MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF EDM FOR METAL REMOVAL RATE ON ALLOY STEEL (EN31) USING COPPER ELECTRODE

Abstract

Electro-discharge machining (EDM) appears as an alternative to grinding and hard turning for the machining of tool steels because EDM allows the machining of any type of conducting material, regardless of its hardness. Nevertheless, other factors must be taken into account in the selection of machining processes, especially in the case of responsibility parts. These factors are related with surface integrity: residual stresses, hardness and structural changes generated by the machining processes. Electrical Discharge Machining (or EDM) is a machining method primarily used for hard metals or those that would be impossible to machine with traditional techniques. One critical limitation, however, is that EDM only works with materials that are electrically conductive, and generally those materials are ferrous alloys. EDM is a non-traditional method of removing material by a series of rapidly recurring electric arcing discharges between an electrode (the cutting tool) and the work-piece, in...