Journal of Applied Science and Engineering, Vol.

24, No 1, Page 21-32 21

An Ultrasonic Vibration Assisted Electrical Discharge Machining

Device with Workpiece Vibration
Hongbing Wang1,* , Chunhua Sun2 , and Yifei Yang2
1 Department of Mechanical Electrical EngineeringSuzhou Vocational UniversitySuzhou215104China
2 3C-Product Intelligent Manufacturing Engineering Technology Research and Development CenterSuzhou215104China
* Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Received: May. 06, 2020; Accepted: July. 27, 2020

For solving the problem of machining micro deep hole in hard material, an ultrasonic vibration assisted
electrical discharge machining (UV-EDM) device with workpiece vibration was designed and fabricated. The
piezoelectric vibrator which had appropriate longitudinal mode and frequency was designed and tested. The
first-order longitudinal vibration frequency of the piezoelectric vibrator was 21450Hz, and the vibration velocity
of the piezoelectric vibrator head was about 24 mm/s.Then the influence of ultrasonic vibration on the EDM
machining of micro deep hole in die steel was studied. Experiments showed that the efficiency of ultrasonic
EDM based on workpiece vibration was higher than that of traditional EDM. The orthogonal experimental
design was used to optimize the process parameters. The machining depth was set as the experiment index.
Four process parameters, including excitation voltage , pulse current, pulse width and pulse gap, were selected
as the experimental factors. The influence degree of the four process parameters on the machining depth was
obtained by optimization. And the best level combination of process parameters were obtained. Through the
analysis of variance, the interval estimation of the optimal combination was carried out, and the confidence
degree of the interval estimation was given. The test result indicated the micro deep hole with diameter Φ0.5mm
and high aspect ratio 67 could be drilled effectively with optimized process parameters. The theoretical and
experimental results showed that the proposed UV-EDM was valuable in machining micro deep holes with
high aspect ratio in hard materials.

Keywords: Ultrasonic EDM; Piezoelectric vibrator; Workpiece vibration; Process parameters; Orthogonal experiment
http://dx.doi.org/10.6180/jase.202102_24(1).0003

1. Introduction verted into heat energy which improves the work- piece
temperature and melts the area on its surface [5]. Debris
With the progress of the technology and the development
are created and accumulated in the sparkling gap between
of micro mechanics, micro holes with diameter less than
an electrode and a workpiece in a diesinking EDM process.
1 mm have been widely used in various fields including
If the debris density becomes too great in certain points
aerospace, electronics, photonics, biomedical and medical
in the gap, there is a reduction in the resistance, which en-
industries [1]. Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) is
courages the formation of abnormal discharges, results in a
an effective method used to machine micro deep holes.
significant electrode wear or damage and slows down the
EDM is a process of metal removal by a series of rapidly
machining efficiency. For micro deep holes the removal of
reoccurring electrical discharge through a small gap filled
debris can not be done by the periodical flushing operation
with dielectric fluid between an electrode and a workpiece
with a through hole electrode. As a result, new flushing
[2–4]. Basically, spark flows from the electrode through a
technologies for micro deep holes, particularly with high
dielectric fluid when the gap distance from tool to work
aspect ratios, are greatly needed [6, 7]. To improve the
piece is reduced to a very small clearance approximately
machining performance of EDM, a combined method of
10 to 100 microns. Electrical energy from the spark is con-
22 Hongbing Wang et al.

