Application Research on Powder Mixed EDM in Rough Machining

Powder Mixed Electric Discharge Machining (PMEDM) has different mechanism from conventional EDM, which can improve the surface roughness and surface quality distinctly and to obtain nearly mirror surface effects. It is a useful finish machining method and is researched and applied by many countries. However there are little research on rough machining of PMEDM. Experiments show that PMEDM machining makes discharge breakdown easier, enlarges the discharge gaps and widens discharge passage, and at last forms even distributed and "large and shadow" shaped etched cavities. Because of much loss of discharge energy in the discharge gaps and reduction of ejecting force on the melted material, the machining efficiency gets lower and the surface roughness gets small in PMEDM machining in comparison with conventional EDM machining. This paper performs experimental research on the machining efficiency and surface roughness of PMEDM in rough machining. The machining efficiency of PMEDM can be highly increased by selecting proper discharge parameters (increasing peak current, reducing pulse width) with approximate surface roughness in comparison with conventional EDM machining. Although PMEDM can improve machining efficiency in rough efficiency, but a series of problems like electrode wear, efficiently separation of machined scraps from the powder mixed working fluid, should be solved before PMEDM machining is really applied in rough machining. Experiments result shows that powder mixed EDM machining can obviously improve machining efficiency at the same surface roughness by selecting proper discharging parameters, and can provide reference accordingly for the application of PMEDM machining technology in rough machining.

GENERATE ROUGH TOOL-PATHS FROM UNORGANIZED POINT-CLOUD DIRECTLY

An approach is presented to generate rough interference-free tool-paths directly from massive unorganized data in rough machining that is performed by machining volumes of material in a slice-by-slice manner. Unorganized point-cloud is firstly converted to cross-section data. Then a robust data-structure named tool-path net is constructed to save tool-path data. Optimal algorithms for partitioning sub-cut-areas and computing interference-free cutter-locations are put forward. Finally the tool-paths are linked in a zigzag milling mode, which can be transformed into a traveling sales man problem. The experiment indicates optimal tool paths can be acquired, and high computation efficiency can be obtained and interference can be avoided successfully.

RESEARCH ON THE 3-AXES ROUGH MILLING OF MULTI-SURFACES

In particular, a fair amount of the machining time may be spent in rough cutting process when a large portion of the raw material has to be removed. Therefore, an algorithm for generating the toolpath for rough cutting is suggested in the paper. The algorithm is based on an extended tracing method for plane/surface intersection is proposed for smooth surface. A 2.5D milling or parallel offset machining is to be used to significantly improve producitvity and lead to lower production costs for the sculptured multi surfaces part rough machining..

Experimental Study of Machinability in Millgrinding of SiCp/Al Composites

An attempt was made to investigate the machinability of Si Cp/Al composites based on the experimental study using mill-grinding processing method. The experiments were carried out on a high-speed CNC machining center using integrated abrasive cutting tool. The effects of combined machining parameters, e g, cutting speed（vs）, feed rate（vf）, and depth of cut（ap）, with the same change of material removal rate（MRR） on the mill-grinding force and surface roughness（Ra） were investigated. The formation mechanism of typical machined surface defects was analyzed by SEM. The experimental results reveal that with the same change of material removal rate, lower mill-grinding force values can be gained by increasing depth of cut and feed rate simultaneously at higher cutting speed. With the same change of MRR value, lower surface roughness values can be gained by increasing the feed rate at higher cutting speed, rather than just increasing the depth of cut, or increasing the feed rate and depth of cut simultaneously. The machined surface of Si Cp/Al composites reveals typical defects which can influence surface integrity.

Contact stiffness and damping of spiral bevel gears under transient mixed lubrication conditions

Existing studies primarily focus on stiffness and damping under full-film lubrication or dry contact conditions.However,most lubricated transmission components operate in the mixed lubrication region,indicating that both the asperity contact and film lubrication exist on the rubbing surfaces.Herein,a novel method is proposed to evaluate the time-varying contact stiffness and damping of spiral bevel gears under transient mixed lubrication conditions.This method is sufficiently robust for addressing any mixed lubrication state regardless of the severity of the asperity contact.Based on this method,the transient mixed contact stiffness and damping of spiral bevel gears are investigated systematically.The results show a significant difference between the transient mixed contact stiffness and damping and the results from Hertz(dry)contact.In addition,the roughness significantly changes the contact stiffness and damping,indicating the importance of film lubrication and asperity contact.The transient mixed contact stiffness and damping change significantly along the meshing path from an engaging-in to an engaging-out point,and both of them are affected by the applied torque and rotational speed.In addition,the middle contact path is recommended because of its comprehensive high stiffness and damping,which maintained the stability of spiral bevel gear transmission.

Development and experimental investigation of duplex turning process

The aim of the present study was to develop a novel turning process with the simultaneous application of two cutting tools in place of a single cutting tool during machining of rotating surfaces. This process is referred to as duplex turning, and is used to eliminate the need for a secondary final cut operation following the turning process. To achieve this, a secondary （auxiliary） tool post is mounted on the cross slide of the centre lathe machine after fabrication. The secondary tool post is used to hold a secondary cutting tool that penetrates the workpiece from opposite side of the primary cutting tool to perform the finish cut operation during turn machining of the cylin- drical workpiece. The performance of the developed process was tested on AISI 1040 alloy steel, using two single point cutting tools made of high speed steel. The effects of cutting velocity, feed rate, primary depth of cut and secondary depth of cut were analyzed and discussed with regard to average surface roughness, and were also compared with normal turning process. From the results, it was concluded that duplex turning process was capable of providing better surface finishes compared to those generated by normal turning. It was also found that higher cutting velocity yielded better surface finishes within the determined ranges of the selected parameters.