Precision Engineering 34 (2010) 279285

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Precision Engineering
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/precision

Miniaturization of WEDM using electrostatic induction feeding method

Xiaodong Yang a, , Chunwei Xu a , Masanori Kunieda b
a b

Department of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan

a r t i c l e

i n f o

a b s t r a c t
In this research, attempts were made to apply the electrostatic induction feeding method to WEDM because the method is able to eliminate the inuence of stray capacitance in circuits thereby minimizing discharge energy to accomplish micro-WEDM. This method also allows non-contact feeding of electric current to the wire electrode, realizing highly accurate micro-WEDM because there is no wear of brush and the wire vibration does not depend on the cutting direction. In this research, micromachining properties of WEDM using the electrostatic induction feeding method were investigated using air and oil as the working dielectrics. A micro-slit of 32.4 m in width and a micro-beam of 3.8 m in width and 100 m in length were obtained successfully. Moreover, non-contact feeding of electric current to the wire electrode was realized successfully, by sliding the wire electrode over a Teon sheet of 30 m in thickness laminated on a metal plate feeding electrode. 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 16 March 2009 Received in revised form 18 June 2009 Accepted 6 July 2009 Available online 19 September 2009 Keywords: Micro-WEDM Electrostatic induction feeding Miniaturization Stray capacitance Capacity coupling

1. Introduction Because electrical discharge machining (EDM) is a thermal process, the process force is negligibly small and removal occurs regardless of workpiece material hardness. On the other hand, Wire EDM (WEDM) enables highly accurate, highly efcient low cost machining for achieving smooth surfaces using commercially available wire electrodes with a diameter of 20 m at the nest. WEDM is therefore considered as one of the most effective methods for the micromachining of nozzles, cutting tools, blanking and wire drawing dies, and electronic and optical devices. With the increasing need for microscopic parts and the development of the Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS), demands for further miniaturization of machinable size in micro-WEDM are growing increasingly. In micro-EDM, one of the factors which determine the limits of this miniaturization is the discharge crater size. In order to obtain smaller discharge craters, the electric discharge energy per pulse must be reduced as much as possible. In conventional micro-EDM, the relaxation type pulse generator is generally used. Hence, the minimum electric discharge energy per pulse is determined by stray capacitance, which limits miniaturization [1,2]. For this reason, Kunieda et al. developed a pulse generator for nano EDM using the electrostatic induction feeding method [3,4]. Application of this

method to WEDG [5] realized minimum rod diameter of 1.0 m [6], smaller than the nest rod obtained so far using the relaxation type pulse generator. With this method, since electric feeding can be carried out without contact with the tool electrode, the inuence of stray capacitance in circuits can be eliminated, thereby decreasing the limits of the minimum discharge energy per pulse and realizing discharge craters of nanometer order. Moreover, with the relaxation type pulse generator, since recovery of the dielectric strength of the gap after discharge cannot be guaranteed, abnormal arc discharge occurs easily. On the other hand, with the electrostatic induction feeding method, since recovery of dielectric strength of the gap can be guaranteed after every discharge, both temporal and spatial concentration of discharge can be prevented, which leads to the stable machining. Thus in this research, attempts were made to apply the electrostatic induction feeding method to WEDM to realize further miniaturization in the machining of micro-slits and micro-beams. In addition, non-contact feeding of electric current to the wire electrode was also attempted. Since no contacting force is applied to the wire, there is no wear of brush and both wire vibration and deformation do not depend on the cutting direction.

2. Principle of electrostatic induction feeding As shown in Fig. 1, the feeding electrode, tool electrode, and workpiece are coupled by capacity in series. In the gure, C1 is the capacitance of the feeding gap between the feeding electrode and tool electrode, and C2 is the capacitance of the working gap between tool electrode and workpiece. In this example, C1 is assumed to be 10 times as large as C2 , and electric charge shown with is 10

Corresponding author at: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, P.O. 421, 92 West DaZhi Street, Nangang District, 150001 Harbin, China. Tel.: +86 451 86417672; fax: +86 451 86413485. E-mail address: xdyang@hit.edu.cn (X. Yang). 0141-6359/$ see front matter 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.precisioneng.2009.07.002

280

X. Yang et al. / Precision Engineering 34 (2010) 279285

Fig. 2. Calculated working gap voltage.

