ARTICLE IN PRESS

International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 49 (2009) 788–792

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International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijmactool

Short Communication

Analysis of kerf width in micro-WEDM

Di Shichun, Chu Xuyang, Wei Dongbo, Wang Zhenlong, Chi Guanxin, Liu Yuan
School of Mechanical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China

a r t i c l e in f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In micro-wire electrical discharge machining (micro-WEDM), the machined kerf width varies with
Received 31 December 2008 different machining parameters, which greatly influences the machining precision. In order to study the
Received in revised form kerf variations in micro-WEDM, the mathematical model of wire lateral vibration in machining process
29 April 2009
is established and its analytical solution is obtained in this paper. The model is practically verified on a
Accepted 30 April 2009
Available online 14 May 2009
self-developed micro-WEDM machine. Under this model, a 30.8 mm width slot is achieved on a stainless
steel workpiece with +30 mm wire-tool.
Keywords: & 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Micro-WEDM
Kerf width
Wire vibration

1. Introduction the discharge gap variation in micro-WEDM is quite small, the

With development and wide application of micro-electrome-
chanical system, micro-fabrication technology has become a
hotspot in the manufacturing industry. To meet demands of
micro-parts machining, many new machining methods have been
developed. As a branch of wire electrical discharge machining
(WEDM), micro-WEDM extends its capabilities to micro-parts
machining by using micro-wire tool (+20–50 mm) and micro-
energy pulse generator (1–10 mJ per pulse). With the advantages
of non-contact machining, high efficiency and low cost, micro-
WEDM is an excellent process for micro-machining and has been
widely used in micro-parts manufacturing [1–3].
Because of the small size of the micro-part, its dimension
accuracy becomes more important in micro-part manufacture. In
WEDM, the corner errors and kerf variations mainly caused by the
wire tool deflection and vibration in the discharge gap are the
main factors to influence the machining accuracy. Due to the less
thickness of micro-parts, the wire lag phenomenon is non-
significant in micro-WEDM. The kerf variations influencing the
dimension accuracy of the micro-parts are more important in
micro-WEDM. Recently, some researches have been carried out to
study the kerf variations and the 25–75 mm discharge gap is
usually achieved in conventional WEDM [4,5]. Compared with
normal WEDM, Huang Ruining et al. [6] have obtained 4 mm
discharge gap in micro-WEDM. Yunn-Shiuan Liao et al. [2] and
Wang Yuanyuan [7] have also found that the kerf width varies
with different machining parameters, such as wire tension, open
voltage in micro-WEDM. Although the value of errors caused by
 Corresponding author. Fax: +86 045186416323.
E-mail address: chuxuyang7@126.com (X. Chu).
relative errors that can be found in miniature parts are bigger than
the corresponding values in conventional WEDM. Therefore, it is
significant to investigate the kerf variations in detail so as to
improve the machining accuracy in micro-WEDM. Unfortunately,
little research related to the kerf width variation has been done.
This paper concentrates on the kerf analyzing in micro-WEDM
machining. The breakdown distance and wire lateral vibration in
process are mainly discussed. The wire lateral vibration model is
established and its analytical solution is obtained to calculate
maximum amplitude of wire vibration. And some experiments are
performed with different machining parameters.
2. Kerf width analysis
2.1. Construction of the kerf width
Fig. 1 shows the top view of kerf on workpiece in micro-WEDM.
In machining process, when the distance d0 between wire and
workpiece becomes close enough, the dielectric fluids in the
clearance is broke down by the voltage between two electrodes
and then the discharge occurs. Due to the random discharge force
acting on the flexible wire (diameter D), the wire will vibrate
stochastically in the gap. Distance A is supposed to be maximum
amplitude for the lateral vibration in the section. Neglecting the
secondary discharge caused by the debris, the kerf width (B) cut
by the micro-WEDM can be expressed in Eq. (1). Therefore, when
the wire electrode is pre-selected, the kerf width is mainly
decided by the breakdown distance d0 and wire lateral vibration
amplitude A
B ¼ D þ 2A þ 2d0 (1)

