Experimental investigations into

electrical discharge machining

with a rotating disk electrode
Philip Koshy, V. K. Jain, and G. K. Lal
Mechanical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology,
Kanpur, India

In electrical discharge machining, when the provision of holes in the electrode

is impracticable, flushing of the working gap poses a major problem. Use of
a rotating disk electrode is proposed as a more productive and accurate
technique than use of a conventional electrode. Material removal rate, tool
wear rate, relative electrode wear, corner reproduction accuracy, and surface
finish aspects of a rotary electrode are compared with those of a stationary
one. The effective flushing of the working gap brought about by the rotation
of the electrode remarkably improves material removal rate and machines
surfaces with a better finish. Despite the prevalent high tool wear rate, the
reproduction accuracy is least affected as the wear gets uniformly distributed
over the entire circumference of the disk. Machining of a sharp corner is
possible even with an aluminum electrode, whose relative electrode wear is
greater than unity.

Keywords: electrical discharge machining; rotating disk electrode

Introduction Various techniques have been suggested to en-

In electrical discharge machining (EDM), the dielec-
tric fluid acts as an insulator between the electrode
(tool) and the workpiece, convects away the small
amount of heat generated by the discharges, and
flushes off the discharge by-products from the inter-
electrode gap (lEG). As machining proceeds, the
concentration of the particles in the gap increases
rapidly. It is imperative to remove the wear debris
from the gap so that fresh dielectric enters for spark
discharges. Thus, flushing is decisive for process
efficiency. Insufficient flushing results in the stagna-
tion of the dielectric, build up of machining residue
in the gap, short circuits, arcs, and low material
removal rate (MRR), and culminates in the stalling
of the machining process.
Flushing holes are generally provided in the
electrode for either pressure or suction flushing.
However, such measures are not always possible.
Jet flushing on account of not being efficient is used
only when workpiece-electrode configuration pre-
cludes other methods.
Address reprint requests to Dr. V. K. Jain, Mechanical Engi-
neering Department, Indian Institute of Technology, I.I. 7", Post
Office, Kanpur 208 016, India.
© 1993 Butterworth-Heinemann
sure proper and adequate flushing of the gap and
thereby obtain a better process output. In horizontal
EDM, 1 advantage is taken of the buoyancy of the
bubbles for the smooth outflow of debris from the
gap. A synchronous rotation of both the workpiece
and the electrode improves the stability of machin-
ing and accuracy of the machined component.
It is reported 2 that alternating forced flushing
with erosion periods results in a small improvement
in the accuracy of reproduction. As the electrode is
lifted off the spark gap during flushing, there is a
decrease in the average MRR. The self-flushing
method 3 entails use of a special electrode move-
ment in two axes for pumping action, which makes
additional flushing redundant. MRR is augmented
by this technique, but there is an increase in elec-
trode wear at the edges and corners. The effect of
electrode vibration on flushing in the gap has also
been studied by other researchers.4,5 Ultrasonic vi-
bration of the electrode is found 6 to upgrade the
process by accelerating the slurry circulation and
creating pressure variations in the gap.
A magnetic field installed in the gap is found 7
to improve gap cleaning and thereby facilitate ma-
chining over a larger surface or to a greater depth
without forced flushing. In planetary EDM, 8 the
flushing of the machining gap brought about by
the orbital motion of the electrode yields a better

