferential Step smoothing 187 nsa 10 23 15
speed on the process behavior [11–13]. It was proven that Step finishing 92 nsb 4 17 3
the removal rate rises with an increasing circumferential Steppolishing 104 nsb 2 8 0.5
speed. The positive effect of high a rotational frequency on a
Isostatic discharge impulses
the efficiency of the removal process was determined by b
Relaxation discharge impulses
various investigations about the influence of kinematics in
EDM with rotating pin electrodes [14, 15].
Nevertheless, there is practically no adequate scientific
understanding about the effects that result from the relative Of special interest for technical applications is the last
movement. Also the kinematical parameters and charac- mentioned topic. Several investigations were carried out to
teristics of the removal process related to WEDG are not improve the understanding of process relevant restrictions
fully proven. Thus, the paper focuses on technological and requirements of WEDG processes. Experimental tests
clarification of EDM with rotating electrodes under con- were made applying technical equipment described in
sideration of the special requirements of micro machining. Table 1.
The process behavior of micro EDM with rotating
electrodes is mainly influenced by four different effects,
especially in case of high circumferential velocities: 3 Technological conditions of WEDG

• Electrical pulse stability and discharge energy
distribution
• Thermal influencing
• Hydrodynamic behavior of dielectric fluid flow
• Behavior depending on the machine set-up character-
istics (gap width control, feed control system).
Fig. 1 Use of CEDG (left) and WEDG (right) for micro structuring
of rolls
Wire electrical discharge grinding with rotating work piece
electrode is characterized by limited mechanical and ther-
mal stability as well as by limited variable diameter of the
work piece. Therefore, discharge energy of We \ 100 lJ
(Table 2) is required and the spectrum of applications is
restricted. On the other hand WEDG allows higher geo-
metric flexibility and electrode wear independency than the
other process variants with rotating electrodes.
In order to develop a multi-stage machining strategy, the
energetic values of generator parameters shown in Table 2
were used for a 4-cut technology. The results illustrated in
Figs. 4 and 5 are based on these values.
The reachable removal rate VW is reduced by limitation
of the discharge energy. At the same time the volume to
remove per time unit increases due to the rotating work
piece. Furthermore, the work piece run-out error causes
periodically changing gap widths and the process behavior