0890-6955/$ - see front matter & 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2009.04.006
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
S. Di et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 49 (2009) 788–792
Fig. 1. Top view of the kerf machined by WEDM.
2.2. Breakdown distance
The breakdown distance d0 is the minimum distance from wire
to workpiece when discharge does not happen. Its value depends
on the electric field intensity and insulation medium between two
electrodes. However, it is difficult to calculate the breakdown
distance according to theory because the breakdown condition is
greatly influenced by the purity of insulation medium, and thus,
the breakdown distance should be obtained through the experi-
ments. The experiment took place in kerosene which is a usual
dielectric fluid in micro-WEDM and the workpiece is 0.06 mm
stainless steel plate. To avoid the electrostatics influence of the
flexible wire, a thin AgW rod electrode with a diameter of 80 mm is
used instead of the wire electrode.
Process of the experiment is as follows: (1) move workpiece
close to rod electrode and adjust discharge voltage (U) to 30 V as
the apperceive voltage, (2) make the voltage between two
electrodes effective and then move gradually the workpiece
towards the rod with a step of 0.1 mm until short-circuit occurs,
set this point as zero point, (3) move back the workpiece with a
random distance (0.5–3.0 mm) and then slowly increase the open
voltage until the gap is discharged, and (4) change the discharge
position of both rod electrode and workpiece after each discharge
and then replicate the test 20 times for each distance.
The statistical curves of discharge voltage and discharge times
under different discharge distances are shown in Fig. 2. As the
results shown in Fig. 2, for a certain distance, the discharged
voltage is within a certain range and the distribution of voltage is
approximately normal. With the distance increasing, the
breakdown voltage increases and its distribution becomes
dispersed. The data of discharge voltage in experiment are
averaged; the relationship between breakdown distance and
discharge voltage is almost linear which can be expressed by
Eq. (2). In addition, due to the bubbles and discharge debris in the
discharge gap, the actual breakdown distance will be enlarged in
micro-WEDM process
U  36:85
d0 ¼
28:50
2.3. The wire-tool lateral vibration model
The vibration behaviour of wire in the WEDM process is
extremely complicated because the magnitude, occurrence time
and location of the discharge force acting on the wire are
stochastic in nature. There are continual researches in mathema-
tical models of the wire vibration, most of which concentrate on
the machining stability [8], material removal rate [4], and wire lag
on the tradition WEDM [9–11]. None of them focuses on the wire
lateral vibrations which will lead to unwanted grooves in the
789
Fig. 2. Discharge times under different voltage and distance.
workpiece [9]. So it is necessary to set up the lateral vibration
model of wire-tool in micro-WEDM.
By using micro-wire tool and micro-energy pulse generator,
micro-WEDM has its own characters compared with traditional
WEDM. Therefore, several instructions should be discussed to
build the mathematical model of micro-wire. First, because there
is little wire lag in micro-WEDM, the electrode wire can be
regarded as a vertical line in the lateral section and the vibration
theory of vibrate strings can be used in this model. Second, as the
leaning open strategy is always used in micro-WEDM to improve
the process stability [12], it is properly reckoned that there is
adequate time for the wire to vibrate hundreds of times in one
lateral section and thus the kerf width of this section is enlarged.
With the continuation of processing, the wire will be moved to the
next un-machined lateral section and continue vibrating there.
This is the reason why fringes often appear on workpiece surface
in micro-WEDM. Under stable machining condition, the lateral
vibration amplitude of each section is approximately the same, so
the uniform width is machined under consecutive lateral vibra-
tion of wire electrode. Third, for the single discharge, the
impacting time of the discharge force on the wire is extremely
short [13]. The force vibration being ignored, the single discharge
force acting on the wire can be simplified as an impulse force.
However, there is more than one discharge happening on one spot
in the gap because the discharge frequency (105 Hz) is far greater
than the vibration frequency (103 Hz). According to research
results of Mohri et al. [14], the discharge force is proportional to
the discharge frequency. Therefore, the discharge impact on one
spot of wire electrode is simplified as follows:
F d ðtÞ ¼ sF s dðtÞ (3)
(2)
where Fd(t) is the discharge force on certain spot, s the numbers of
discharge occurring on that spot, Fs the magnitude of single
discharge force, d(t) the unit impulse function.
Thus, in order to obtain amplitude of the wire lateral vibration,
the model of wire lateral vibration after the last discharge in a
certain section is established with the following assumptions: (1)
the wire is perfectly flexible and static, (2) the axial tension
remains constant between the wire guides, and (3) the wire only
vibrates in the lateral section. Then the wire-tool lateral vibrating
model is built in the process. When the last discharge happens to
the x point on the wire, the wire will start vibrating by the
discharge force Fd on that point. The partial differential equation
of the wire vibration based on standard vibration theory of
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790 S. Di et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 49 (2009) 788–792

vibrating strings is expressed as follows: 2.4. Analysis and discussion on vibration amplitude