6 JANUARY 1993 VOL 15 NO 1

 Koshy, Jain, a n d Lal: E D M with a rotating disk electrode
//'7• I Feed direction
6 Electrode
: Work
....:':'::.
:.:..~ ; . . . . . .
• ......:.;.,-..
Debris
porticles
Ca)
Figure 1 (a) Rotating disk electrode; (b) conventional electrode
process response compared with that of a conven-
tional electrode.
Most of the techniques T M used for effective
flushing of the spark gap do not use the entire ma-
chining time. The generator is switched off during
the special electrode movement and a part of the
machining time is lost in electrode lifting and elec-
trode vibration techniques. This diminishes the av-
erage MRR.
In the present work, a rotating disk type of elec-
trode (Figure la) has been developed. The electrode
is rotated and sunk simultaneously to machine a
rectangular slot in a plate workpiece. The rotation
would impart a velocity to the dielectric in the gap
and effectively flush the gap (resulting in increased
MRR), and the machined surface is better than that
obtained with a stationary electrode. Because the
tool wear is not localized and is evenly spread over
the entire circumference of the disk, shape degener-
ation of the electrode is not acute and better repro-
duction of corners is viable.
Experimentation
The generator Elektra EMS 4025, which supplies
rectangular pulses, was used. An aluminum fixture
(Figure 2) with a provision to rotate the electrode
about a horizontal axis was fastened to the elec-
trode holder of the machine tool and the electrode
shaft was driven by a motor insulated from the fix-
ture by a Perspex mounting bracket. The electrodes
were finished such that the radial and face runouts
were < 10/~m lest hunting of the servo lead to unsta-
ble machining and subsequent reduced MRR.
Experimental details are given in Table 1. Pulse
current and peripheral speed of the rotating elec-
trode were considered to be controllable variables
in order to study their effect on MRR, tool wear rate
PRECISION ENGINEERING
~
n
(b)
(TWR), and relative electrode wear (REW), defined
as the ratio of tool wear rate to material removal
rate. Machining time amounted to 3 minutes for the
above set of experiments. The machining zone was
at a depth of - 3 5 mm below the free surface of the
dielectric.
In addition to the above experiments, studies
on corner reproduction accuracy and surface finish
were also accomplished. Machined corners were
studied with the ratio (rw/r t) as an index of reproduc-
tion accuracy. Here rt is the radius of the corner at
the electrode before spark machining and r w is the
corresponding radius gener:ated at the workpiece
after spark machining (Figure 3). For an ideal case,
the value of corner reproduction index (CRI) should
be one:
CRI = (rw/r t) = 1 (1)
To appraise the corner reproduction capability
of the electrode in the rotating mode, in addition to
copper electrodes, aluminum electrodes employing
straight polarity to represent the worst condition
were also used.
The corner radius r was evaluated as
r = (c 2 + 4h'2)/8h ' (2)
Here c and h' indicated in Figure 4 were measured
using replica technique at different positions of the
electrode along the circumference. The average
value was used in Equation 2. The profiles were
recorded, and the corner radii produced by station-
ary and rotary electrodes were compared.
Machining was performed on plates 6 mm thick
and 0.5 mm deep in order to facilitate roughness
measurements. The surface roughness (Ra) was
measured with a Taylor Hobson Surtronic 10 instru-
ment having a stylus of radius 5 /~m adhering to
7
Koshy, Jain, and Lal: EDM with a rotating disk electrode

Motor mounting ectrode holder

bracket (perspex)

nium
S , e o o e r too,or F,x,ure fixture
holding
J
Belt drive
screw b-ois,
/ electrode

Figure 2 Rotating disk electrode assembly

Table 1 Experimental details

Tool material Copper
Work material
Dielectric
Polarity
Mild steel
Kerosene
Copper ( + )
Electrode - - - - --G
Open circuit voltage 100 V
Average working voltage 4O V
On time 50 #s
Off time 57/~s
Flushing type No forced flushing !
Disk electrode dimensions 70 mm diameter

Frontal machining area

5 mm thickness
6 mm 2 J Workpiece

cutoff and traverse lengths of 0.8 mm and 5 mm, Figure 3 Corner radii of electrode and workpiece
respectively.

Analysis
Improvement of the process due to effective flush-
ing is well understood by modeling the velocity dis- C
tribution of the dielectric fluid in the lEG and the
molten metal immediately beneath.
Assuming laminar and fully developed flow, for
an infinitesimal control volume of size ~x × ~ly
(Figure 5), the conservation of momentum can be
written as
Du dp
p - - ~ (Ax x &y) = ( - -~x x A x ) A y

+ x Ay Ax (3) Figure 4 Parameters for evaluation of corner

radius

8 JANUARY 1993 VOL 15 NO 1

 Koshy, Jain, and Lal: EDM with a rotating disk electrode

I -
T
-=
J Electrode surface

hz A • Dielectric

• Interface
Y Molten metal
ht
Ay ' + Ax
;; u..o
P a r e n t metal
a (Work surface)

u° u' u| u,~ u; u~ u~
,

y u Electrode s u r f a c e

- - Dielectric

UA : u e

--Molten metal
/// I/ " / / / / / / 7 / / / / J Us=o

Figure 5 Modeling of viscous flow - - P a r e n t metal

b (Work s u r f a c e )

