An investigation on machining large removal cylindrical parts using WEDM with contour approximation method

The application of wire EDM to the machining of cylindrical parts is an emerging research topic. The current research is mainly focused on the processing of microcylindrical parts, and the processing removal of microparts is usually small. In the complete machining process, especially during rough machining, the removal amount of the workpiece is usually large. In recent years, there have been few studies in this area. This paper proposes the application of WEDM with contour approximation method (CAM-WEDM) to the machining of cylindrical parts with large removal volume. First, the basic principle of the contour approximation method is introduced, and the machining process is divided into three parts: roughing, semi-finishing and finishing. Roughing corresponds to polygon cutting. Second, the various indicators of polygon cutting are analyzed. The influence of the number of polygonal sides on the residual height and residual area is analyzed. Two methods are proposed for polygon cutting: sequential cutting and multiple cutting. The calculation formulas for the machining volume of the two methods are deduced. By comparing the two methods, it is found that different methods are applicable to different part sizes. At last, machining experiments were carried out. The selection of residual variables and the determination of polygon machining methods are detailed. The process parameters and machining time of each stage are listed. In addition, the measurement results of each stage of the machining are also analyzed. At the same time, by comparing with the general WEDT, it is concluded that CAM-WEDM can effectively process cylindrical parts with large removal volume.