The irreplaceable development direction of electric spark
Electric discharge machining is a type of special machining. As early as in the former Soviet Union, when the Lazarinko couple studied the phenomenon and causes of switch contacts being corroded by spark discharge, they discovered that the instantaneous high temperature of electric sparks could cause local metals to melt and oxidize, leading to corrosion. This led to the creation and invention of electric spark machining methods. At present, the rapid development of advanced manufacturing technology in China and the intensification of market competition in the manufacturing industry have put forward higher requirements for electric discharge machining technology in precision mechanical parts processing. At the same time, it has also provided new impetus for the research and process development of electric discharge machining theory, as well as equipment updates.
In the future precision machining of mechanical parts, the machining objects of electric discharge machining should mainly focus on difficult to machine materials and complex surfaces that are difficult to achieve in traditional machining. Among them, fine machining, precision machining, narrow groove machining, deep cavity machining, etc. will become the focus of development. At the same time, attention should also be paid to the composite application with other special processing technologies or traditional cutting processing technologies, fully leveraging the advantages of various processing methods in the processing of difficult to machine materials, and achieving joint value-added effects.
There is still a significant difference between the comparison of electric discharge machining technology and cutting machining technology in China. Electric discharge machining technology still needs to be continuously strengthened. Therefore, in future development, it is necessary to learn from the experience and achievements obtained in the development of cutting machining technology, and then combine the technical characteristics of electric discharge machining itself to choose appropriate machining theories, control principles, and process methods, And continuously improve and innovate on the basis of existing achievements.
The trend of electric discharge forming machine tools towards CNC in precision mechanical parts processing should also be market-oriented and establish an open CNC system. Overall, the future development trend of electric discharge machining technology should be high efficiency, high precision, low loss, miniaturization, automation, safety, environmental protection, etc.
The next development space for electric spark lies in two aspects: precision micro and special materials. In the field of precision machining, there were rumors that high-speed milling would replace electric discharge, but now it has proven to be unrealistic. The newly developed conductive special materials by humans can be used for discharge machining, but high-speed milling is usually difficult to achieve.