Figure 6 (a) Modeling of electrode, workpiece sys-

tem; (b) schematic velocity distribution of dielectric
for unit thickness perpendicular to the plane of flow. and molten work metal
D
Here p is the density of the fluid, ~ represents the
Eulerian derivative, u is the velocity at ordinate y, p molten work metal, respectively, and u~, is the pe-
is the pressure, and r is the shear stress. At steady ripheral speed of the electrode at i (m/min). Also,
state, it follows that
uA = u B
dp and
r=~-~y+ Cl (4)
dUA dub
du
By definition, r = /~ ~yy, where/~ is the viscosity of
~tA--'d--y = tJ'a "dy

fluid. Hence, for equality of velocity and continuity of shear stress

ltdp) y2 Cl +c2 (5)
where Cl and C2 are constants of integration.
For simplifying the analysis, the rotating disk
electrode is treated as an infinitely long plate contin-
uously moving with the peripheral velocity of the
former over another stationary plate (workpiece)
with dielectric fluid and molten work material sand-
wiched between them (Figure 6a). The dielectric
and molten work metal phases are indicated by A
and B, respectively. The situation is assumed as that
of adjacent flow of two immiscible fluids. 9
Equation 5 now defines the velocity distribution
of the dielectric in the lEG and the molten work
metal for the appropriate values of viscosity. The
related constants can be evaluated by imposing the
following boundary conditions with the coordinate
system fixed to the stationary workpiece (Figure
6a).
u8 = 0 at y = 0
UA = U~ a t y = hi + h2
Here u A and u B are the velocity of dielectric and
at the interface at y = hi, where/~A and/-~e are the
viscosity of the dielectric fluid and the molten work
metal, respectively. Figure 6b schematically de-
notes the velocity distribution satisfying the above
boundary conditions for increasing peripheral
speed of the electrode. This comes in handy for
explaining the trends exhibited by the MRR and
REW characteristics discussed later.
Results and discussion
Preliminary experiments were conducted to identify
the variables that are likely to have significant in-
fluence on the responses. In this study MRR, TWR,
REW, surface finish, and corner reproduction accu-
racy in case of a rotating electrode have been taken
as responses and are compared with those corre-
sponding to a stationary electrode. MRR is propor-
tional to the product of the energy transferred per
pulse and the pulse frequency. The energy of the
pulse has been varied by changing the pulse current
at a constant frequency. Rotation of the electrode
was also found to influence the above mentioned
responses. Thus, all experiments were performed
with peripheral speed of the electrode and pulse
current as variables.