@2 y @y @2 y The solution above reveals that the amplitude of the wire

T  m þ F d ðtÞdðz  xÞ ¼ r 2 (4)
@z2 @t @t vibration is related to single discharge force Fd, numbers of
where T is the wire tension (N), y the displacement of wire (m), r discharge on spot s, wire tension T, two wire guides distance l and
the wire linear density (kg/m), m the specific damping co-efficient damping co-efficient m in the gap.
(N s/m2). The single discharge force Fd is mainly caused by the bubble
This equation is solved by the method of variables separation impact in the discharge gap, and its value is almost impossible to
and contour integral with following initial condition (IC) and be determined. Under the same discharge frequency, Fd is
boundary condition (BC): determined by the single discharge energy which is influenced
( by the discharge open voltage and charge capacitance for RC pulse
yð0; tÞ ¼ 0 power. Fd is also influenced by the discharge frequency. Mohri
IC :
yðl; tÞ ¼ 0 et al. [14] finds that wire vibration will decrease in multi-pulse
( discharge than single discharge when the pulse interval is less
yðz; 0Þ ¼ 0
BC : (5) than 20 ms. This is because in multi-pulse discharge the bubble
ð@y=@tÞðz; 0Þ ¼ 0 impact caused by one discharge will be partly absorbed by others.
As a result, more discharge frequency will cause less single
Here l is the distance between two wire guides; its value is
discharge force on the wire. In micro-WEDM, the discharge
influenced by the workpiece height. The analytical solution of Eq.
frequency is mainly determined by the worktable feeding speed
(3) is shown below:
and the reference voltage. And the discharge time s is mainly
  npx influenced by the charge resistance because the less value of the
2sF s X 1 ðm=2rÞt
e npx
yðx; x; tÞ ¼ sin sin sin ðon tÞ resistance will decrease charging time of the capacitor. In a certain
lr n¼1 on l l
vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi machine condition, shorter charging time will increase the
u
un2 p2 T 2 m2 discharge chance on one spot of the wire. Therefore, the relation-
on ¼ t  ðn ¼ 1; 2; 3; 4 . . .Þ (6) ship between wire vibration amplitude and machining para-
r l
2 2 4 r2
meters in micro-WEDM are described in Fig. 3. Some experiments
where on is the natural circular frequency of the wire vibration. will be performed to test the model on the self-developed micro-
The solution of vibration equation contains infinite harmonic WEDM machine.
and magnitude of the displacement is mainly dominated by the
first several terms. For x ¼ l/2 and x ¼ l/2, sin(npx/l)sin(npx/l) ¼ 1
3. Wire lateral vibration experiments
(n ¼ 1,3,5,y), i.e. the moment that discharge happens on the
middle point of the wire, the displacement of this point will reach
In micro-WEDM, it is very hard to measure the actual
its maximum value. The amplitude of wire vibration may be
displacement of the wire because of spark and flush factors.
simplified as follows:
Therefore, measuring the kerf width is an effective instrument to
X
1
1 reflect wire variation amplitude under different machining
Y max ¼ 4sF s qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi eðm=2rÞt ðn ¼ 1; 3; 5; 7 . . .Þ (7)
2 conditions. The experiments are carried out on the self-developed
n¼1 4n2 p2 T 2  m2 l
micro-WEDM machine which mainly includes an RC pulse
generator with controlled transistors, constant tension winding
system using 30 mm tungsten wire, kerosene fluids circulation
system, a gap detection system and a precise servo mechanism
Single Open voltage with piezoelectric ceramics motions. In experiment, the work-
discharge piece is a 0.5 mm thick stainless steel plate, and there is 2 mm
Charge capacitor distance from workpiece to both wire guides. Referring to
energy
Single influence parameters in the model, detail machining conditions
discharge Discharge Worktable speed are listed in Table 1. Confocal laser scanning microscopy is used to
force Fs frequency measure the kerf width in experiments. In order to obtain the
Reference voltage
accurate value, each kerf is measured three times and its kerf
Discharge
Wire Charge resistance width is obtained by averaging these values.
times s
vibration
Machine 3.1. Variation of lateral vibration amplitude
Wire guides distance l parameters
Wire tension T In the model, open voltage and charge capacitor influence the
wire vibration by the single discharge force. The relationship
Fig. 3. Relationship between wire amplitude and machine parameters. between the kerf variation curves and these two parameters are,

