Journal of Materials Processing Technology 120 (2002) 101106

Ultrasonic and electric discharge machining to deep and small hole on titanium alloy
Zhao Wansheng, Wang Zhenlong*, Di Shichun, Chi Guanxin, Wei Hongyu
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 421, West Dazhi Street 92, Harbin 150001, PR China Received 18 June 2000

Abstract Being a difcult-to-cut material, titanium alloy suffers poor machinability for most cutting process, let alone the drilling of small and deep holes using traditional machining methods. Although electric discharge machining (EDM) is suitable to handle titanium alloys, it is not ideal for small and deep holes due to titanium alloys' low heating conductivity and high tenacity. This paper introduces ultrasonic vibration into micro-EDM and analyzes the effect of ultrasonic vibration on the EDM process. A four-axis EDM machine tool which combines ultrasonic and micro-EDM has been developed. A wire electric discharge grinding (WEDG) unit which can fabricate a microelectrode on-line, as well as a measuring unit, is set up on this equipment. With a cylindrical tool electrode, made of hard carbide, which has high stiffness, a single-side notch was made along the electrode. Ultrasonic vibration is then introduced into the micro-EDM. Experiments have been carried out and results have shown that holes with a diameter of less than 0.2 mm and a depth/diameter ratio of more than 15 can be drilled steadily using this equipment and technology. # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Micro-EDM; Ultrasonic vibration; Titanium alloy; Deep and small hole

1. Introduction With its low specic density and a mechanical strength similar to that of steel, titanium alloys enjoy the best mechanical specic strength compared with all other practical alloys. Titanium alloys' many advantageous characteristics such as heat and corrosion resistance make this kind of material widely employed in many elds such as aviation, atomic power generation, ocean exploration and medicine. However, titanium alloys are typically difcult-tomachine materials because of their toughness and low thermal conductivity. It is more difcult to machine small and deep holes for which the depth/diameter ratio is more than 10 on such materials using traditional machining methods. It is necessary to develop a new technology to machine deep and small holes in this kind of material with high precision and efciency so as to make titanium alloy more useful. It is common knowledge that electric discharge machining (EDM) has many advantages such as non-contact with the workpiece during the machining process, and the ability to machine any conductive material regardless of its intensity, tenacity and hardness. Therefore, it is very effective in machining small holes, blind holes, deep holes, inclined
* Corresponding author. E-mail address: wangzl@sparkle.hit.edu.cn (W. Zhenlong).

holes and irregular holes. Because there is no macroscopic force during machining, there is no limit of the intensity and the stiffness for the electrode. A micro-hole with a diameter of 5 mm has been machined by EDM [1]. Moreover, due to the above-mentioned advantages, EDM can machine half a hole easily, which will be very useful when the inner prole of a small hole must be measured accurately. However, the machining effect of EDM in machining titanium alloy, especially for small and deep holes, is not so ideal. One reason is that the debris in the machining gap cannot be eliminated easily, and the machining status is unstable during the EDM of the hole. Another reason is that titanium alloy has a low heat conduction efciency and high tenacity. Some experiments have shown that the introduction of ultrasonic vibration into deep hole EDM can improve the machining quality and the efciency distinctly [2,3]. Based on this knowledge, a new piece of EDM equipment is presented in this paper, which can bring ultrasonic vibration into the EDM process, and can fabricate and measure microelectrodes on-line. Furthermore, this equipment can realize four-axis linkage movement with a feeding resolution of 0.1 mm. Using this equipment to machining Ti6Al4V, some experiments have been achieved. The experiments show that such holes, in which the diameter is less than 0.2 mm and the depth/diameter ratio is more than 15 can be produced without difculty.

0924-0136/02/$ see front matter # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 9 2 4 - 0 1 3 6 ( 0 1 ) 0 1 1 4 9 - 9

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Fig. 1. Principle of WEDG [4].

2. Development of ultrasonic EDM equipment for small and deep holes It is rather difcult to x and fabricate a micro-electrode on an EDM machine tool during micro-EDM. This problem was solved by Masuzawa et al. [4] in 1985. He utilized wire electric discharge grinding (WEDG) to fabricate the microelectrode on-line. Fig. 1 shows the principle of WEDG. During electrode fabrication, the wire electrode moves along the guide block continuously, and the guide block applies micro-feed to the electrode, whilst at the same time the electrode moves along its own axis. The discharge is produced between the electrode and the wire electrode. Because the electrode can be controlled to accomplish rotation or indexing easily, many differently shaped electrodes, such as cylindrical, polygonal and spiral electrodes, can be fabricated on-line by WEDG. Using WEDG, the xed error and the distortion of the micro-electrode can be ignored. WEDG has become an essential technology in micro-EDM. In order to EDM a small hole, especially a deep and small hole, the pulse supply system and the servo-drive system of the equipment must take into account the affects resulting from micro-EDM. In the micro-EDM of a small and deep hole, the discharge gap and the machining area are very small and, therefore, the discharge points will become more concentrated no matter on what space and in what time. Moreover, the machining debris is difcult to remove from the thin machining gap, and the electrode wear will be focussed on a small area. This is why the machining process becomes unstable and there is a low removal rate in microEDM of a small and deep hole. The above analyses show that an ideal micro-hole EDM tool should have following characteristics. First, it should have a unit that can fabricate a micro-electrode on-line. Second, it should have a good pulse generator which can produce micro-power energy and can be controlled neatly. Third, it should have an efcient means to remove the debris away from the machining gap. Finally, it should have a high precision and high frequency response servo-feeding system so that the machining process can be done steadily. With the development of modern electric and electronic technology, the micro-driving technology and the advancement of WEDG, it is quite possible to develop a micro-EDM