ultrasonic and electrical discharge machining has been de- eight times greater than that of micro-EDM [16]. Gunawan
veloped in recent decades. The introduction of ultrasonic Setia Prihandana1 et al. proposed a low-frequency vibra-
vibration technology in traditional EDM can exert strong tion on workpiece in EDM process. The results showed that
disturbance on the flow of working fluid, thus promot- low-frequency vibration in EDM process could increase the
ing the elimination of erosion products and improving the material removal rate, and decreased the surface roughness
machining efficiency and stability [8]. and tool wear rate [17]. Jiangtao Chen et al. proposed a
Kremer et al. applied ultrasonic vibrations (20 kHz) to horizontal ultrasonic EDM. The ultrasonic vibration unit
the tool to achieve process improvements. The influence of was installed on the workpiece to make it vibrate horizon-
ultrasonic vibration on spark discharge was further stud- tally.The results showed the material removal rate (MRR)
ied through an experimental investigation. They reported was increased by nearly 3 times [18].
that the EDM efficiency was increased and the machined These papers reported that the flushing effect was sig-
surface, as well as the thermal affected layer, was improved nificantly enhanced by stirring of dielectric in the sparking
with the aid of ultrasonic vibration [9]. Shervani-Tabar and gap with the compound of vibration or ultrasonic vibration
Abdullah numerically and experimentally studied the ef- to the EDM processes. This was particularly significant for
fect of vibration of the tool in ultrasonic assisted EDM. The machining micro deep holes, where conventional flushing
results showed that the material removal rate increased in methods became inefficient.
the ultrasonic assisted EDM [10]. Abdullah A and Shab- The advantages of ultrasonic EDM were widely con-
gard MR designed and analyzed effect of electrode vibra- cerned, among which there were more researches on the
tion on EDM. The results showed that EDM with electrode compound ultrasonic vibration of tool electrode and less
vibration had higher material removal rate under low dis- researches on the compound ultrasonic vibration of work-
charge currents and low pulse times [11]. Takashi Endo et piece. When ultrasonic vibration was added to the tool
al. proposed vibration-assisted machining to micro-EDM electrode it was necessary and difficult to change greatly
using PZT.The results indicated that vibration assistance control system and electrode connection in EDM machine.
improved the machining stability and results in an extreme In addition, ultrasonic vibration could also make the tool
reduction of the machining time [12]. electrode swing violently, which had a negative impact on
Liu et al. proposed a three-dimensional (3D) model of machining efficiency and accuracy.In order to solve this
debris movement in the gap flow field of EDM small hole problem, more and more attention had been paid to ultra-
machining assisted with side flushing and ultrasonic vibra- sonic vibration of workpiece. When ultrasonic vibration of
tion.The results showed that periodic ultrasonic vibration workpiece was used, the change of structure of EDM was
can promote the movement of debris, which was benefi- relatively small. Most of the existing research focused on
cial to the removal of debris in the machining gap [13]. Ni the experimental method to explain the effect of ultrasonic
et al. presented an analytical model for calculating the vibration. At present, in the EDM of ultrasonic vibration of
tool-workpiece contact rate (TWCR) in ultrasonic vibration workpiece, the research of piezoelectric vibrator was very
assisted milling (UVAM). The results showed that UVAM few, and the optimization of process parameters was also
method had obvious technical advantages in reducing cut- lacking.
ting force, improving finished surface quality, suppress- Hence, an ultrasonic vibration assisted electrical dis-
ing burrs and optimizing chip formation [14]. Boonsong charge machining (UV-EDM) system with workpiece vibra-
Chongkolnee and Chaiya Praneetpongrung studied the ef- tion was proposed and studied in the paper. The piezoelec-
fect of frequency and amplitude of ultrasonic vibration on tric vibrator was analyzed and tested, and the process pa-
EDM efficiency.The results showed that the MRR, TWR and rameters were optimized by orthogonal experiment. Firstly,
surface roughness of the ultrasonic low frequency(29Khz) a piezoelectric vibrator which induced workpiece vibration
system with the large vibration amplitude were better than in UV-EDM was proposed and studied. The piezoelec-
the high frequency system (59Khz) with the small ampli- tric vibrator should have appropriate longitudinal mode
tude [15]. The above studies were mainly focused on the and frequency. Secondly, UV-EDM system was formed by
ultrasonic vibration of tool electrode. Another additional mounting the piezoelectric vibrator on the worktable of a
way of ultrasonic vibration was workpiece vibration. EDM machine. Then we carried out an experimental study
Gao and Liu reported that the workpiece vibration in- on the effect of ultrasonic vibration on the EDM machining
duced by ultrasonic vibration had a significant effect on the of micro deep hole in die steel. The orthogonal experimen-
performance of the EDM process. The results showed that tal design was used to optimize the process parameters.
the efficiency of the ultrasonically aided micro-EDM was The machining depth was set as the experiment index of
 Journal of Applied Science and Engineering, Vol. 24, No 1, Page 21-32 23

the orthogonal experiment. Four process parameters, in- of the elastic vibration in the piezoelectric body, the piezo-
cluding excitation voltage , pulse current, pulse width and electric body entered the mechanical resonance state, which
pulse gap, were selected as the orthogonal experimental became the piezoelectric vibrator. In the construction of the
factors. The influence degree of the four process parame- UV-EDM device the piezoelectric vibrator was a key part.
ters on the experiment index was obtained by optimization. The piezoelectric vibrator should have appropriate longitu-
And the best level combination of process parameters were dinal mode and frequency. The piezoelectric vibrator was
obtained. composed of an ultrasonic transducer and a workpiece. The
ultrasonic transducer was composed of a balance weight
2. Design and test of the piezoelectric vibrator pieces 1, a balance weight pieces 2, several piezoelectric
ceramics, a fixing pan, a conic body, a nut, a threaded bolt.
The construction of the UV-EDM device was shown in Fig.
The piezoelectric vibrator was added on the worktable of
1. In the UV-EDM device, the ultrasonic vibration was
the EDM machine. The workpiece was adjoined to the ul-
added to the workpiece. The proposed UV-EDM device
trasonic transducer rigidly and vibrates correspondingly.
included a EDM machine with a servo actuator, a pulse
The construction of the piezoelectric vibrator was shown
actuator and a electrode, as well as a excitation power
in Fig. 2.
source and the piezoelectric vibrator.
The finite element model of the piezoelectric vibrator
was showed in Fig. 3. The element SOLID 5 type of ele-
ments was adopted for piezoelectric ceramics and SOLID 5
for the rest of the piezoelectric vibrator.
Modal analysis was conducted using Power dynamic
mode extraction method that internally used the subspace
iterations. Modal shapes and natural frequencies were cal-
culated. The first longitudinal mode and natural frequency
of the piezoelectric vibrator were found by modal analy-
sis. According to the results of modal analysis, the first
longitudinal natural frequency was about 21682Hz and the
first longitudinal stretch and shrink modes were showed
respectively in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5.

