Manufacturing Processes (ME 361) Lecture-17: Instructor: Shantanu Bhattacharya
Manufacturing Processes (ME 361) Lecture-17: Instructor: Shantanu Bhattacharya
Manufacturing Processes (ME 361) Lecture-17: Instructor: Shantanu Bhattacharya
• The capacitor is charged through the diode during the first half cycle.
•During the following half cycle, the sum of the voltages generated by the generator and
the charged capacitor is applied to the work tool gap.
•The operating frequency is the frequency of the sine wave generation which depends
on the motor speed.
•Though the MRR is higher the system does not give good surface finish.
Controlled Pulse Circuit
• In both the resistance / capacitance relaxation circuit method and the rotary impulse
generator method there is no inbuilt provision for an automatic prevention of the
current flow when a short circuit is developed.
•To achieve such an automatic control, a vacuum tube is used as the switching device.
• As soon as the current in the gap ceases, the conductivity of the tube increases, allowing
the flow of current to charge the capacitor for the next cycle.
Surface Finish and Machining Accuracy
Therefore,
•The dependence of surface finish on pulse energy E and the comparison of surface finish
with that obtained by the conventional processes are well studied.
•A lot of studies have been made in determining a suitable relationship between the rate
of material removal and the quality of surface finish. However, a very dependable
relationship is yet to emerge.
• The only such relationship exist for machining steels as approximated below.
• The forced circulation of dielectric has been found to generally improve the surface
finish.
Dependence of surface finish on Pulse
Energy
Numerical Problem
A steel workpeice is being machined with R= 50, C = 10 μF, V0 = 200Volts, and Vd = 150
Volts. Estimate the surface roughness.
Numerical Problem
(a)
(b)
Tool electrode and dielectric fluid
•The electrodes play an extremely important role in the EDM operation, and
therefore certain aspects of the tool electrode should be kept in mind to achieve
better machining results.
RQ = 2.25 Rθ -2.3
Electrode material:
The selection of the electrode material depends on the following:
(a) MRR, (b) Wear Ratio (c) Ease of shaping the electrode (d)Cost.
Electrode Material
The most commonly used electrode materials are brass, copper, graphite, Al alloys, copper
tungsten alloys, silver tungsten alloys etc. The methods used for making the electrodes are
:
(a) Conventional machining (used for copper, brass, copper tungsten alloys, Silver
tungsten alloys and aluminum alloys).
(b) Metal spraying
(c) Press forming
Flow holes are normally provided for the circulation of the dielectric, and these holes
should be as large as possible for rough cuts to allow large flow rates at a low pressure.
Dielectric Fluids
The basic requirements of an ideal dielectric fluid are:
(1)Low viscosity
(2)Absence of toxic vapors
(3)Chemical Neutrality
(4)Absence of inflaming tendency
(5)Low cost
•The ordinary water possesses almost all these properties, but since it causes rusting in the
work and the machine, it is not used.
•Also the electrodes are always under some potential difference, and due to the good
conductivity of water, the ECM process starts distorting the workpeice. Also, power is wasted.
In some cases deionized water can be used. Normally hydrocarbons are preffered materials.
Some examples are Kerosene, paraffin oil, silicon oils etc.
Effects of EDM on Metal Surfaces
• The high temperatures generated by the sparks causes the melting and vaporization of the
metal and obviously, this high temperature affects the properties of the shallow layers of the
surface machined.
•The outermost layer is rapidly chilled, and it is therefore very hard. The layer below this is in a
somewhat tempered condition.
•The figure shows the variation of hardness with depth for both rough and finish EDM
operations on steel.
•It is clear that in finish machining such a hardening is not prominent. However, the outer layer
is tempered and the hardness is low.
•The hardening of the surface layer during the EDM operation imparts a better wear resistance
characteristic. However, the fatigue strength reduces due to the microcracks that develop in the
surface layer during chilling.
Electron Beam Machining
Electron Beam Machining
•Electron beam machining is a thermal process where a stream of
electrons of high speed impinges on the work surface whereby, the
kinetic energy transferred to the work material , produces intense
heating.
•Depending on the intensity of the heat thus generated, the
material can melt or vaporize.
•The process of heating by an electron beam can, depending on the
intensity, be used for annealing, welding, or metal removal.
•Very high velocities can be obtained by using enough voltage, for
example, an accelerating voltage of 150,000V can produce an
electron velocity of 228,478 km/ sec.
•Since an electron beam can be focussed to a point with 10-200 μm
diameter, the power density can go up to 6500 billion W/mm2 .
•Such a power density can vaporize any substance immediately.
•Thus, EBM is nothing but a precisely controlled vaporization
process.
Electron Beam Machining
•EBM is a suitable process for drilling fine holes and cutting narrow slots.
•Holes with 25-125 μm diameter can be drilled almost instantaneously in sheets with
thicknesses upto 1.25mm diameter.
•The narrowest slot which can be cut by ebeam has a width of 25 microns.
•Moreover an electron beam can be manuovered by the magnetic deflection coils,
making the machining of complex contours easy.
•However, to avoid a collision of the accelerating electrons with the air molecules, the
process is better conducted in vacuum (10-5 mm Hg).
•This makes the process unsuitable for very large workpeices.
•To indicate the wide range of applications of the electron beam, a plot of power density
versus the hot spot diameter is given.
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