A New Wire Electrode for Improving the Machining Characteristics of High-Volume Fraction SiCp/Al Composite in WEDM

In wire electrical discharge machining, due to the random distribution of the insulating SiC particles, frequent wire rupture, low machining efficiency and surface quality when the common brass wire electrode (BWE) is used to process high-volume content SiCp/Al composite often appears. To address this issue, this paper proposes a new preparation method of zinc coating and surface microstructure on wire electrodes (ZCSMWE). The preparation process of ZCSMWE includes casting, coating, annealing and plastic processing. The experimental results show that, compared with BWE, ZCSMWE can increase material removal rate (MRR) by 16.67%, reduce surface roughness (Ra) by 21.18% and reduce wire rupture under the same discharge parameters. The analysis of workpiece surface topography shows that ZCSMWE can significantly decrease the recast layer and microcrack on the machined surface. The improvement mechanism of ZCSMWE main includes: The low work function zinc can promote the forming of the discharge channel. The vaporization of low boiling temperature zinc can reduce the temperature of the discharge gap and promote the ejecting of workpiece material. In addition, the surface microstructure on ZCSMWE can make the discharge spark more uniformly distributed and increase the proportion of the effective discharge, which contributes to making the discharge crater on the workpiece and wire electrode shallower and more uniform. The surface microstructure on ZCSMWE can also effectively improve the dielectric circulation, which can promote discharge debris to be expelled out and reduce the temperature in the discharge gap. Then, the wire rupture and microcracks on the workpiece surface can be reduced.