Performance evaluation of developing electrical discharge machining tools through 3D-printed mould using selective laser sintering and expanding its applications in developing free-form tools

Abstract

In the current study, an attempt has been made to find the optimum parameters for electroplating three-dimensional (3D) casted low melting point alloys. The electroplated profile is used as a tool in an electric discharge machining setup. A selective laser sintering process is used for 3D printing the mould in two halves. The mould parts are 3D scanned to find out the dimensional deviation. The low melting point alloy (LMPA) is cast in the mould. The surface roughness of the mould and the pattern are measured. Electroplating the casted LMPA sample is carried out in three stages in search of optimum parameters for getting stable copper deposits. The thickness of copper deposits under varying conditions is measured. The microstructures of cast alloys and copper deposits are analysed using a scanning electron microscope. The casted alloy and copper composition is verified through energy dispersive spectroscopy mapping and X-ray diffraction technique. The developed electric discharge machining electrode successfully performs the machining on the workpiece, and its performance is compared with that of a solid copper tool. The information gained is transferred to prepare the free-form tool using the developed path and is tested on the implant-shaped workpiece.

Keywords

Electroplating selective laser sintering low melting point alloy 3D scanning rapid tooling

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Rahmati

. Direct rapid tooling. Compr Mater Process 2014; 10: 303–344.

Equbal

Sood

. An investigation on the feasibility of fused deposition modelling process in EDM electrode manufacturing. CIRP J Manuf Sci Technol 2019; 26: 10–25.

Sood

Equbal

. Feasibility of FDM-electroplating process for EDM electrode fabrication. Mater Today Proc 2019; 28: 1154–1157.

Equbal

Khan

, et al. Investigating the dimensional accuracy of the cavity produced by abs p400 polymer-based novel EDM electrode. Polymers (Basel) 2021; 13: 4109.

Danade

Londhe

Metkar

. Machining performance of 3D-printed ABS electrode coated with copper in EDM. Rapid Prototyp J 2019; 25: 1224–1231.

Padhi

Mahapatra

Padhi

, et al. Performance analysis of a thick copper-electroplated FDM ABS plastic rapid tool EDM electrode. Adv Manuf 2018; 6: 442–456.

Alamro

Yunus

Alfattani

, et al. Effect of a rapid tooling technique in a 3D printed part for developing an EDM electrode. Int J Polym Sci 2021; 2021: 1–12.

Sahu

Mahapatra

. Surface characteristics of EDMed titanium alloy and AISI 1040 steel workpieces using rapid tool electrode. Arab J Sci Eng 2020; 45: 699–718.

Sahu

Mahapatra

Chatterjee

. Optimization of electrical discharge coating process using MOORA based firefly algorithm. In: ASME 2017 gas turbine India conference, GTINDIA 2017, 2017, Vol. 2, pp.1–16.

10.

Mireles

Espalin

Roberson

, et al. Fused deposition modeling of metals. In: 23rd annual international solid freeform fabrication symposium – an additive manufacturing conference, SFF 2012, 2012, pp.836–845.

11.

Mireles

Kim

Lee

, et al. Development of a fused deposition modeling system for low melting temperature metal alloys. J Electron Packag 2013; 135: 1–6.

12.

Warrier

Kate

. Fused filament fabrication 3D printing with low-melt alloys. Prog Addit Manuf 2018; 3: 51–63.

13.

Parvanda

Kala

. Process window identification for 3D printing low melting point alloy (LMPA) using fused deposition modelling (FDM). Rapid Prototyp J 2022; 28: 2043–2056.

14.

Bochnia

. The use of 3D scanning in reverse engineering. Mechanik 2019; 92: 194–196.

15.

Zong

Liang

Pai

, et al. A high-efficiency and high-precision automatic 3D scanning system for industrial parts based on a scanning path planning algorithm. Opt Lasers Eng 2022; 158: 107176.

16.

Lai

Luo

, et al. E-quality control in dental metal additive manufacturing inspection using 3D scanning and 3D measurement. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8: 1–9.

17.

Sitek

Puchlerska

Nejman

, et al. The impact of plastic deformation on the microstructure and tensile strength of Haynes 282 nickel superalloy produced by DMLS and casting. Materials (Basel) 2022; 15: 7545.

18.

Helle

Lemu

. A case study on use of 3D scanning for reverse engineering and quality control. Mater Today Proc 2021; 45: 5255–5262.

19.

Ferreira

Mateus

Alves

. Rapid tooling aided by reverse engineering to manufacture EDM electrodes. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 2007; 34: 1133–1143.

20.

Krizsma

Suplicz

. Comprehensive in-mould state monitoring of material jetting additively manufactured and machined aluminium injection moulds. J Manuf Process 2022; 84: 1298–1309.

21.

Mokhtari

Nishikawa

. Correlation between microstructure and mechanical properties of Sn–Bi–X solders. Mater Sci Eng A 2016; 651: 831–839.

22.

Alam

Jindal

Naithani

. Effect of addition of Cu on the properties of eutectic Sn–Bi solder alloy. Mater Sci Poland 2019; 37: 212–224.

23.

Dimla

Hopkinson

Rothe

. Investigation of complex rapid EDM electrodes for rapid tooling applications. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 2004; 23: 249–255.

24.

Asghar

Placido

Naseem

. Characterization of reactively evaporated TiO₂ thin films as high and medium index layers for optical applications. Eur Phys J Appl Phys 2006; 35: 177–184.

25.

Hammami

Louati

Masmoudi

, et al. Influence of WEDM process parameters on aluminum alloy’s surface finish. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 2023; 126: 453–469.

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

3.57 MB

0.02 MB