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Although helical electrodes have been proven to improve the EDM (electrical discharge machining) speed of small holes, there are few studies on the morphological characteristics of the machined small holes and the influence of electrode structures. In this paper, the influence of the helical electrode structure on the machining effect is studied by the method of orthogonal experiment, and the internal mechanism of the influence of the helical electrode on the machining is explained by the method of CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulation. The results show that the larger depth and width of the helical groove and the helix angle of 60° are beneficial to increase the machining speed and reduce the relative loss rate, and at the same time, avoid serious defects in the small hole morphology. These conclusions provide a valuable reference for future researchers to choose the reasonable structure of the helical electrode, which is of great significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beryllium copper alloys with excellent features are widely used in many engineering fields, and their fabrication requires high machining speed. However, the fabrication of beryllium copper alloys by traditional processes has serious problems. In this study, high-speed electrochemical discharge drilling (HSECDD), a hybrid process containing electrical discharge machining (EDM) and electrochemical machining (ECM) in deionized water, was used to machine micro-holes on C17200 beryllium copper alloy. The material removal mechanism of HSECDD was studied and compared with traditional EDM. The performance of the process was investigated under different conductivities of peak current and pulse width. The results show that HSECDD is a high-efficiency method to machine C17200 beryllium copper alloy. During HSECDD, the material removal depends mainly on EDM. And, the ECM occurs at the entrance region of micro-holes machined by EDM. The function of ECM is to expand the gap between the electrode and the hole. The machining speed and average diameter of micro-holes increase with the increasing of peak current and pulse width. Increasing the pulse width will reduce the electrode wear. However, the taper angle will increase. In addition, the results also show that a value of 0.34-A peak current and 10-μs pulse width can be considered an ideal parameter for HSECDD to machine micro-holes on C17200 beryllium copper alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to develop software for multi-axis electrical discharge machining (EDM) computer numerical control (CNC) systems using open CNC technology and soft CNC technology and to then apply the software to the machining of rimmed turbine blisks. Through the analysis of functional requirements, this study established the hierarchy structure of the software. On the basis of this structure, three main modules and their communications were established with Linux and RT-Linux as the development platforms. The software architecture was also constructed. Through the construction of the modules and communications and the realization of the functions, the multi-axis EDM CNC system software was developed and installed into a five-axis EDM CNC machine to realize the machining of rimmed turbine blisks. Machining results show that the architecture of the software is correct, harmonious, and reasonable. The software is also stable and reliable and features strong real-time capability and accurate movement control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]