Fig. 1. Schematic of the UV-EDM device.

Fig. 3. Finite element model of the piezoelectric vibrator.

Fig. 2. Geometric model of the piezoelectric vibrator.

When the alternating electric field was applied to the

piezoelectric body, various modes of elastic vibration could
be excited in the piezoelectric body through the electrome-
chanical coupling effect. When the frequency of the exter- Fig. 4. The first longitudinal stretch mode.
nal electric field was consistent with the natural frequency
24 Hongbing Wang et al.

the experiment. The piezoelectric vibrator was installed

on the worktable of the electrical discharge machine. The
workpiece was a cylindrical rod screwed with the piezo-
electric vibrator tip. The piezoelectric vibrator was driven
at certain excitation voltage and work frequency by using
a function generator (Type TFG2015G DDS) and it was
magnified by a power amplifier (ML3860B). The input ex-
citation voltage from the power amplifier was monitored
by a digital oscilloscope (GOS-652G). The experimental de-
Fig. 5. The first longitudinal shrink mode.
vice of the UV-EDM was shown schematically in Fig. 8.
In order to prevent the piezoelectric vibrator from being
According to the finite element calculation results, the affected by water, a cylindrical sleeve was arranged out-
piezoelectric vibrator was manufactured, as shown in Fig. side the piezoelectric vibrator which was shown in Fig. 9.
6. PSV-300F laser Doppler vibrometer was used to make The piezoelectric vibrator was sealed in the sleeve, and
frequency scanning on the piezoelectric vibrator, and the the wire on the piezoelectric vibrator was led out through
test result of the piezoelectric vibrator was shown in Fig. 7. the round hole on the sleeve. Die steel was selected as the
In the case of excitation voltage of 100V (peak-peak value), experimental workpiece material. The die steel was a kind
the first-order longitudinal vibration frequency (working of low-alloy carbon tool steel, its grade was CrWMn, its
frequency) of the piezoelectric vibrator was 21450Hz, and density was 7890 kg/m3 , elastic modulus was 209000 GPa,
the velocity of the piezoelectric vibrator tip was about 24 Poisson’s ratio was 0.269, and the hardness after quenching
mm/s. The test result was accord with the calculation of was greater than 62HRC. Other conductive metal materials
the model analysis. could also be used to make workpiece. Red copper was
used as the tool electrode material with a diameter of 0.5
mm.

Fig. 6. The piezoelectric vibrator.

Fig. 8. The experimental setup of the UV-EDM.

Fig. 7. Frequency scanning result of the vibrator. 4. The comparative analysis of EDM with and
without UV
The influences of ultrasonic and electrical discharge param-
3. The design and assembly of the UV-EDM de-
eters on the machining efficiency in EDM and UV-EDM
vice were studied. The machining depth of the micro hole in
An electrical discharge machine (Type BMW DB703) with the workpiece expressed the material removal rate.
servo-control generator (Iso-pulse) was used to conduct The machining depth for a micro hole of 0.5mm in
 Journal of Applied Science and Engineering, Vol. 24, No 1, Page 21-32 25

gap, causing better debris suspension and evacuation from

the gap and better dielectric fluid renewal. In UV-EDM pro-
cess the micro deep hole with aspect ratio 60 and depth 30
mm was successfully machined with an average diameter
of 0.5 mm in die steel as shown in Fig. 10.

Fig. 9. The piezoelectric vibrator with a cylindrical

sleeve.