Fig. 1. Principle of micro-EDM using electrostatic induction feeding.

which varies depending on the gap width and contamination. In this rst discharge, the polarity of the tool electrode is positive. (c) is again the discharge delay time where the pulse generator voltage is 0, and (d) is the moment of the second discharge with reversed polarity. Compared with T, the discharge duration is signicantly short, not longer than several tens of nanoseconds. After the discharge delay time, the rest of the pulse duration is therefore left as the interval time, to , where the dielectric strength of the gap can be recovered. During the interval time, the gap voltage does not change until the polarity of the pulse generator is reversed. With this method, the inuence of stray capacitance in circuits can be eliminated. For this reason, the electric discharge energy of each pulse discharge is determined only by electrostatic capacities C1 and C2 . Compared with conventional micro-WEDM machines, whose minimum electric discharge energy is determined by the stray capacitance in the circuit, this method can decrease the limits of miniaturization in micro-WEDM. Moreover, because the pulse generator is coupled by capacity, discharge can occur only once for each half cycle of the pulse. Leak current does not ow even when short circuiting occurs, therefore guaranteeing the recovery of dielectric strength of the gap after every discharge. Hence, abnormal arc discharge cannot occur easily, realizing excellent machining stability. 3. Experimental method 3.1. Experimental setup Fig. 3 shows an outline of the experimental setup for the application of this method to WEDM. The part indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 3 is the pulse generator that can output rectangle pulse with constant pulse duration by the switching of the FET. The pulse generator was coupled with the working gap by capacitance C1 . Although non-contact electric feeding is possible with this method, a commercially available capacitor C1 was wired because the primary purpose of this research was to investigate the micromachining abilities of WEDM using this method. Electric current was therefore fed to the wire electrode using a brush as in the conventional WEDM machine. Fig. 4 shows the equivalent circuit of this method. C2 is the capacitance of the working gap between the wire electrode and workpiece. The WEDM machine used in the present study was developed by Di et al. [7] for the purpose of microma-

times as large as those shown with + . A pulse voltage V is applied between the feeding electrode and workpiece with constant pulse duration. A denite distance is set between the feeding electrode and tool electrode to ensure that discharge does not occur and there is no conduction of electric charge between them. When the voltage of the pulse generator becomes V, the capacitances of both the feeding gap and working gap, C1 and C2 , are charged. In the working gap, the tool electrode and workpiece are charged positive and negative, respectively, creating a high electric eld. Accordingly, discharge occurs and electrons are conducted from the workpiece to the tool electrode. After constant pulse duration, the voltage of the pulse generator becomes 0. Since the tool electrode accepts electrons during the discharge, the tool electrode is charged negative, and contrarily the workpiece is charged positive. Consequently, discharge occurs with polarity opposite to the previous one, and electrons are conducted from the tool electrode to the workpiece. Machining is carried out by repeating the above cycle. Fig. 1(b) and (d) shows that discharge is bipolar with this method. Fig. 2 shows transient waveforms of the working gap voltage calculated. The dotted line indicates the pulse voltage generated by the pulse generator with a pulse period of T, and the solid line indicates the calculated working gap voltage waveform. This gure shows the rst two periods at the start of applying the pulse voltage. After the second period, the waveform becomes steady and similar waveforms with the same open voltage as that in the second period is repeated continuously. In Fig. 2, (a) is the discharge delay time where the pulse generator voltage is V corresponding to (a) in Fig. 1. Discharge occurs at the moment (b) after the discharge delay time

Fig. 3. Electric discharge machining circuit.

X. Yang et al. / Precision Engineering 34 (2010) 279285 Table 1 Machining conditions. Pulse voltage [V] Period [s] Duty factor Feeding capacitance C1 [pF] Workpiece Wire electrode Wire running speed [m/min] Wire tension [N] Dielectric

281

Fig. 4. Equivalent circuit.

150 200 50% 25, 50, 100, 200, 300 Steel feeler gauge Tungsten 30 m 0.62 1.4 EDM oil or air

chining. A wire electrode of 30 m in diameter was installed, and submerged machining was carried out using EDM oil as working liquid. 3.2. Dielectric In conventional WEDM, deionized water is normally used as the dielectric liquid. On the other hand, in micro-WEDM, oil is more preferable than water as the dielectric for the following reasons. Firstly, electrolysis corrosion does not occur in oil. Secondly, discharge craters generated in oil are smaller than those in water even under the same pulse conditions. The electrostatic induction feeding method furthermore requires the use of oil, because the open voltage of the working gap decreases in the discharge delay time, since the leak current ows into the water. Moreover, since the permittivity of water is about 36 times higher than that of oil, the capacitance C2 of the working gap in water is about 36 times larger than that in oil. As shown in Fig. 4, the pulse generator voltage V is divided by C1 and C2 which are connected in series. Thus the following equations can be obtained: V = VC1 + VC2 = Q1 = Q2 = V VC2 = Q1 Q2 + C1 C2 (1) (2) (3)