Fig. 2. Schematic drawing of the ultrasonic micro-EDM tool: (1) Z-axis; (2) C-axis; (3) ultrasonic amplitude transformer; (4) electrode; (5) block electrode; (6) workpiece; (7) WEDG unit; (8) X-axis; (9) Y-axis.

machine tool that includes the above-mentioned functions. Based on this, the authors studied and developed new EDM equipment especially for machining a deep and small hole. Fig. 2 shows the structure diagram of the EDM equipment. The tool electrode can rotate around its own axis and at the same time move up and down along the Z-axis, meantime it generates ultrasonic vibration along the Z-axis. Thus the machining process is an ultrasonic EDM action in fact. Machining the micro-electrode with high precision and high efciency, there are two electrode-making units in the equipment. The block electrode unit is used to machine the tool electrode roughly with high efciency, and the WEDG unit is used to accomplish the precision machining. The electrode taper error formed by the verticality errors between the Z-axis and the work-table can be decreased effectively by adjusting their position of the block electrode unit and the WEDG unit. This equipment adopts a THK linear rack and gapless ballscrew, and the movement units are drived by an API (American Precision Industry) step motor. The pulse generator of this equipment is combined with a transistor pulse generator and an RC pulse generator. By using this generator, the relationship of the micro-energy needed in the nal machining process and the macro-energy needed in rough process can be put into accordance successfully. The process of micro-electrode fabrication and micro-hole machining are controlled by an open system architecture CNC system developed by the authors. The frequency of ultrasonic vibration is about 20 kHz, and the amplitude of the micro-electrode top is about 2 mm. 3. Experiments and study 3.1. Analyses of the micro-EDM of a small and deep hole in titanium alloy There are two problems that must be solved in EDM for a small and deep hole in titanium alloy: the machining of a

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Fig. 3. SEM photographs of: (a) steel and (b) titanium alloy debris in EDM.

small hole with a large depth/diameter ratio and the elimination of taper. Experiments have shown that the machinability of titanium alloy is as good as that of common steel in single discharge EDM. However, in repetitional discharge EDM, the electrode wear will become quite severe and the machining efciency will be very low for titanium alloy. The reason for this phenomena is that the turned-over edge of the discharge crater is bigger and the forming period of the turned-over edge is longer. Fig. 3 shows a SEM photograph of the debris of steel and titanium alloy produced in the EDM process [5]. The steel debris is mainly integrated and global, whilst the titanium alloy debris are transmutative segments. This phenomena may be explained as that the erosion products are melted or gasied completely during the EDM of steel materials. As the condensation speed of steel is quite fast, the fused metal will form into globe shapes, resulting from the metallic surface tension during the pulse interval. In contrast, the thermal coefcient of titanium alloy is poor, so that the erosion products will be ejected away and solidied before being melted completely. Then the machining debris will adhere on the machining hole's entrance and form a turn-over edge. Experiments have also shown that the surface roughness of a titanium alloy hole machined by EDM is usually good. Fig. 4 shows a SEM photograph of a small hole's inner surface and its edge, with rough machining parameters with a machining condition in which the discharge capacitance