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Prod. Eng. Res. Devel. (2008) 2:227–233
Fig. 2 Kinematical conditions of WEDG
is substantially affected by the reduced active surface area
between the electrodes. Figure 2 illustrates the kinematical
conditions of the WEDG process.
4 Technological investigations
4.1 Influence of adaptive feed control
An adaptive gap width and feed control is potentially able
to solve the problems mentioned above. However, inves-
tigations very often indicate instable process behavior by
use of an adaptive feed control. Machining results are
characterized by noticeable geometry deviations (Fig. 3,
left).
Fig. 3 Strategy-dependent characteristics of WEDG-machined rolls
229
Caused by the rotational motion, the feed travel is
superimposed from two components. The adaptive control
in axial direction is equal to conventional wire EDM. In
opposite to this the radial feed component is not adjustable
to the process by an adaptive motion control because of the
high rotational speed. Thus, a high number of short circuit
appearances can be observed. The machine integrated feed
control is reacting with an axial retraction movement in
case of short circuit. Machining failures, as shown in
Fig. 3, left, result from a synchronisation of axial retraction
movement and rotational motion.
It is possible to avoid such instable process behavior by
external limitation of the maximum feed velocity vf
(inactive adaptive feed control). The limitation of vf is of
high influence on the reachable machining velocity. The
change-over from active adaptive feed control to inactive
adaptive feed control results in a much more stable
machining process. However, the machining result is
hardly influenced by the chosen value for the feed rate f as
well as for the infeed ae.
4.2 Influence of infeed and feed velocity
The theoretical removal rate Vw,th depends on feed velocity
vf, machining length lm, basic work piece diameter dW0,
infeed ae, and gap width sL.
pn 2 ol
m
VW;th ¼ dW0  ½dW0  2ðae  sL Þ2
4 tm
The real removal rate VW,r is determined by measuring
work piece diameter after machining dW and machining
time tm.
p
2 
2 lm
VW;r ¼ dW0  dW ; with lm ¼ vf tm
4 tm
The difference of theoretical and real removal rate is the
removal rate deviation DVW (Fig. 4, 5).
In case of high feed velocity the removed layer of
material is of small thickness compared to the programmed
infeed.
Independent from the work piece diameter two tenden-
cies are to observe:
• An increasing feed velocity leads to a decreasing real
removal rate compared to the theoretical removal
rate.
• An increasing infeed leads to a higher influence of the
feed rate on the removal rate deviation.
At feed velocities of more than vf = 1 mm min-1 the layer
of removed material is reduced to a value of up to 50%.
The reasons for this high value of diameter deviation are
high resilience of the wire electrode as well as the control
problem of two superimposed feed motions.
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230
Fig. 4 Influence of infeed ae and feed velocity vf on removal rate
deviation DVW
Fig. 5 Influence of infeed ae and feed velocity vf on diameter
deviation Ddw
4.3 Influence of circumferential speed
Beside feed velocity and infeed the rotational speed of the
work piece electrode influences WEDG process. In case of
static discharges a clear correlation of circumferential
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Prod. Eng. Res. Devel. (2008) 2:227–233
Fig. 6 Influence of circumferential velocity vu on removal rate VW
and diameter deviation Ddw applying static discharge impulses
speed and machining result is to observe (Fig. 6). Static
discharges are characterized by higher values of discharge
energy compared to relaxation discharges. Thus, static
discharges are used for roughing processes with high
removal rates.
With increasing circumferential speed vu the removal
rate VW is increasing. However, a high circumferential
speed is causing an increasing wire deflection. This leads to
geometry irregularities and decreasing thickness of the
removed material layer. Furthermore, at work piece
diameters higher than dw = 3 mm and low circumferential
velocity vu \ 0.01 m s-1 or rotational speed
nw \ 50 min-1 is to notify that the machining process is
not stable because of the control problem mentioned in
chapter 4.1. The optimal range of circumferential velocity
Prod. Eng. Res. Devel. (2008) 2:227–233
regarding machining velocity and geometry accuracy is
within 0.25 m s-1 \ vu \ 1.25 m s-1. However, in this
range occur the highest values of the surface roughness.
In case of relaxation discharges at very low discharge
energy an increasing circumferential velocity is similarly
related to an increasing removal rate. It is to observe that
the diameter deviation of the work piece leads to smaller
resulting diameters with increasing circumferential veloc-
ity (Fig. 7). These results are contrary to the investigations
with static discharge impulses. It is to assume that the wire
deflection is not caused by hydromechanic effects, but by
electrostatic or electromagnetic mechanisms. However, an
increasing circumferential velocity is not only related to an
increasing removal rate, but to an improved surface finish,
Fig. 7 Influence of circumferential velocity vu on removal rate VW
and diameter deviation Ddw applying relaxation discharge impulses
231
too. The arithmetical mean deviation was measured in all
cases with Ra \ 0.6 lm. The lowest value measured is
Ra = 0.38 lm.
4.4 Influence of work piece run-out error
One disadvantage of the WEDG process compared to
conventional EDM, resulting from the kinematical condi-
tions, is the strong influence of the work piece run-out
error. This is to consider if the axial run-out is of higher
values than the infeed, especially during finish-machining
with low-energy relaxation discharge impulses (technology
step 3, 4 in Table 2). The resulting discontinuous process
conditions are the reason for possibly different topogra-
phies and surface roughness values around the work piece
circumference.
Values of the radial infeed and of the axial run-out of the
rotating work piece electrode in the range from ae = 2 lm
to ae = 7.5 lm the periodically changing gap width
emerges to a smaller extent. Beside inhomogeneous
topography regions on the work piece circumference this
effect in combination with the feed control causes the
generation of radial grooves transversal to the feed direc-
tion. But, with increasing infeed ae the described groove
generation emerges to a lesser extent.
4.5 Summarization of technological investigations
Evaluating the results of the investigations a two-step
machining technology is suggested to reach stable pro-
cesses, high removal rates, short machining times, high
geometry accuracy, and high quality surface finish:
• Pre-machining at high material removal:
• static impulse discharge at We [ 10 lJ (maximum
value depending on wire specification),high infeed
value of ae [ 10 lm,
• limitation of feed velocity to vf \ 0.5 mm min-1,
• circumferential speed up to vu = 1 m s-1 (higher
values causes strong wire deflection).
• Finish-machining at low material removal:
• relaxation discharge at We \ 10 lJ (minimum value
depending on generator type),
• small infeed value of ae \ 4 lm,
• limitation of feed velocity to vf \ 0.1 mm min-1,
• maximization of circumferential velocity to
vu [ 1 mm min-1 (important for reaching high
machining velocity and low roughness values).
Beside the named suggestions there are two additional
relevant factors to consider to ensure stable machining
processes while using WEDG.
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232 Prod. Eng. Res. Devel. (2008) 2:227–233