PRECISION ENGINEERING 9
Koshy, Jain, and Lal: EDM with a rotating disk e/ectrode
Electrode: Copper (+)
Work: Mild steel ( - )
ton: 50 pSltoff :57ps
Averoge working voltoge :40 V
24 8A
EE20
,.=
5A
..2
2A
4-
I I I I I stability. The enhanced number of spark discharges
0 2 4 6
Peripheral speed (m/rnin)
Figure 7 Variation of MRR with peripheral speed
of electrode
Material r e m o v a l rate (MRR)
The relationship between the peripheral speed of
the copper electrode and MRR at different pulse
currents is exhibited in Figure 7. At constant pulse
current, MRR increases with increase in peripheral
speed and attains plateau beyond a certain value.
MRR also increases with an increase in pulse
current.
The debris in the machining gap consists of
products of dielectric decomposition and eroded
metallic particles. The conducting particles re-
maining suspended in the gap exert significant in-
fluence on the dielectric breakdown characteris-
tics. ~° The ignition time delay (t d) is a function of the
particle concentration 5 and the relationship is given
by
t d ---- C 3 / n (Ncr/N.) (6)
where C3 is a constant, Ncr is the critical particle
concentration, and N, is the average particle con-
centration.
Effective spark discharges are characterized by
a finite time delay before the pulse current reaches
the nominal value. ~1As the average particle concen-
tration in the gap becomes equal to the critical parti-
cle concentration, the plasma channel preferentially
takes the same path as that of the previous pulse,
which is not completely deionized. Thus, a new gas-
eous path required for a spark discharge is not
formed and the spark spot excursion all over the
machining area is hampered. The localization of the
10
discharge location characterizes an arc and is re-
peated viciously. It has been established 3 that the
occurrence of an arc renders recovery of normal
gap conditions difficult.
It is to be noted that sparks alone provide effec-
tive material removal in the desired fashion,
whereas arcs are related to process instability. Un-
der inadequate flushing conditions, the conducting
particles grow to such a concentration that short
circuits and arcs are the predominant discharge
mechanism rather than sparks. This is one of the
key factors identified as being responsible for low
MRR in case of a stationary electrode.
When the disk electrode rotates, the negligible
slip of the fluid layer near the solid boundary causes
the dielectric to be carried through friction and
thrown outward due to the action of centrifugal
forces. This initiates the flow of relatively uncon-
taminated dielectric into the lEG in the axial direc-
tion. A condition conducive to effective spark dis-
charges is thus created and encourages process
per unit time increases MRR as efficiency of the
process is improved. The efficiency (r/) of the EDM
process is correlated to MRR and is given by
= (Y.t~/Y,tp), (7)
where ~t~ is the real discharge duration and ~tp is
the theoretical maximum discharge duration.
With increased pulse energy, the size of the
debris particles increases. It is reported 12 that the
incidence of discharges (known as secondary dis-
charges) on the debris particles would break them
down into smaller sized particles. Such a phenome-
non of secondary discharges occurs frequently in
the absence of effective flushing. This results in low
MRR. With effective flushing, such occurrences are
proscribed and energy is consolidated toward ma-
terial removal effort.
This explains the increase in the slope of the
curves and the shifting of the saturation peripheral
speeds to higher values with increasing pulse cur-
rent settings (Figure 7). Because the rate of debris
formation is increased at higher pulse currents, a
small velocity imparted to the electrode brings
about a more significant increase in MRR. Periph-
eral speed required to bring MRR to a saturation
value will also be higher.
Insufficient ejection forces cause a part of the
molten metal to remain on the parent metal surface
as a resolidified layer.12'13This accounts for the poor
metal removal efficiency in EDM, which is as low as
10%. The dielectric flow contributes to the reduction
of the resolidified volume. The volume of molten
but not ejected work material removed by the action
of dielectric flow is dependent on the difference
between the forces exerted by the flowing dielectric
and the resistance offered by the molten material
due to surface tension and solid-liquid bonding
forces. As is evident from Figure 6b, an increase in
the peripheral speed of the electrode subjects the
JANUARY 1993 VOL 15 NO 1