value is about 20 000 pF and the open voltage is about 250 V. The machined surface roughness value (Rmax) shown in this photograph is about 35 mm. As the machined surface roughness value could be reduced substantially by limiting the discharge energy, this paper does not take the surface roughness value as a main parameter in evaluating the new EDM technology. In micro-EDM for deep and small holes, the discharge energy is very small and the discharge gap is only about several microns. Further, the evacuation of debris will become more difcult with the increase of the depth/diameter ratio. If the working uid cannot be renewed duly, the metallic debris will easily accumulate and result in arc discharge. In this situation, a secondary discharge can occur easily on the hole's side wall. This is the reason why machining taper occurs in deep and small holes machined by EDM. With the aim to machine a hole with large depth/ diameter ratio and a small taper using EDM, this paper conducted some experiments in order to study the function of ultrasonic vibration and the single-side notch of the micro-electrode in micro-EDM. 3.2. The effect of ultrasonic vibration onto EDM of small and deep hole In the hope of improving the status of the working liquid in the narrow machining gap during deep and small hole EDM, researchers around the world have made numerous useful attempts. For example, a tubular tool electrode has been used so that working uid can be injected into the clearance between the tube and machined surface. Another useful means is to make the tool electrode rotate. However, these methods are quite complex in technique and are too difcult to be realized for micro-hole EDM. As a matter of fact, the introduction of ultrasonic vibration along the electrode axis has been identied as an efcient means to improve the liquid status in hole EDM [2,3]. Assuming that the ultrasonic wave in the tool electrode is a longitudinal wave traveling in the Z-direction, its wave equation can be explained as
2 @2s 2@ s c @2t @2z

(1)

Its special solution is  z s A sin o t c

(2)

Fig. 4. Photograph of the inside wall surface of a hole machined by EDM.

In the above equations, s is the displacement of the median particle relative to the static state, A the amplitude, o the rotational frequency, c the sonic wave traveling speed in the media and t the time. In order to study the mechanical effect that ultrasonic vibration imparts to the uid media in the machining gap, a uid micro-cell can be used as shown in Fig. 5. Assuming that the distance between the uid surface and the electrode end is h, and assuming that the distance between

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Fig. 5. The fluid micro-cell in the machining gap and its stress.

the micro-cell and the electrode end is z1 and the height of the micro-cell is dz, then the vibration function of the uid micro-cell can be expressed as the following according to Eq. (2):  z1  z A sin o t (3) c Therefore, the acceleration of the micro-cell is  z1  a o2 A sin o t c (4)

If the cross-sectional area is S, the pressure acting on the upper and nether surface of the micro-cell are P and P dP, and the acceleration due to gravity is g, then the stress of the micro-cell can be expressed as follows: PS dG P dPS dma Because dG dmg, dm rS dz, then h  z1  i dP rg o2 r sin o t dz c

(5)

The pressure of the micro-cell at point z in the machining gap can be derived from Eq. (5) and relative boundary conditions:  z (6) P rgh z oAcr cos o t P0 c It is obvious that a high frequency alternating press shock wave of the working liquid can be produced in the machining gap due to the ultrasonic vibration effect. In the machining gap, the high frequency variation of the liquid pressure can improve the liquid flow behavior substantially, and can avoid the accumulation of erosion product sediment. Therefore, the discharge points cannot be concentrated in the same position, so that the machining efficiency and the machining stability can be improved greatly. On the other hand, the cavitation produced by the electrode ultrasonic vibration can re-boil the fusion metal in erosion crater because of the sudden pressure drop. This process accelerates the fusion metal ejection from the erosion crater and reduces liquid metal re-casting on the machining surface. It is useful in minimizing the heat-affected layer and micro-cracking on the machined surface [2]. Another effect that ultrasonic vibration brings into microEDM is the improvement of the effective pulse discharge ratio. It is known that the machining gap is only several

microns in micro-EDM. The effective breakdown discharge can be formed only in a narrow discharge probability region. During traditional EDM, the electrode will feed down when the machining gap is too large to form the machining discharge. The effective discharge begins to occur with the electrode feeding down. However, the discharge probability region is so narrow that the machining state will enter the short-circuit state immediately because of the spindle inertia. Then the electrode begins to come back to leave the short-circuit region. Also, because of the spindle inertia, after a brief period of effective discharge, the machining state enters the open-circuit state. Then the electrode begins to feed down again. The above-mentioned cycle is repeated. Due to the servo-response frequency usually only about scores of Hertz, it is difcult to increase the machining efciency in normal micro-EDM. However, if the electrode is subjected to ultrasonic vibration and the vibration amplitude is more than the discharge probability region, the electrode will cross the discharge probability region according to the frequency at twice the frequency of the ultrasonic vibration. Therefore, the effective pulse discharge ratio can be improved and then the machining efciency can be increased substantially. Fig. 6 shows a series of experimental results for the special EDM machine tool developed by the authors. The experiment conditions are as follows. The workpiece material is Ti6Al4V of thickness 3.2 mm. The tool-electrode material is a kind of carbide YG6X. The machined hole's diameter is 0.20 mm. The machining open voltage is 100 V. The current limiting resistor is 330 O. The gap capacitance is about 5000 pF. The designed ultrasonic vibration is 20 kHz, and the designed amplitude is 2 mm. Fig. 6 shows the effect of ultrasonic vibration on the deep and small hole EDM very distinctly. The experiments also show that it is even impossible to machine a large depth/ diameter hole using normal EDM for the same machining parameters because of serious electrode wear. Ultrasonic EDM can not only increase the machining efciency, but also reduce the machining taper of the machined hole. This is because the high frequency vibration of the electrode can improve the state of the machining gap and then increase the

Fig. 6. Experiments results for a deep and small hole in Ti6Al4V.

