Manufacturing Technology Basis Of EDM Electrode With Cu-ZrB₂ Composite Material

Composite electrodeposition has been very important technology to make new materials for its unique advantage. Cu-ZrB₂ composite electrodeposition has excellent corrosion resistance properties. Compared with the copper coating, the electrical erosion resistance of Cu-ZrB₂ composite electrocoating can be improved by 30%. However, the performance of the electroformed copper electrode is still not good, which often leads to the manufacture failure. Using Composite electrodeposition technology and rapid tooling technology to produce Cu-ZrB₂ electrode, the corrosion rate of EDM electrodes could be greatly decreased, manufacturing quality would be improved and the cost is going to be reduced.Firstly, the advantage and disadvantage of pump experiment system on the preparation of plane composite coating and the manufacturing complex surface are discussed in the paper, and cathode rotation method is come up to manufacture Cu-ZrB₂ electrodes with complex shapes. The influence of electroforming parameters on the uniformity of the sediment at the different surface is analyzed, cathode with L shape was introduced to study particles content. The results show that current density was the most important factor influencing the content of ZrB₂ in H and V surfaces. The particles uniformity of the L shape cathode is notablely improved by the rotation.The anti-shape of part made from silicone rubber is produced by the RT technology, the conductive treatment is developed with graphite powder daubed on the rubber surface. The last step was electrodeposition. This technique is simple and practical. Its properties are proved in actual experiment by manufacturing dragon head electrode. The other copper electroforming electrode is also made in order to compare their EDM performance. Under the same conditions, the Cu-ZrB₂ has perfect performance, the corrosion ratio of the former is about 30% less than the one of the last. And the reason is also discussed in the paper.Finally, EDM experiments with Cu-ZrB₂ composite coating are done to study its performance. According to the analyses, the improvement of the spark resistance of the Cu-ZrB₂ composite coatings is mainly caused by the refinement of the copper grains by the incorporation of ZrB₂ particles during electrodeposition, the obstruction and adhesion of the ZrB₂ particles to the spattering of the melted copper during EDM process. Surface roughness of workpiece is mainly impacted by EDM parameters, especially peak current and has very slightly relations with material difference.