A Study of the Material Removal Rate of Electrical Discharge Machining of Particle Reinforced Metal Matrix Composites with Concavo-Convex Electrode

Abstract

A new concavo-convex electrode has been designed and fabricated. And an analysis of the electrical discharge machining (EDM) of a particulate reinforced metal matrix composite this new electrode was conducted in this study. The material removal rate (MRR) of new electrode and normal electrode are compared in different applied voltage and duty cycle conditions. It was found that EDM with this new electrode can accelerate the debris discharge during machining so that it has a higher MRR compared to the case where a normal electrode was employed. Moreover, by studying the waveforms, it could confirm that a stable processing condition can be obtained by employing the new electrode. The experiment results reveal that it is a feasible and effective way to machine MMCs by employing this new electrode.