ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCE OF TOOL ELECTRODE WEAR ON SURFACE QUALITY IN DIE-SINKING EDM TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

During the electro-erosive process, metal particles are gradually removed not only from the machined material but also from the tool electrode. Here, the removal of material from the tool electrode is generally considered to be an undesirable consequence of the electro-erosive process. The extent of this wear can be relatively accurately quantified using several indicators. Of these, the percentage of loss of the working part of the tool electrode has the highest informative value. The resulting quality of the eroded area after die-sinking EDM also depends on the magnitude of the given parameter. Therefore, based on experimental measurements, the paper aimed to describe the performed analysis of the influence of the wear of the shaped tool electrode on the quality of the machined surface after die-sinking EDM in terms of surface roughness parameters. The wear of the shape tool electrode in terms of volume loss was measured by the indirect method through weight loss. Experimental results showed that when machining tool steel with a finishing operation, a much lower wear rate of the shape tool electrode was recorded compared to the roughing operation. At the same time, it was found that when the shape tool electrode wear exceeds the level of about 8%, there is a significant deterioration of all qualitative indicators of the machined surface.