Fig. 10. The piezoelectric vibrator with a cylindrical

die steel with and without UV was shown respectively in sleeve.
Fig.10. The process parameters were set as excitation volt-
age 90V,pulse current 12 A, work frequency 21450Hz, pulse It can be seen from Fig. 10 that the machining efficiency
width 12 µs, and pulse gap 18 µs. The machining efficiency with UV was significantly improved. The cavitation pro-
was expressed by the material removal rate (MRR) of the duced by UV in water intensified the energy accumulation,
workpiece, and formula 1 was the calculation formula of which was conducive to the generation of electric spark
MRR. discharge. The water jet produced by the breakdown of
cavitation bubble could remove the material on the work-
∆V HS HR2 π  
MRR = = = mm3 /s (1) piece surface. At the same time, ultrasonic pumping and
T T T
eddy current could improve the EDM environment. There-
In the formula, ∆V represented the volume of the micro
fore, the machining efficiency was improved obviously
hole, T represented the processing time, H represented the
after the workpiece was added with UV.
depth of the micro hole, S represented the cross-sectional
In order to further understand the influence of process
area of the micro hole, R represented the radius of the micro
parameters on the machining efficiency in UV-EDM, the
hole. The tool electrode remained unchanged in machin-
orthogonal experiment was established and the range anal-
ing, only the machining depth changed, so the machining
ysis was carried out. Through the range analysis and vari-
efficiency was measured by the machining depth of the
ance analysis of orthogonal experimental design to study
micro hole after machining for a period of time. The higher
the experimental data, we could get the most influential
the machining depth was, the higher the material removal
factors and the optimal combination of factors. Variance
rate of the workpiece was, and the higher the machining
analysis could further estimate the test error and analyze
efficiency was.
its influence, and judge the primary and secondary and
When the machining depth of the micro deep hole was
significance of test factors.
about 6 mm, the machining time with and without UV was
about equal. As the machining depth of the micro deep 5. The orthogonal experimental design of UV-
hole became deeper, the machining time with UV advances
EDM
more obviously. The result showed that the effect of UV
was more obvious with the increase of the depth of mi- 5.1. The principle of orthogonal experiment design
cro hole. In the UV-EDM device the longitudinal vibration In the experimental study, when three or more experimen-
mode of the piezoelectric vibrator created longitudinal com- tal factors need to be examined, it is often difficult to com-
pressive and rarefaction wave front which induced very plete if a comprehensive experiment is to be carried out. Or-
violent and accelerative debris transfer across the spark thogonal experiment is a kind of high efficiency experiment
26 Hongbing Wang et al.

Table 1. Factors and levels of the orthogonal experiment

Levels Excit-ation voltage (A)/V Pulse current (B)/A Pulse width (C)/µs pulse gap (D)/µs
1 60 9 20 15
2 80 12 30 35
3 100 15 40 55
4 120 18 50 75

design method which arranges multi factor test and finds current (B), pulse width (C) and pulse gap (D). All four
the optimal level combination. Orthogonal experiment de- factors are controllable. The various states or different val-
sign is a method used to design multi factor experiment ues of factors in the experiment were called factor levels.
scientifically. It uses a set of standardized orthogonal table With reference to practical experience, the range of values
to arrange the experiment, and the experiment results are for each factor were set as excitation voltage (A) 60 ∼ 90V,
processed by mathematical statistics method, so as to get pulse current (B) 6 ∼ 14A, pulse width (C) 20 ∼ 50 µs and
scientific conclusions. Orthogonal table is the basic tool pulse gap (D) 15 ∼ 75 µs. The level of each factor was
of experimental design. It is a kind of mathematical table designed as shown in Table 1. The processing time was 60s
based on the idea of balanced distribution and the theory in every experiment.
of combinatorial mathematics. Balanced distribution is the The orthogonal experiment of four factors and four lev-
core of orthogonal table [19]. An orthogonal table should els was arranged. The orthogonal table could be recorded
as L16 44 , Where L stood for the orthogonal table, the


