Temperature measurements and numerical analysis of the heat transfer in samples submitted to electron discharge machining (EDM)

Matter removal in the electron discharge machining (EDM) is essentially due to a thermal mechanism. The control of the thermal process (i.e. the time dependent energy flow given by the discharge and the local temperature evolution) is therefore of crucial importance for efficiency and surface quality improvement. We report the first results of our research aimed at determining these quantities. Two types of measurements have been performed at the global and single discharge scale. 1) In-depth temperature measurements in a workpiece submitted to EDM with semi-finishing standard settings. 2) Local measurements of the thermal response due to single discharges using a high resolution thermal device fabricated in our laboratory.