E l e c t r o d e : Copper (+)
W o r k : Mild steel (-~
ton : 5 0 ps~toff : 57 ps
24 Average working v o l t a g e : 4 0 V
A
16
o ness of carbide layer formed is found to be time and
~. 12
3
p-
4 T is the electrode surface temperature, and C4, C5,
-
2
I
4
Peripheral speed (m/min)
Figure 8 Variation of TWR with peripheral speed
of electrode
molten work material to higher velocity gradients.
The higher velocity gradients expedite the removal
of more volume of molten metal, thus offering a
higher MRR.
MRR is thus a function of the peripheral speed
of the electrode. Nonetheless, for a particular pulse
energy there is a limit to increase in MRR obtainable
by increasing the peripheral speed of the electrode.
Once the saturation peripheral speed is reached,
no further advantage as regards MRR is drawn by
further increasing the speed. In fact it is probable
that MRR would decrease at higher peripheral
speeds due to discharge instability.
TWR
The effect of peripheral speed on TWR is shown in
Figure 8. Because the erosion phenomenon is the
same for both electrode and work, the explanation
given for MRR also holds good for the behavior of
TWR (Figure 8). The flow in the vicinity of a rotating
disk is three dimensional; that is, the velocity has
components in radial, tangential, and axial direc-
tions. The tangential component is instrumental in
the removal of debris from the gap. But this effect
keeps decreasing from the tool surface toward the
work surface due to friction between adjoining fluid
layers, which results in decreasing flow velocity of
the dielectric. If the molten workpiece material reso-
lidifies before it is cleared off by the flowing dielec-
tric, then its chance of being removed in the same
cycle is less because the force available at the work
surface is minimal. On the other hand, the maxi-
PRECISION ENGINEERING
Koshy, Jain, and Lal: EDM with a rotating disk electrode
mum tangential force at the electrode surface is
responsible for the existing high TWR. Thus, TWR
also is a function of the peripheral speed of the
electrode. In addition, due to the force of gravity
the molten material on the electrode will have a
tendency to separate from the parent metal. Thus,
8A the probability of molten and resolidified metal ad-
hering to the electrode is minimal.
Concomitantly, the deposition of crystalline
carbide on the electrode surface plays an important
role in the reduction of electrode wear. The thick-
A
temperature dependent TM according to the empirical
relation
8 = C4 (T - C5)° m/sec (8)
where 8 is the speed of formation of carbide layer,
and n are constants.
In a conventional electrode, all the carbide de-
I l
6
position occurs in a localized area, and this inhibits
high electrode wear. Frequent arcing during static
EDM is also found to aid carbide deposits on the
electrode surface.14
In a rotary electrode, the carbide deposition is
spread over a larger area on the circumference, thus
depleting the layer. The rotation of the electrode
also contributes to better heat transfer from the
electrode, thus bringing down the electrode surface
temperature. It is also probable that the layer breaks
down during the course of rotation before having
to be redeposited in the successive cycle(s).
These factors are responsible for high TWR.
However, the increased electrode wear is not detri-
mental to the reproduction accuracy in case of a
rotating electrode. The electrode wear is uniformly
distributed over a larger area on the circumference
of the rotating disk, whereas it is confined to a local
area in a conventional electrode.
REW
During finishing operations, reproduction accuracy
is of prime concern. It would be necessary to work
under conditions of low REW, because electrode
wear has a prominent effect on reproduction accu-
racy. Figure 9 shows the effect of peripheral speed
of the electrode on REW. REW increases sharply
as the electrode is rotated and thereafter increases
gradually for all pulse currents tested. The observed
trend is explained with reference to Figure 10.
Let A'B' denote the molten work metal surface.
With the electrode surface indicated by E1E2, for an
effective gap width of h2, as the electrode attains a
peripheral speed of 1 m/min from stationary condi-
tion (from u ° to u~), the difference in dielectric flow
velocities at the molten metal surface is represented
by aobo. As the peripheral speed of the electrode is
further increased, the effectiveness of evacuation
of debris from lEG improves. This results in the
movement of the electrode toward the work, lead-
11
Koshy, Jain, and La/: EDM with a rotating disk e/ectrode

work metal surface for an electrode peripheral

i Electrode ; Copper (+)
speed of i (m/min). Hence,
Work: Mild steel (-)
K K
ton : 50 pS~tof f~ 57 ps / __ i 1
> i]i+1 i
for i = 1 to 5
Average working voltage." 4.0 V Uw Uw --w -- U w

1.0 The volume of molten metal removed due to

.O~88A 0 the flow of the dielectric is assumed to be depen-
3
dent on the dielectric flow velocity at the molten
n~
oL.
O.8 t/ -..£"~~ 1 ~ ' - - ' - r
;
^
.hA
,,2A
__ metal surface. With increasing peripheral speed of
/4 approaches u ei - ue/'-1 = K.
the electrode, u ,w _ Uw
0.6 Although the difference in the volume of molten
metal removed from the electrode surface due to
the action of dielectric flow remains constant for
'~ 0.4. unit increments in peripheral speed, the volume re-
moved from the work surface increases with K as
the limit.
0.2
With REW being the ratio between TWR and
MRR, the slope of REW characteristic keeps de-
creasing for unit increments in peripheral speed of
0.0 2 4 6 the electrode. This justifies the steep increase of
Peripherel speed (m/rain) REW characteristic once rotation is initiated. There-
after, REW increases gradually with increasing
Figure 9 Variation of REW with peripheral speed peripheral speed of the electrode.
of electrode
Corner reproduction a c c u r a c y (CRA)
The production of corners has been a major problem
f 7 4Electr°de surface7,6 in spark erosion machining, and the rotary electrode
seems to have caught up with this to a formidable
extent. The reproduction accuracy achieved with
Dielectric--- rotating disk electrodes is shown in Figures 11 and