have three characteristics: orthogonality, representative-
ness and comprehensive comparability. number 16 in the lower right corner of L stood for the num-
ber of tests, the base number 4 in brackets stood for the
5.2. The orthogonal experiment design process of UV- horizontal number of factors, and the index 4 stood for four
EDM factors. The orthogonal table could arrange four horizontal
5.2.1. Design of the orthogonal experiment scheme factors. If the experiment of 4 factors and 4 levels were
The orthogonal experimental design was used to optimize carried out comprehensively, the number of comprehen-
the process parameters. There were many factors that af- sive tests was 44 , that was 256, and only 16 times would be
fected the machining efficiency of micro hole in UV- EDM needed to adopt the orthogonal experiment. The minimum
process. It was impossible to study all the factors in a single implementation part was 16/256. The effect of saving test
experiment. Only according to the actual experience, we times was obvious.
could choose the factors that had great influence on the ex-
5.2.2. Treatment of experiment results-range method
periment indexes and were not clear enough. At the same
The scheme and results of orthogonal experiment were
time, it was necessary to determine the appropriate level
shown in Table 2. K1, K2, K3 and K4 was respectively the
of each factor according to professional experience. The
sum of the experiment index (Machining depth H) at the
experiment index was a characteristic quantity used to mea-
same level of each factor. The calculation process was as
sure the experiment effect in an experiment. It was similar
follows.
to the objective function in mathematics. The experiment
index was determined by the purpose of the experiment. Level 1 of factor A: K1 = H1 + H2 + H3 + H4 = 10.66 +
A experiment purpose needed at least one experiment in- 11.36 + 11.76 + 9.91 = 43.75;
dex. The reasonable determination of the experiment index Level 2 of factor A: K2 = H5 + H6 + H7 + H8 = 11.06 +
needed to analyze the actual experiment according to the 11.22 + 13.08 + 12.09 = 47.45;
professional knowledge and test requirements. For this Level 3 of factor A: K3 = H9 + H10 + H11 + H12 =
experiment, the purpose of the experiment was to find the 10.43 + 10.92 + 12.79 + 13.61 = 47.75;
optimal process parameters to maximize the machining Level 4 of factor A: K4 = H13 + H14 + H15 + H16 =
depth(H) of UV-EDM. The machining depth of UV-EDM 9.59 + 12.35 + 12.5 + 11.31 = 45.75;
depended on the process parameters. Therefore, the ma- In the same way, the sum of the experiment index of B
chining depth could be used as the experiment index of factor, C factor and D factor could be obtained.
this experiment, and it was a quantitative index. The fac- K1 , K2 , K3 , K4 was respectively the average value of the
tors that might affect the experiment index in the test were experiment index at the same level of each factor. The
called factors. So four process parameters were set as or- calculation process was as follows.
thogonal experimental factors: excitation voltage (A), pulse Level 1 of factor A : K1 = K1 /4 = 43.75/4 = 10.93;
 Journal of Applied Science and Engineering, Vol. 24, No 1, Page 21-32 27
−
→
Level 1 of factor A : K2 = K2 /4 = 47.45/4 = 11.86; K3 = fore, the formula of the sum of squares and the degree of
K3 /4 = 47.75/4 = 11.94; K4 = K4 /4 = 45.75/4 = 11.44; freedom was as follows:
In the same way, the average value of the experiment index S = S A + S B + SC + S D + S e , f = f A + f B + f C +
of B factor, C factor and D factor could be obtained. The f D + f e . The application of variance analysis in orthogonal
optimal level of each factor was judged by the value of design could estimate the experimental error and analyze
K1 , K2 , K3 and K4 . The combination of the optimal level of its influence, and judge the primary and secondary and
each factor was the optimal combination. significance of experimental factors.
Range R was the change range of the experiment index 2. Calculation of sum of square and degree of free-
when the level of each factor changed. The greater the R dom
of the factor, the greater the influence on the experiment The total sum of square could be calculated as follows:
 2
index, so it was more important. So we could judge the S = ∑16
2 16 1 16
i =1 ( Hi − H̄ ) = ∑i =1 Hi − 16 ∑i =1 Hi =
primary and secondary factors according to the range. The
10.662 + 11.362 + · · · + 11.312 − 2132.13 = 19.23
calculation formula of the range R of factor A was:
Then the sum of square of factor A was:
R = max[K1 , K2 , K3 , K4 ] − min[K1 , K2 , K3 , K4 ] =  2
1 4 2 1 16
11.94 − 10.93 = 1.01. In the same way, the range R of B
SA = 4 ∑i =1 Ki − 16 ∑i =1 Hi =
1 2 2 2 2


