Study on Influence of Electrode Material on Hole Drilling in Micro-EDM

Micro-EDM technology is widely used in micro hole machining for its small force and high precision. However, the slow machining rate and large tool wear are the two major problems. In this research, machining with different electrode materials has been characterized under rough, semi-finish and finish machining conditions. Since the tool material has an influence on the tool feed, the relationship between the electrode feed and the machining time has been investigated to show the detailed information of electrode feed. As significant indicators for machining accuracy, the relationship between side gap-width and machining feed, as well as the relationship between electrode wear ratio and machining feed were also investigated. In addition, the influence of electrode material on tool wear is also discussed.