I~e' ', ', J'i
Moltenmetal
Ii/I i/lill/lll//i///l'~
k-Parent metal (Work ~urface}
Figure 10 Effect of decreasing interetectrode gap
width on the velocity distribution
ing to a smaller gap width. Assuming the molten
metal layer thickness (hi) to be constant, for a
change of electrode peripheral speed from say U3e
to u 4, the electrode surface is designated as E~E~
with a corresponding gap of hl such that h i < h2.
The difference of dielectric flow velocities at the
molten metal surface in this case is albl, such that
aob o < a~b~. This is attributed to the fact that better
momentum transfer occurs due to less frictional
energy dissipation between the fluid layers, with a
smaller lEG width. The concept can also be ex-
tended for a gap of h~ such that h 2 > h~ > h~ and
aob o < a~b~ < a2b 2. That is,
u ~ - u~ 1 = K = constant fori=
u ~ - U ~ v l < U ~ + l - u~ fori=
Here U~vis the dielectric flow velocity at the molten
[~ 12, which show typical profiles machined by copper
and aluminum electrodes. For a stationary elec-
trode, the shape degeneration of copper and alumi-
num electrodes is found to be quite different. The
work profiles generated by aluminum electrodes
are highly distorted as compared with the form of
the electrode used. The machined shapes indicate
excessive arcing at the central portion. The copper
electrode does not sustain such severe degenera-
tion of shape, but the corners produced are well
rounded. CRI (rw/r t) is found to increase with in-
crease in pulse current for both stationary and ro-
tary electrodes (Figures 11 a n d 12).
The profiles machined by electrodes rotating
with a velocity equal to 6 m/rain represent a remark-
able improvement in corner reproduction accuracy.
Albeit incurring a REW ratio of - 2 , aluminum elec-
trodes were found to machine sharp corners in the
rotating mode. In this regard, the capacity of the
rotating electrode is explained by the mechanism
of rounding off of corners. Shape wear is is defined
as the spatial distribution of erosion throughout the
active surface of the electrode. The reproduction
accuracy in spark erosion machining is dependent
on a number of factors, such as electrode wear,
current density distribution, and dielectric flushing
1to6 in the gap. 15'16
High electrode wear leads to poor reproduction
1to5 accuracy, as observed in the case of conventional
EDM using aluminum as electrode material. The

12 JANUARY 1993 VOL 15 NO 1

 Koshy, Jain, and Lal: EDM with a rotating disk electrode

Rotary electrode Stotionory electrical field intensity increases exponentially

( P e r i p h e r a l speed 6 m / r a i n ) electrode with decreasing dihedral angle of the edge. Zero
rt = 0 . 0 9 mm rt = 0.1 mm dihedral angle used during experimentation repre-
sents the worst condition. The increased current
intensity at the corners increases the frequency of

(rw/rt) = 1.23
2A

C r w / r t ) =4.17
J discharge and aggravates the electrode wear
therein. The electrode wear follows such a pattern
that the gap as determined by the field strength is
the same in all directions. 15With regard to this, it is
evident that the fast and effective removal of ero-
sion debris would aid in good profile reproduction
exactly as is observed with a rotary electrode. Al-
though electrode wear is high, it is distributed over

t ( r w / r t ) = 2.03
5A

L J
(rw/rt) = 14.65
the entire circumference of the disk. This improves
the reproduction accuracy. In fact, rotating the elec-
trode is equivalent to providing a number of fresh
active electrode surfaces successively, with each
surface taking its turn once in every revolution of the
electrode. With the average particle concentration
coming down with the increase in peripheral speed,
the electrode moves toward the workpiece surface
for a smaller working gap, which is propitious as

t J L S
regards the aspect of reproduction accuracy. The
8A CRI can further be improved by using an electrode
of larger diameter.

(rw/rt) = 2.81 (rw/rt) = 18.56 Surface finish

Figure 11 Typical profiles machined by copper Surface finish as an important process response
electrode dictates the conditions under which the component
must be machined. A workpiece must be machined
under conditions of low MRR if the surface finish
is of concern. The variation in surface finish with
peripheral speed of the electrode at different pulse
Rotary electrode Stationery current levels is shown in Figure 13 for a copper
( p e r i p h e r a l speed 6 m / r a i n ) electrode electrode. The roughness value decreases with in-
r t = . 21 mm rt = . 2 0 mm creasing peripheral speed of the electrode at con-
stant pulse current. The phenomenon of arcing,
which occurs frequently with a stationary electrode,
impairs the work surface. The energy (E) contained
in a single pulse is given by
(rw/rt) = 1.47 (rw/rt) = 2.67
E=ft~l(t) V(t)dt (9)

