Estimating the energy repartition in micro electrical discharge machining

This paper presents a new approach for the recording of the total quantity of energy exchanged during the micro electrical discharge machining (EDM) process. In particular, this approach allows for the estimation of the percentage of energy absorbed by the two electrodes (tool and workpiece) using a combination of theoretical models and experimental results, thanks to an advanced discharges measuring approach. An experimental campaign was executed on a Sarix SX200 micro-EDM machine with a tungsten carbide tool electrode. In particular, the process was analyzed for two different electrode shapes, a triangular and a rectangular based parallelepipeds, and two sets of machining parameters. After the execution of the experimental campaign it estimate the total amount of energy that occurred during the entire die sinking process. The energy effectively lost into the tool, into the workpiece and into the dielectric was estimated from the measurement of the volume of material actually removed both from the tool and from the workpiece. The preliminary results appears to fit those presented in the literature and the validity of several theoretical crater models was then assessed. The validation of the presented acquisition method could enable the use of information related to energy repartition in the simulation of the micro-EDM process.