P. F.

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The effect of pulse duration and electrode type (copper or graphite) on the pick-up of carbon in the surface of a die steel shaped using electrodischarge machining and on surface microcracks has been studied. The present work suggests that the number and the size of surface microcracks increase with pulse duration when machining with a copper electrode, but there is some evidence to suggest that, when using a graphite electrode, the number and the length of microcracks and the average thickness of the recast layer may be greatest at intermediate (75–150μs) pulse durations. Although no definite conclusion can be drawn from the results, it is suggested that this may be because the manner of decay of the temperature field after each pulse is determined by both electrode material and pulse duration. At high current densities and long pulse durations, the length and frequency of microcracks is increased greatly at the corners of specimens machined using a graphite electrode, but this occurred to a much lesser extent when using a copper electrode – a difference that would seem to reinforce the suggestion that the characteristics of the temperature field after each pulse depend on the electrode material. It was concluded that carbon was absorbed from the dielectric (paraffin) rather than from the electrode. The amount of copper absorbed did not depend on pulse duration. MST/1040

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: