NOVEL ELECTRODE DESIGN METHOD FOR ORBITING ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE MACHINING

Abstract

Orbiting electrical discharge machining (EDM) introduces additional electrode motion to enhance debris removal mechanism during machining process. This method offers static EDM superior machining quality due to advancement of debris removal. However, designers often encounter design difficulties of electrodes used for orbiting purposes. There is no CAD package that currently supports geometry adjustment for orbiting motion of EDM process on the market. Therefore, designers perform manual electrode compensation for orbital motions. Manual compensation is considered as a big challenge for parts with intricate geometry, is prone to human-error, and consumes huge amount of design time. This research aims to facilitate those difficulties encountered using the principle of inverse Minkowski sum. A detail explanation about electrode design steps and its validation is presented in the paper. This algorithm is integrated and developed in commercial CAD system as an intelligent tool to automate the electrode design process.