Precision Micro-EDM with On-machine Measurement and In-process Monitoring

With increasing demands for the miniaturization of products, micro-EDM is a proven technology to fabricate small components potentially used as mould inserts for micro injection moulding, small holes for engine nozzle and cooling holes for turbine blades. However, because of the interaction by multiphysical fields, e.g. thermodynamic, hydrodynamic, electrical and sound fields in small gaps, it is hard to model the EDM process and thus, prove first-right products. By incorporating in-process monitoring, e.g. pulse classification, and on-machine measurement, e.g. chromatic confocal microscopy, as real-time feedback, this PhD research aims at establishing a predictive model for the EDM process based on the digital twin method. As a feasibility verification, a tool wear compensation model will at first be a study case. Then more factors could be considered to refine this model, such as variation of process signatures and evolution of cavity topography. To the final ambition, this research will help improve the digital management of micro-EDMed products with a visualized index integrated into self-developed software.