A Novel Compound Machining of AISI 321 Stainless Steel Using Small Diameter Electrodes

Experiments of high-efficiently compound machining (CM) combined by EDM and arc machining of AISI 321 stainless steel at 658mm3/min material removal rate (MRR) using solid electrodes of different materials and different diameters of less than 5mm were conducted. The CM process parameters, including electrode rotation speed, peak current, electrode materials and electrode diameter, were studied to evaluate the effect on MRR, relative electrode wear rate (REWR) and width of overcut (WOC). The re-solidified layer of 321 for CM was also investigated. Faster electrode rotation speed, higher peak current, larger electrode diameter and pure tungsten electrode material are essential to achieve lower REWR and higher MRR. The processing conditions were bad using electrode diameter of 2mm. The re-solidified materials are significantly more densely than base materials.