The silicon carbide particle reinforced aluminium matrix composite (SiCp/Al) which is acknowledged as one of the most competitive metal matrix composites is now widely applied in aviation, aerospace and military fields, and its application is extending gradually. As a result of the hard and brittle SiC particles contained, mechanical machining of the material is difficult, but the method of electric discharge machining (EDM) has certain prominent advantages. In this paper, SiCp/Al was machined using micro-EDM. First, a Φ40μm × 4.1mm micro tool electrode of which the aspect ratio is up to 100 was made; and then, through experiment, the impact of open-circuit voltage and electrode material on processing speed and electrode wear was analyzed; finally, 28μm wide micro slits, micro square platform of 34μm long on each side and other micro three-dimensional structure were machined. Research and experimental results show that the use of appropriate micro-machining parameters and reasonable processing methods can improve processing performance to better achieve the micro-EDM of SiCp /Al.
NETL
NSTL
Trans Tech Publications Ltd