is more suitable for the electrostatic induction feeding method. In addition, because the permittivity of air is the same quantitative level as oil, both oil and air were used as dielectrics in this research. 3.3. Discharge waveforms The gap voltage was measured under the conditions shown in Table 1. Waveforms of the gap voltage measured when C1 = 100 pF are shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 5(a) and (b) shows the waveforms measured in the open gap state in oil and air, respectively. Fig. 5(c) and (d) shows the waveforms measured while discharge is occurring. It was found that the open voltages of working gap in oil and in air are more or less equal, and that the waveforms appear on both sides of the ground level, demonstrating that the discharge is bipolar in this machining method. The waveforms of the gap voltage and current measured in the discharge moments A, B, A and B shown in Fig. 5 are magnied in Fig. 6(a), (b), (c) and (d), respectively. 4. Discharge crater The relationship between discharge craters and C1 was investigated in oil and air under the machining conditions shown in Table 1. Fig. 7 shows that the open voltages of the working gaps in oil and in air are more or less equal. Fig. 8 shows the discharge current measured using a current sensor in the case of oil, which conrms that smaller feeding capacitance C1 results in smaller discharge current [3,4]. Fig. 9 shows the relation between diameter of discharge craters and C1 . It can be seen that discharge energy decreases with decreasing C1 both in oil and air due to smaller electrical charge energy. When C1 = 25 pF, minimum discharge craters of about 0.2 m and 0.3 m in diameter were obtained in oil and air, respectively. The average diameter of discharge craters in air was larger than that in oil, probably because the arc column diameter expands more quickly in air [8].

C1 C2 C1 + C2

C1 V V = C1 + C2 1 + C2 /C1

Here, VC1 and VC2 are charging voltages of C1 and C2 , and Q1 and Q2 are charges stored in C1 and C2 , respectively. Eq. (3) shows that in water, in order to obtain the same open voltage of the working gap as in oil, C1 need to be 36 times larger than that in oil. Thus, the energy charged in C1 in water is 36 times greater than that in oil, resulting in larger discharge craters. This conrms that oil dielectric

Fig. 5. Measured working gap voltage.

282

X. Yang et al. / Precision Engineering 34 (2010) 279285

Fig. 6. Measured working gap voltage and current.

5. Fabrication of micro-slits and micro-beams In order to validate the applicability of this method to the fabrication of micro-parts, and investigate limits of miniaturization in micro-WEDM, fabrication of micro-silts and micro-beams was attempted. Table 1 shows the machining conditions. The workpiece was steel feeler gauge of 90 m in thickness. Machining was carried out by feeding the workpiece table manually at a speed sufciently quick but not fast enough to cause short circuiting. 5.1. Micro-slits
Fig. 7. Relation between open voltage of working gap and C1.

Micro-slits were cut with a straight single path perpendicular to the edge of the workpiece. Fig. 10 shows the relationship between the width of micro-slits and C1 . It can be seen that

Fig. 8. Relation between discharge current of working gap and C1 .

Fig. 9. Relation between diameter of discharge crater and C1 .

X. Yang et al. / Precision Engineering 34 (2010) 279285

283

Fig. 10. Relation between width of slit and C1 .

Fig. 13. Machining sample of beam by relaxation type.

Fig. 14. Non-contact feeding of electric current to wire electrode.

Fig. 11. Machining sample of slit.

smaller feeding capacitance C1 results in smaller discharge gap, and that the air dielectric is more suitable for obtaining smaller discharge gaps compared to the oil dielectric. As shown in Fig. 11, a micro-slit of 32.4 m in width and 50 m in length was obtained in air when C1 = 50 pF. Since the diameter of wire electrode was 30 m, it is found that the lateral discharge gap was 1.2 m. 5.2. Micro-beams Steel feeler gauges of 90 m in thickness were cut by a tungsten wire electrode of 30 m in diameter using oil as the dielectric liquid. Fig. 12 shows micro-beams cut by the electrostatic induction feeding method. As shown in Fig. 12(a), a straight micro-beam of 4.4 m in width and 100 m in length was obtained successfully with C1 = 100 pF. The machining process was very stable, with

the bipolar discharge occurring alternately synchronized with the pulse voltage. However, further attempts to decrease the beam width resulted in the bending of beams due to residual stress (Fig. 12(b)). By decreasing the feeding capacitance C1 from 100 pF to 50 pF, a straight micro-beam of 3.8 m in width was obtained successfully as shown in Fig. 12(c). Next, under the same gap open voltage, beams were cut by the relaxation type pulse generator using stray capacitance only. As shown in Fig. 13, a beam of 5.6 m in width, even wider than the beam in Fig. 12(a), was bent. This is because the discharge energy is smaller and the machining stability is higher with the electrostatic induction feeding method compared to the conventional relaxation type pulse generator. Machining is stable with the electrostatic induction method because recovery of dielectric strength of the gap is guaranteed after every discharge. Since both temporal and spatial concentration of discharge can be prevented, thermal load on the workpiece surface is constant and uniform, resulting in thinner heat affected zones compared to the relaxation type.

