• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.52-59
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• 2006

Micro electrical discharge machining (EDM) and micro electrochemical machining (ECM) were studied for the fabrication of micro structures. Micro EDM has been used to machine micro structures from metals. However, since the tool wear is inevitable during the machining, the tool wear is drawback for the precision machining. Micro ECM is also used for micro machining and produces better surface quality than that of micro EDM. Moreover, since tool electrodes are not worn out, micro ECM is suitable for the precision micro machining. However, the machining rate is lower than that of micro EDM. In this paper, therefore, the hybrid machining process which uses micro EDM as roughing and micro ECM as finishing is introduced. By using this hybrid machining, a hemisphere with $100\;{\mu}m$ radius was fabricated and the efficiency of the process was investigated experimentally.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.55-61
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• 1998

Recently, the needs of machining technologies of very small parts have been increasing with advent of micro-revolution. These technologies have mostly used the method applied to semi-conductor production process such as LIGA, etc. But they have serious difficulties to settle down in terms of workpiece materials, machining thickness, 3-dimensional structure. Therefore. mciro-machining technology using EDM(Electrical Discharge Machining) was proposed. It is very difficult to machine the micro-parts (microshaft, microhole) using conventional machining. Micro-machining using BDM can machine the micro-parts easily because it requires little machining force. This MEDM(Micro-EDM) need the capabilities to move a electrode and control a discharge energy precisely, and the gap control strategy to maintain the optimal discharge condition is necessary. Therefore, in this study, the new EDM machine with high precision motion stage and high-performance EDM device was developed. Using this MEDM machine, we have machined microshaft and microhole with various shapes and sizes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2001.04a
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• pp.1080-1084
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• 2001

In manufacturing a micro die with half spherical cavity by MEDM, it is necessary to prepare an electrode with the same shape. This paper suggests a simple method to manufacture a half spherical electrode based on tool wear. The tool wears more rapidly at the edge of a cylindrical electrode. In order to make a half spherical micro electrode, cylindrical electrode was fed into the workpiece by the distance of its radius. The d/R(depth/Radius) value varied with respect to capacitance and electrode diameter. The smaller the size of electrode was, the closer the electrode tip geometry approached to a half sphere.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.183-190
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• 2003

In this paper, investigated are the machining characteristics such as material removal rate and machining time with respect to discharge area and capacitance in micro electrical discharge machining (MEDM). As discharge area determined by the electrode size and capacitance change, the optimal feedrate to allow the minimum machining time changes. The smaller discharge area is, the lower MRR becomes because of the area effect. As the capacitance increases, MRR also increases. However there is the limit capacitance beyond which the MRR does not increase anymore. As the discharge area increases, the limit capacitance also increases.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.42-49
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• 2007

When micro holes are machined by EDM, machining characteristics of machined holes are changed according to the machining conditions. Typical machining conditions are the kind of dielectric fluids, capacitance and ultrasonic vibrations. They influence electrode wear, machining time, radial clearance and taper angle. In this paper, machined holes whose depths are 300, 500, $1000\;{\mu}m$ are observed for each machining conditions. Using deionized water as a dielectric fluid makes electrode wear small, machining time short, radial clearance large and taper angle small. High capacitance makes electrode wear high. Ultrasonic vibrations make electrode wear large, machining time short, radial clearance small and taper angle small. From the results of experiments, the optimal machining conditions were obtained to machine highly qualified micro holes.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.22 no.7 s.172
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• pp.47-53
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• 2005

Microholes with high aspect ratio are required in microstructures. Among various methods for producing the microhole, micro electrical discharge machining (MEDM) is very effective and useful process. But, it is difficult to machine the high aspect ratio holes below $100\;{\mu}m$ in diameter because machining condition becomes unstable due to bad removal of debris at deep hole. In this paper, ultrasonic vibration is applied to MEDM work fluid to make a high aspect ratio micro hole. It is shown that the vibration is effective in circulating the debris and increasing the machining rate. As a result, produced was a micro hole with $92\;{\mu}m$ entrance diameter, $81\;{\mu}m$ exit diameter and aspect ratio 23.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2013.05a
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• pp.33-34
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• 2013

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.1244-1247
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• 2005

The material removal mechanism of Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) process has been studied for several decades. However, understanding of the material removal mechanism is still a difficult problem because the mechanism involves complicated physical phenomena including plasma. Especially, for a micro-EDM process, due to the influence of the debris that is generated during the machining process, quantitative modeling of EDM becomes more complex. To understand better the effects of the debris in the micro-EDM process experimentally, a new approach has been introduced in this study. Using a specially designed workpiece holder, the debris generated during the EDM with various process conditions has been collected. Then, using a simulated environment using micro-sized metal powders, the influence of the debris during the single EDM discharge has been observed. The effects of EDM process parameters on the debris size and product quality are discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.52-59
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• 2005

When a micro hole is machined by EDM with a cylindrical electrode, the hole diameter is different at the inlet and the outlet of the micro hole. The taper shape of the micro hole is caused by not only wear of the electrode but the eroded particles. The eroded particles cause secondary discharge during machining the micro hole. As a result, the diameter of the inlet becomes larger than that of the outlet. In this paper, a new method is proposed to reduce the difference in diameter between the inlet and the outlet of the hole. Observed was that the feed depth and machining time affect the formation of taper shape On this experimental basis, ultrasonic vibration was applied to reduce machining time, and capacitance was changed during machining to use the difference in discharging energy of different capacitances. Using the proposed method, a straight micro-hole was fabricated.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.22 no.11 s.176
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• pp.159-164
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• 2005

For increasing productivity of micro electrochemical machining (MECM), the application of multiple electrodes was introduced. The electrodes were fabricated by reverse electrical discharge machining (REDM). By REDM micro electrodes with various shapes can be machined easily. According to capacitance and applied voltage, machining characteristics of reverse EDM were investigated and the optimal conditions for stable machining were suggested. By using multiple electrodes and a channel-shape electrode, holes and channels were machined on stainless steel by ECM.