Open    Access



Micro Electrical Discharge Machining (μEDM): Holes Drilling and Characterization of the Process Parameters



Author(s)

Asmae Tafraouti and Yasmina Layouni

Full-Text PDF XML     806 Views

DOI:10.17265/2161-6221/2021.7-9.003

Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSA Lyon, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, CPE Lyon, INL, UMR5270, Villeurbanne 69622, France

μEDM (micro-electrical discharge machining) is a process for machining conductive materials without mechanical contact; it is particularly suitable for machining hard materials. The principle consists in creating electrical discharges between a micro-tool and a workpiece, both of which are immersed in a dielectric. It is a complementary process to mechanical, laser, micro-machining techniques, and even to techniques derived from silicon microtechnology (RIE, DRIE, LIGA). However, the resolution of μEDM is limited; it depends on several electrical and physical parameters. The goal of this paper is to characterize the holes obtained by drilling using μEDM with different micro-tool diameters (Φ = 250 μm; Φ = 80 μm; Φ = 40 μm; Φ = 20 μm) for an experimental time of t = 2 h. The results obtained let us conclude that a large diameter micro-tool (Φ = 250 μm) leads to removing a larger amount of material (43×10⁵ μm³) than small diameters: Φ = 80 μm; Φ = 40 μm; Φ = 20 μm where the removed volume is equal to 2.6×10⁵ μm³; 10⁵μm³; 0.4 × 10⁵ μm³, respectively. The electrode-tool diameter influences the maximum depth of the holes; a diameter of Φ = 250 μm generates a hole where the maximum depth is 170 μm while small diameters: Φ = 80 μm; Φ = 40 μm; Φ = 20 μm provide holes with a depth of 82 μm; 51 μm; 50 μm respectively. Through these experiments, we can also conclude that the lateral gap of the holes is almost constant. It is about 40 μm whatever the diameter.

μEDM, electrical discharges, hole drilling, amount of removed material.