factor, C factor and D factor could be obtained. 4 43.75 + 47.45 + 47.75 + 45.75 − 2132.13 = 2.54
In Table 2, according to the range R of each factor we Using the same method, the sum of squares of the other
can see that the influence degree of the four process param- three factors could be obtained: SB = 8.78, SC = 2.68, SD =
eters on the machining depth was: B (pulse current) > D( 4.25
pulse gap ) > C (pulse width) > A (excitation voltage), The sum of square of error was:
which meant that pulse current had the greatest influence Se = S − S A − SB − SC − SD = 19.23 − 2.54 − 8.78 −
on the machining depth, and pulse gap, pulse width and 2.68 − 4.25 = 0.98
excitation voltage decrease in turn. According to the value The degree of freedom f of the sum of square of to-
−
→
of K1 , K2 , K3 and K4 , the best level combination of process tal deviations was equal to the number of the experiment
parameters were A3-B3-C2-D1, then excitation voltage was minus 1 in the orthogonal table, and the degree of free-
100V, pulse current was 15A, pulse width was 30 µs, and dom of the sum of square of deviation of various factors
pulse gap was 15 µs. was equal to the number of levels minus 1.Therefore, it
could be concluded that: The total degree of freedom was
5.2.3. Treatment of experiment results-variance analysis f = n − 1 = 15, the other four factors were all 3, and the
The range analysis method was simple and convenient to error degree of freedom was equal to 3.
use, and the optimized results could be obtained through 3. Significance test
simple calculation, but the range analysis method could not According to the data calculated above, the variance
estimate the experiment error, and the analysis of variance analysis data results could be listed, as shown in Table 3.
method could further estimate the experiment error and F test was used to test the significance of factors. For
S /f
analyze its influence. When variance analysis was used, example, if F value of factor A was F = SAe / f ee , then sig-
it was required to leave a blank column in the orthogonal nificance level α was selected and critical value Fα ( f A , f e )
experiment table as the error estimation value, as shown in was found from F distribution table. If FA > Fα ( f A , f e ) oc-
Table 2. curred, it indicated that under significance level α, the level
1. Decomposition of degree of freedom and sum of change of factor A had significant influence on the experi-
squares ment index, and the confidence degree of this conclusion
The total variation of the 16 observed values in the was 100(1 − α)%.
orthogonal experiment consisted of five parts: factor A, It could be seen from Table 3 that according to the results
factor B, factor C, factor D and error variation. For a of F test, the significance level of factor B was 0.1 and that
group of experimental data, H1 , H2 , · · · , H16 , the average of the other three factors was 0.25. It could be seen that
value of these data was H̄, then the difference Ht − H̄ (i = the most significant factor affecting the machining depth
1, 2, · · · , 16) was the deviation of the group of data, the was B factor, followed by D factor, C factor and a factor.
value of the deviation was expressed by the sample vari- Combined with the analysis results in Table 2, the optimal
ance σ̂2 , and the calculation formula was σ̂2 = S/ f , where combination A3-B3-C2-D1 could be determined.
2
S = ∑16 i =1 ( Hi − H̄ ) was the sum of squares of deviation of
4.Confidence analysis
this group of data, and f was the degree of freedom. There- After the optimal combination was selected, the interval
28 Hongbing Wang et al.

Table 2. The orthogonal experimental table L16 (44 ) and results.

Experiment A(Excitation B ( Pulse C (Pulse width D (Pulse gap Empty Maching

number voltage/V) current/A) / µs) / µs) column depth(H)
(mm)
1 1(60) 1(9) 1(20) 1(15) 1 10.66
2 1(60) 2(12) 2(30) 2(35) 2 11.36
3 1(60) 3(15) 3(40) 3(55) 3 11.76
4 1(60) 4(18) 4(50) 4(75) 4 9.97
5 2(80) 1(9) 2(30) 3(55) 4 11.06
6 2(80) 2(12) 1(20) 4(75) 3 11.22
7 2(80) 3(15) 4(50) 1(15) 2 13.08
8 2(80) 4(16) 3(40) 2(35) 1 12.09
9 3(100) 1(9) 3(40) 4(75) 2 10.43
10 3(100) 2(12) 4(50) 3(55) 1 10.92
11 3(100) 3(15) 1(20) 2(35) 4 12.79
12 3(100) 4(18) 2(30) 1(15) 3 13.61
13 4(120) 1(9) 4(50) 2(35) 3 9.59
14 4(120) 2(12) 3(40) 1(15) 4 12.35
15 4(120) 3(15) 2(30) 4(75) 1 12.5
16 4(120) 4(18) 1(20) 3(55) 2 11.31
K1 43.75 41.74 45.98 49.69 46.17
K2 47.45 45.85 48.52 45.82 46.18
K3 47.75 50.13 46.62 45.05 46.18
K4 45.75 46.97 43.56 44.13 46.17
K1 10.93 10.44 11.49 12.42 11.54
K2 11.86 11.46 12.13 11.45 11.55
K3 11.94 12.53 11.66 11.26 11.55
K4 11.44 11.74 10.89 11.03 11.54
R 1.01 2.09 1.24 1.4 0.01
Importance of BPulse current >D(Pulse gap)> CPulse width > AExcitation voltage
factors
Best level A3-B3-C2-D1
combination