Fig. 12. Samples of beams machined by electrostatic induction feeding with C1 = 100 pF in (a) and (b), and with C1 = 50 pF in (c).

284 Table 2 Machining conditions. Pulse voltage [V] Period [s] Duty factor Length of metal plate [mm] Workpiece Wire electrode Wire running speed [m/min] Wire tension [N] Dielectric

X. Yang et al. / Precision Engineering 34 (2010) 279285

150 200 50% 50, 100, 150 Steel feeler gauge Tungsten 30 m 0.62 1.4 EDM oil

Table 3 Relation between length of metal at and open voltage of working gap. Length of metal plate [mm] 50 Open voltage of working gap [V] 5 100 8 150 11

Fig. 15. Measured working gap voltage.

The reason why the fabricated beams in Figs. 12 and 13 were bent to the left can be explained as follows. Slits were cut serially in the order from the right to left. Tensile stress generated on the right side surface of a beam was released while the left side surface was being formed accompanied by generation of tensile residual stress on the left side, resulting in beam bending to the left. 6. Non-contact electric feeding to wire electrode Non-contact electric feeding to the wire electrode was attempted. Fig. 14 shows an outline of the experimental method for non-contact electric feeding. The wire electrode slid over a Teon sheet of 30 m in thickness laminated on a metal plate of 3.4 mm in thickness. A pulse generator was connected between the metal plate and workpiece. Table 2 shows the machining conditions. As shown in Table 3, by changing the length L of the metal plate, the capacitance C1 of the feeding gap can be changed, thereby, both open voltage of the working gap and discharge energy can be changed. The open voltage was 5, 8, and 11 V, when L = 50, 100, and 150 mm, respectively. Fig. 15 shows the measured working gap voltage when L = 150 mm. The result indicates that the discharge is bipolar. As shown in Fig. 16, discharge craters of 0.46 m in average diameter were obtained when L = 150 mm. And then, a steel feeler gauge of 20 m in thickness was cut by a tungsten wire electrode of 30 m in diameter. The machining conditions were the same as Table 2, except that the period was shortened to 20 s to increase the machining speed. As shown in Fig. 17, a micro-slit of 32.6 m in width and 100 m in length and a straight micro-beam of 3.7 m in width and 60 m in length were obtained successfully when L = 150 mm. The measured working gap voltage shown in Fig. 18 indicates that the machining process was stable.

Fig. 16. Diameter of discharge crater.

Fig. 18. Measured working gap voltage.

Fig. 17. Samples machined by non-contact feeding of electric current to wire electrode.

X. Yang et al. / Precision Engineering 34 (2010) 279285

285

7. Conclusions The electrostatic induction feeding method is applicable to micro-WEDM. By decreasing the capacitance of the feeding gap, discharge craters of sub-micrometer order can be obtained. Discharge gap can be reduced by decreasing the capacitance of the feeding gap. Using a wire electrode of 30 m in diameter, a micro-slit of 32.4 m in width was obtained using air as the dielectric. A straight micro-beam of 3.8 m in width and 100 m in length could be obtained using oil as the dielectric. This is because discharge energy is smaller and machining stability is higher with the electrostatic induction feeding method compared to the conventional relaxation type pulse generator. Using a metal plate as the feeding electrode and a Teon sheet as the dielectric to insulate the metal plate from the wire electrode, non-contact feeding to the wire electrode was realized. Acknowledgements This study was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (General Program, 50775056) and the Science and Technology Foundation of Heilongjiang Province (WB06A10).

References
[1] Masuzawa T. State of the art of micromachining. Annals of the CIRP 2000;49(2):47388. [2] Kawakami T, Kunieda M. Study on factors determining limits of minimum machinable size in micro EDM. Annals of the CIRP 2005;54(1):167 70. [3] Hanada M, Kunieda M, Araie I. Development of micro EDM using electrostatic induction feeding. Journal of the Japan Society for Precision Engineering 2006;72(5):63640 [in Japanese]. [4] Kunieda M, Hayasaka A, Yang XD, Sano S, Araie I. Study on nano EDM using capacity coupled pulse generator. Annals of the CIRP 2007;56(1):213 6. [5] Masuzawa T, Fujino M. Wire electro discharge grinding for micro-machining. Annals of the CIRP 1985;34(1):4314. [6] Kunieda M. Challenges to miniaturization in micro EDM. In: Proceedings of the twenty-third annual meeting of the American Society for Precision Engineering and the twelfth ICPE. 2008. [7] Di SC, Huang RN, Chi GX, Zhao WS. Key technology of micro wire electrical discharge machining. Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering 2006;42(1):2216 [in Chinese]. [8] Kojima A, Natsu W, Kunieda M. Spectroscopic measurement of arc plasma diameter in EDM. Annals of the CIRP 2008;57(1):2037.