Research on the performance of Inconel 718 ultrasonic vibration-assisted short electric arc milling composite machining

Abstract

A new method of ultrasonic vibration-assisted short electric arc machining is proposed to improve the machining quality of workpieces in response to abnormal discharge phenomena such as short circuits, partial discharge, and secondary discharge caused by particle bridges formed between electrodes and workpieces due to poor chip removal in ordinary short electric arc machining. After regular short electric arc and composite processing, the workpiece's macroscopic characteristics and microscopic morphology were compared through experiments. After processing, the surface morphology, roughness, and elemental energy spectrum were detected and analyzed using ultra-depth field, electron scanning, and other methods. The results showed that the surface morphology of the workpiece after the coupling of two particular machining technologies changed, and the surface patterns showed disorder and uniformity under ultrasonic action. The number of electrical corrosion pits and surface microcracks significantly decreased, the thickness of the recast layer decreased by more than twice, and the surface roughness decreased by more than 16%, with a maximum reduction of more than twice. At the same time, the surface elements of the material were modified. This provides a new approach for developing short electric arc technology to improve processing quality, material modification, and technological coupling.