estimation of the experiment index of the optimal combina- number of the experiment; f ∗ was the sum of the degrees
tion was needed, and the confidence degree of the interval of freedom of significant factors. It could be obtained
estimation was given at the same time. In the interval esti- from calculation that f e0 = 9, Se0 = 9.47, N = 16, Se = 0.98,
mation, the estimation value Ĥ0 was calculated first, and f c = 3, f ∗ = 3. According to the table in reference [19] , it
then the error ε a was calculated. α was the maximum sig- could be concluded that F0.1 (1, 3 + 9) = 3.17 So we could
nificant level of significant factor. The significance level of get the following result:
significant factor B in this experiment was 0.1, so the max-
imum significance level was 0.1. If the interval of the test r h i
index was estimated to be Ĥa ± ε a , there was a probability Error limit ε a = 3.17 × (0.98 + 9.47)/ (3 + 9) 116
+3 =
of 1 − α to determine the true value of the experiment index 0.83
of the optimal combination would be between Ĥa − ε a and
Ĥa + ε a . The following was the specific calculation.
Therefore, if the combination A3-B3-C2-D1 was the
Ĥa = µ̂ + â3 + b̂3 + ĉ2 + dˆ1 , Through calculation, we optimal combination, the true value of the index would
could get the following results: µ̂ = H̄ = 11.544, â3 = be between 14.389 − 0.83 and 14.389 + 0.83, that was,
0.394, b̂9 = 0.989, ĉ2 = 0.586, dˆ1 = 0.876. Finally, we could between 13.559 − 15.219, and the confidence level was
get the following result: Ĥa = 14.389. 100(1 − α)% = 100(1 − 0.1)% = 90% The optimized pro-
r h i cess parameters were selected and the machining time was
Error limit ε a = Fa (1, f c + f 0 ) (Se + Se0 ) / ( f c + f e ) 1+Nf ∗ . set as 150s, the machining depth could reach 33.5mm, and
Where, f 0 was the sum of the degrees of freedom of the the depth diameter ratio was about 67 .The machining
insignificant factors; S " was the sum of the squares of depth obtained by using the optimized process parameters
the deviations of the insignificant factors; N was the total had been significantly improved.
 Journal of Applied Science and Engineering, Vol. 24, No 1, Page 21-32 29

Table 3. The variance analysis data results.

Source of Sum of Freedom Mean square sum f Significance

variance squares of F MS level α
deviations S
Factor A 2.54 3 0.847 2.589 0.25
Factor B 8.78 3 2.927 8.950 0.1
Factor C 2.68 3 0.893 2.732 0.25
Factor D 4.25 3 1.417 4.332 0.25
Error 0.98 3 0.327
The sum 19.23 15 The critical value Fα
F0.25 (3, 3) = 2.36, F0.1 (3, 3) = 5.39, F0.05 (3, 3) = 9.28

5.2.4. Influences of process parameters on the machining depth

Fig. 11 showed the influence of excitation voltage on the
machining depth for a micro hole of 0.5mm in die steel.
It was seen that the machining depth increased rapidly
when excitation voltage started to increase from A1(60V),
then when excitation voltage changed from A2(80V) to
A3(100V) the machining depth changed slowly. At last
when excitation voltage exceeded A3(100V), the machining
depth started to decrease. The result indicated excitation
voltage had an optimum value. The results showed that
the increase of excitation voltage was beneficial to the im-
provement of machining depth, but to a certain extent, the
machining speed began to decline, so it was necessary to
find the best value of excitation voltage. Thus, the circula-
tion of dielectric and the removal of machining debris are Fig. 11. Machining depth against excitation voltage with
improved. UV.
The magnitude of the excitation voltage was directly
proportional to the amplitude of the piezoelectric vibra-
tor. The larger amplitude of piezoelectric vibrator would
produce a larger pressure between tool electrode and work-
piece. Therefore, the dielectric circulation and the removal
of machining debris were enhanced. The machining depth
increased with the increase of excitation voltage. At this
time, the pressure between the tool electrode and the work-
piece was not large enough to destroy the stability of the
tool electrode. When the excitation voltage increased to
a certain extent, the excessive pressure between the tool
electrode and the workpiece made the dielectric vibrate
violently, which caused the tool electrode to skew, and then
affected the machining efficiency.The excitation voltage
and the amplitude of the piezoelectric vibrator should be
appropriate to achieve the best processing efficiency. The Fig. 12. Machining depth against pulse current with UV.
energy of a single pulse current depended on charge volt-
age and current between the electrode and the workpiece
and charge time. So the energy of the single pulse was was also named pulse width, u(t)(V) was charge voltage
expressed by equation 2. which changed with time between the electrode and the
Z t workpiece, At) ( A) was pulse current which changed with
Wst = u(t)i (t)dt (2)
0 time between the electrode and the work-piece.
where tc was charge time of the single pulse (µs) which Fig. 12 showed the influence of pulse current on the ma-
30 Hongbing Wang et al.

chining depth for a micro deep hole of 0.5mm in die steel

with UV. The result dictated the machining depth increased
when pulse current changed from B1(9A) to B3 (M, 5A).
However, when pulse current exceeded B 3(15A), the ma-
chine depth decreased greatly.

It is dictated that increasing pulse current was useful to

improving the machine depth with UV when pulse current
was in a definite range, but the machine depth dropped
as discharge current became too high. According to equa-
tion 1, the charge energy of a single pulse increased with
a large increasing current. Accordingly the intensive ex-
plosion force was induced and the dielectric fluid flowed
acutely. With the increase of pulse current, the explosive
force would be strong, and the working fluid would vi-
Fig. 13. Machining depth against excitation voltage with
brate violently, which would affect the stability of the tool
UV.
electrode and weaken the machining efficiency. So the opti-
mum value of pulse current should be found.

