Benefits of using real-time pulse discriminating system in micro-EDM monitoring and control system

This paper deals with the implementation of real-time pulse discriminating system for monitoring and improving the performance of micro electrical discharge machining (EDM) process. Currently, the average gap voltage information is applied to control micro-EDM process, ensuring that the process takes place in a proper gap state. In this work, a real-time pulse discriminating system is employed as the basic platform of micro-EDM control system for a more detailed interpretation of the state of micro-EDM process. Experimental verifications show that the pulse distributions are good indicators for predicting material removal rate (MRR) and tool wear ratio (TWR) of the ongoing process. Furthermore, the real-time pulse discriminating-based control system is able to shorten the machining time to half, that of a typical control system without pulse discriminating capability and also produce more accurate machined features.