Z. Wansheng et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 120 (2002) 101106 Table 1 EDM small hole machining aided by ultrasonic vibration Gap capacitance (pF) Machining time (s) Relative wear ratio (%) Difference of entrance/exit (mm) Dissociate capacitance 1565 23.75 0.004 5000 1310 27.19 0.008 10000 1065 29.69 0.026

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15000 970 29.38 0.021

Table 2 Machining results of small holes with a single-notch electrode Machining depth (mm) Machining time (s) Relative wear ratio (%) Difference of entrance/exit (mm) 1.0 340 23 0.004 2.0 725 31 0.010 3.2 1210 41.3 0.002 4.5 2100 46 0.005 6.0 3175 65 0.004

machining stability. Table 1 shows the experiment results. However, in the small hole EDM process, the side gap between electrode side wall and the hole side wall is only about 410 mm, so that it is still difcult for machining debris to ow away within the narrow side gap. 3.3. The effect of a single-notch electrode in small and deep hole EDM With the aid of WEDG, it is very easy to make a singlenotch micro-electrode. A rotating single-notch microelectrode to EDM a small and deep hole will increase the space for debris to ow away through and, therefore, increase the machining efciency and minimize the machining taper. For example, using a single-notch electrode such as that in Fig. 7 and a machining side gap of 10 mm, the space for debris ow is 1.5 times that for the traditional circularshape electrode. In this way, a greater amount of debris will ow away from the notch and so decrease the secondary discharge probability on the hole's side. A set of experimental results when using a single-notch electrode to EDM a small hole is given in Table 2. From the above experiments, it can be deduced that there will be an ideal machining effect by combining ultrasonic vibration EDM and the rotating single-notch electrode EDM. Line 3 in Fig. 6 shows the experiment result when using a single-notch electrode (Fig. 7) with the same parameters as for the lines 1 and 2.

Similarly, the open voltage value and the discharge capacitance affect the machining process as for traditional EDM in the ultrasonic EDM of a small hole, i.e. the machining efciency will be improved but the electrode wear will become more serious with the increase of the open voltage value and the discharge capacitance. Considering the readiness time and the fabrication time by WEDG of micro-electrode, it is very important to reduce the electrode wear and, therefore, to increase the working life of the micro-electrode. Thus it is necessary to select a slightly smaller value of the open voltage value and the discharge capacitance in actual machining. 4. Conclusion A surface machined by EDM consists of a series of discharge craters, and there is no screw-like trail left on the hole's inside wall that would be formed by ordinary drilling. This can improve the eld distribution condition when uid or gas ows through the small hole. As there is no macroscopic force, it is easy to machine a half-hole by using EDM. The inner surface prole of the micro-hole can therefore be viewed and measured by the half-hole. The following conclusions are drawn from the above experiments and studies: 1. The presently reported process provides a useful means for fabricating a micro-electrode on-line by setting a block electrode unit and WEDG unit in different positions on the EDM machine tool. 2. The reason why the machining efficiency is so low while EDM on a deep and small hole in titanium alloy lies in the unsteadiness of the machining status. The turnedover edge of the discharge crater is bigger and the forming period of the turned-over edge is longer than that for steel. 3. Brining ultrasonic vibration into micro-hole EDM can improve the liquid flow behavior substantially, and avoid the erosion-products sediment so as to improve

Fig. 7. Section view of a single-notch electrode.

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the effective pulse discharge ratio. The machining efficiency and the machining stability can therefore be improved steadily. Moreover, the machined surface quality can be improved. 4. Using a rotating single-notch micro-electrode to EDM a small and deep hole can enlarge the space through which the debris flows, and therefore increase the machining efficiency and minimize the machining taper. 5. The combination of ultrasonic vibration EDM and rotating single-notch electrode EDM together is a useful means by which to EDM a deep and small hole out of titanium alloy.

References
[1] T. Masuzawa, Three-dimensional micro-machining by machine tools, Ann. CIRP 46 (2) (1997) 621628. [2] H. Yishuang, The effect of ultrasonic vibration to EDM, Met. Mach. Overseas 4 (1990) 15. [3] J. Zhixin, Z. Jianhua, A. Xing, Principal research on the machining and discharge characteristics of ultrasonic vibration EDM, Elect. Mach. (1994) 6 (in Chinese). [4] T. Masuzawa, M. Fujino, K. Kobayashi, Wire electro-discharge grinding for micro-machining, Ann. CIRP 34 (1) (1985) 431434. [5] Study of high efficiency EDM to titanium alloy, Sodick Report, Vol. 3, 1995, pp. 69 (in Chinese).