Fig. 13 showed the machining depth against pulse

width on the machining depth for a micro hole of 0.5mm in
die steel with UV. The result dictated the machining depth
increased when pulse width changed from C1(20µs) to C2(
30 µs). However, when pulse width exceeded C2(30µs), the
machining depth dropped greatly. Pulse width had an op-
timized value. According to equation 1, the charge energy
of a single pulse increased with a large increasing (pulse
width). With the increase of pulse width, the energy car-
ried by the single pulse increased correspondingly, which
was beneficial to the workpiece processing. The increase
of pulse with improved the circulation and discharge en-
vironment of working fluid, intensified the movement of
particles in the working medium, made it easier to form Fig. 14. Machining depth against pulse current with UV.
discharge channels, and improved the processing of work-
pieces with high pulse energy more obviously. With the
increase of pulse width, the explosive force would also be- 6. Conclusion
come strong, and the working fluid would vibrate violently
1) The ultrasonic vibration assisted EDM device with work-
at the same time, which would weaken the efficiency of
piece vibration was constructed. The device consisted of a
machining. So the optimum value of pulse width should
EDM machine including a servo actuator and pulse actua-
also be found.
tor and electrode, excitation power source, a piezoelectric
Fig. 14 showed the machining depth against pulse gap vibrator which induced ultrasonic vibration of the work-
on the machining depth for a micro hole of 0.5mm in die piece. The piezoelectric vibrator was designed, fabricated
steel with UV.The result dictated the machining depth de- and tested. The first longitudinal natural frequency was
creased when discharge current changed from D1(15µs) to about 21682 Hz by modal analysis, The test result showed
D4(75µs).With the increase of pulse with, the energy car- the first-order longitudinal vibration frequency (working
ried by the single pulse decreased correspondingly, which frequency) of the piezoelectric vibrator was 21450 Hz and
was not beneficial to the workpiece processing. From the the velocity of the piezoelectric vibrator tip was about
result of the machining experiment of micro holesit could 24 mm/s. The test result was accord with the calculation
be seen that the proposed UV-EDM device could drill micro of the model analysis.
deep holes with high aspect ratio in hard materials such as 2) A machining experiment was studied on the effect of
die steel. ultrasonic vibration on the EDM machining of micro deep
 Journal of Applied Science and Engineering, Vol. 24, No 1, Page 21-32 31

hole in die steel. The orthogonal experimental design was [7] Nurbol Sabyrov, M. P. Jahan, Azat Bilal, and Asma
used to optimize the process parameters. The best level Perveen. Ultrasonic vibration assisted electro-discharge
combination and the influence degree of the four process machining (EDM)-An overview. Materials, 12(3), 2019.
parameters on the machining depth index were gotten by [8] Bharat C Khatri, Pravin Rathod, and Janak B Valaki.
the orthogonal experimental design Through the analysis Ultrasonic vibration-assisted electric discharge machin-
of variance,the interval estimation of the experiment index ing: A research review, feb 2016.
machining depth of the optimal combination was carried [9] D Kremer, C Lhiaubet, and A. Moisan. A Study of
out, and the confidence degree of the interval estimation the Effect of Synchronizing Ultrasonic Vibrations with
was given. Pulses in EDM. CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology,
3) The machining depth with diameter Φ0.5 mm could 40(1):211–214, 1991.
reach 33.5 mm, and the depth diameter ratio was about 67 [10] Mohammad T Shervani-Tabar, Amir Abdullah, and
with the optimized process parameters and machining time Mohammad R Shabgard. Numerical and experimental
150 s. The proposed UV-EDM device could effectively drill study on the effect of vibration of the tool in ultrasonic
micro deep holes with high aspect ratio in hard materials assisted EDM. International Journal of Advanced Manu-
such as die steel. facturing Technology, 32(7-8):719–731, 2007.
[11] Amir Abdullah and Mohammad R Shabgard. Effect
Acknowledgments of ultrasonic vibration of tool on electrical discharge
This work supported by Suzhou science and technology machining of cemented tungsten carbide (WC-Co). In-
planning project (SYG201823); Sunzhou vocational univer- ternational Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology,
sity research project (SVU2018YY07): sponsored by Power 38(11-12):1137–1147, 2008.
and ultrasound research center of Suzhou Vocational Uni- [12] Takashi Endo, Takayuki Tsujimoto, and Kimiyuki Mit-
versity sui. Study of vibration-assisted micro-EDM-The effect
of vibration on machining time and stability of dis-
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