Table 1
Vibration experiment conditions.

Condition number 1 2 3 4 5

Open voltage (V) 30–120 110 30

Discharge capacitor (pF) 400 300 770 1300 1800 2270 300
Charge resistance (kO) 1 3 1 0.6 0.5 0.33 1 3
Feeding speed (mm/min) 50 25 10–50 25
Reference voltage (V) 18–90 90 30–100 90 18
Wire tension (N) 1.0 1.6
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S. Di et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 49 (2009) 788–792 791

respectively, shown in Fig. 4(a) and (b). To avoid intervening of

different breakdown distance under different open voltages, the
amplitude of the wire is calculated through Eqs. (1) and (2). The
same charging time is guaranteed by adjusting the charge
resistance in condition 2. It can be seen that bigger single
discharge energy will cause bigger vibration amplitude of the
wire. Fig. 4(c) and (d) show the kerf width variation with
the reference voltage and feed speed of worktable, respectively.
The two parameters both have optimum value to obtain the
minimum kerf width. The reason is that, for high reference
voltage, the discharge frequency will reduce and bubble back
pressure caused by discharge in the gap will decrease. So the
single discharge force will increase under the low back pressure,
which will cause the large amplitude of wire vibration. When the
reference voltage is quite low, the gap condition is deteriorated
and the short-circuit will frequently happen, which will cause the
wire feed back frequently. Thus, the discharge frequency will Fig. 5. 30.8 mm wide slot and R15.8 mm corner machined with +30 mm wire.
decrease and wire vibration amplitude will increase. The feeding
speed influences the kerf width in the same way. As a result, it can
tried in this paper. Fig. 5 shows the 30.8 mm wide, 200 mm long
be concluded that the bigger single discharge force will cause
kerf and R15.8 mm corner radius machined by micro-WEDM with
bigger vibration amplitude of wire tool and get wider kerf on the
+30 mm wire tool. The workpiece is 0.1 mm thick stainless steel
workpiece. The kerf variation tendencies versus charge
plate and the machine parameters are shown in condition 5. After
resistances, wire tension T and wire guides distance l all accord
machining, the diameter of the wire is 29.7 mm due to the tensile
with Eq. (7) in other’s work [7]. Considering all the machining
deformation and discharge erosion during the process. So the
parameters above, the wire lateral vibration model can well
unilateral clearance will be less than 0.6 mm in this situation.
explain the experiments results in micro-WEDM.

4. Conclusion
3.2. Narrow kerf machining

This paper analyzes the Kerf width in micro-WEDM, which is

From the experiment, it can be seen that low discharge energy,
composed of two main parts: breakdown distance and wire
continuous stable discharge condition, high wire tension and
vibration amplitude. The wire lateral vibration model in micro-
small distance between the two wire guides will inhibit lateral
WEDM process is built and the relationship between the
vibration of the wire and get narrower kerf on the workpiece. In
machining parameters and wire vibration amplitude is analyzed.
micro-WEDM, small kerf width will improve the dimension
The model can well explain the variety of kerf width in the micro-
accuracy and reduce the radius of cutting corner on micro-part.
WEDM process. It can be used as the theoretical foundation for
As the diameter of wire-tool cannot be reduced infinitely, small
the kerf width control system in the future.
kerf width can also enhance the machining ability of micro-
The open voltage not only determines the breakdown distance
WEDM under certain circumstances, then the minimum kerf
but also affects the wire vibration in the process, and it is
width machined on the self-developed micro-WEDM system is
demonstrated to be a key factor to influence the kerf width in
micro-WEDM. In order to improve the machining precision, open
voltage can be chosen to the main parameter in the kerf width
control.

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