• Not the rotational speed, but the circumferential

velocity is the important value.
• The feed rate is to limit by a constant value. This value
depends on wire diameter, discharge energy, work
piece diameter, and infeed.

5 Machining example

Using the basic findings of all investigations regarding the

identified mechanisms of the removal process with rotating
work piece electrode, innovative machining strategies have
been developed and verified for the manufacturing of micro
parts. In order to improve the machining efficiency and to
produce high-quality parts with minimized dimensions,
technologies can be provided for WEDG processes.
The following example illustrates the performance of
WEDG. The task was to manufacture the probe of a tactile
sensor as part of a coordinate measurement machine (CMM)
for the micro range (Fig. 8). In contrast to simple geometries
like drilling electrodes in this case a geometrically complex
rotational symmetric shape was to manufacture. Therefore,
the results of the scrutinized technological investigations
were used.
The probe is characterized by a shank diameter of
dw = 80 lm and a shank length of lW = 5 mm. At the end
of the probe a sphere with a diameter of dS = 100 lm was
to manufacture. This spherical element gets in contact with
the specimen during the measuring process.
As shown in Fig. 8, it was not possible to machine an
ideal spherical shape. Nevertheless, after calibration the
sensor is able to be used for the measurement of holes with
a diameter of 100 lm and an aspect ratio of 50. The dif-
ferences between programmed and measured geometry
values are approximately 10 lm for the shank diameter at
Fig. 8 Probe of a micro-CMM, machined with WEDG
the end of the probe and for the sphere diameter, too. It is
assumed that these differences are caused by dynamic
deflection of the shank as a result of its resilience during
the gap width and feed control of WEDM-machine tools
rotation (‘‘drunkenness’’).
the feed velocity has to be limited constantly to low values
of vf \ 1 mm min-1.
In order to ensure effective machining processes, the
6 Conclusion circumferential velocity is to be chosen in the range of
0.25 m s-1 \ vu \ 1.25 m s-1. The reachable geometry
Wire electrical discharge grinding is applicable for the accuracy is restricted by wire deflection. Geometry devia-
manufacturing of complex shaped components and struc- tions up to 50% of the infeed value are possible. Wire
tures. The investigations about the role of the relative deflection and oversize as geometry deviation tend to
movement according to the process behavior of micro higher values at increasing feed velocity vf, infeed ae, and
electrical discharge machining with WEDG led to the circumferential velocity vu.
conclusion that several technologically and kinematically An essential prerequisite for high geometrical accuracy
determined effects must be taken into account. The strategy is the limitation of the wire deflection. This is to realize by
of the feed motion as well as the infeed motion is to adapt special guiding systems and/or the reduction of the free
to the contact conditions and the wire electrode. Beside on wire length. The influence of the work piece run-out error

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is to consider for an axial feed motion, if the axial run-out
is higher than the infeed. Typical values for a wire
electrode MicroCut (dD = 50 lm) are ae = 10 lm
(pre-machining) and ae = 1 lm (finish-machining).
Work pieces with diameter of dw = 30 lm can be
manufactured with WEDG. Aspect ratios (length/diameter)
of 50 are feasible.
The best surface finish was realized with an arithmetic
mean deviation of Ra = 0.38 lm. Compared to other EDM
processes, this value is rather high. One reason is the high
wire deflection while finish-machining. Thus, the surface
leveling is worse than in processes without rotating work
piece electrode. Furthermore, high rotational speed and
deionised water as dielectric fluid lead to rapid material
solidification. Thus, the surface generation is characterized
by a high amount of peaks.
There are no surface modifications or component dam-
ages to observe related to the WEDG process. However,
the homogeneity of the surface topography is significantly
influenced by the behavior of the gap width and feed
control.
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