Method of determining the axial profile and diameter in various micro-holes’ cross-sections after electrical discharge machining

Abstract

Abstract The paper presents a new method for the assessment of the accuracy of micro-holes obtained by electrical discharge machining, which was called the “blades method” by the authors. This method allows estimating to a high precision the errors in size and shape (taper, ovality) of the holes in the cross-sections of different heights and the axial longitudinal section of the hole. The application of this method is especially effective in studies of the blind micro- holes, as well as non-cylindrical holes, the measurement of which is especially difficult. The developed method was tested in the study of hole profiles processed at different pulse energy. A technological method for EDM of the holes with the help of two modes is proposed, which reduces the main hole shape errors. The application of the developed method allowed increasing significantly the efficiency of studying the electrical discharge machining micro- holes accuracy.