l JsA where t d is the ignition time delay, tp is the pulse on

time, I(t) is the gap current, and V(t) is the working
voltage. With increased peripheral speed of the
electrode, the ignition time delay increases, thus
(rw/rt) = 2.01 (rw/rt) = 3.27 bringing down the energy transferred through the
individual discharges for material removal. This di-
minishes the crater dimensions to give a better
roughness value. Under conditions of effective
flushing, the adherence of resolidified eroded parti-

t
cles on the work surface is reduced and the resulting
surface presents a better finish than that of the one
obtained with a stationary electrode. In the latter
(rw/rt) = 3.32
case, an increase in MRR is possible only at the
(rw/rt} = 2.12
expense of surface finish. On the contrary, in a rotat-
Figure 12 Typical profiles machined by aluminium ing electrode the increase in MRR is accompanied
electrode by the production of a better surface.

PRECISION ENGINEERING 13
Koshy, Jain, and Lal: EDM with a rotating disk electrode
I0
tivity of EDM process under the situations in
E l e c t r o d e : C o p p e r (+)
which conventional methods of flushing cease
W o r k : Mild steel ( - )
ton ; 5 0 ps ; t o f f ~ 5 7 ~s
to work effectively. MRR, CRA, and surface fin-
Averoge working voltoge i 40 V ish obtained are superior to those achieved
with a conventional static electrode.
8 • Although TWR for a rotating disk electrode is
higher than a stationary one, the reproduction
accuracy as compared with the latter is com-
mendable.
• The improved performance of the rotating disk
electrode is ascribed to its effective flushing
capability.
• The ability of the technique to machine sharp
o corners eliminates the need for separate
L- roughing and finishing electrodes.
U)
4
Acknowledgments
We thank Professor P. S. Goshdastidar and Subba
Rao, graduate student, both of the Department of
I I I I 1 1 Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Tech-
2 4 6
nology, Kanpur, India, for their valuable sugges-
Peripherol speed (m/min) tions.
Figure 13 Variation of surface roughness with pe-
ripheral speed of the electrode Nomenclature
c,h' Parameters (Figure 4) for calculation of
radius
Ci(i = 1-5) Constants
Applications D Eulerian derivative
Experiments reported in this study have been real- Dt
ized in the plunge machining mode with the work E Energy contained in a single pulse
remaining stationary for the sake of simplicity. In /(t) Gap current
this particular configuration, the applications are K Constant
limited to operations such as slicing and machining Ncr Critical particle concentration
of thin, fragile plates. In slicing operations, the ap- N. Average particle concentration
proach could be competitive with wire EDM by us- P Pressure
ing an appropriately thin disk. The proposed rt Radius of the corner at the electrode
method in conjunction with kinematic motions of before spark machining
the workpiece would handle diverse applications, rw Radius obtained at the workpiece
such as slot machining, and could be extended to td Ignition time delay
the machining of flute and thread geometries in Pulse on time
materials difficult to machine. Electrode surface temperature
The very physical format of the disk electrode U Fluid velocity
excludes drilling and related operations from the Ue Peripheral speed of electrode at
domain of applications of this technique. i (m/min)
A recast layer infested with microcracks is char- U A, U B Velocity of dielectric and molten work
acteristic of electrical discharge machined surfaces. metal, respectively
The flushing of the working gap in light of its influ- Dielectric flow velocity at the molten
ence on the quenching rate of the machined surface work metal surface for an electrode
would presumably have an effect on the length and peripheral speed of i (m/min)
density of the microcracks induced. With this in V(t) Working voltage
view, further research is being planned to study the P Density of fluid
surface integrity aspects of rotating disk electrode T Shear stress
machined surfaces. Viscosity of dielectric fluid and molten
work metal, respectively
Conclusions Efficiency of EDM process
E t~ Real discharge duration
The present study led to the following conclusions:
Theoretical maximum discharge
• Use of a rotating disk electrode has proved a duration
promising technique in improving the produc- 8 Speed of formation of carbide layer

14 JANUARY 1993 VOL 15 NO 1

 Koshy, Jain, and Lal: EDM with a rotating disk electrode
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