Machining performance of silicon carbide ceramic in end electric discharge milling

A new process of machining silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic using end electrical discharge milling is proposed in this paper. The process is able to effectively machine a large surface area on SiC ceramic with good surface quality and low cost. The effects of machining conditions on the material removal rate, electrode wear ratio, and surface roughness have been investigated. The surface microstructures machined by the new process are examined with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), and an X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that the SiC ceramic is removed by melting, evaporation and thermal spalling, the material from the tool electrode can transfer to the workpiece, and a combination reaction takes place during end electric discharge milling of the SiC ceramic.