A model for detection of the eroding surface based on discharge parameters

Abstract To achieve a high removal rate and a low electrode wear in sinking electrical discharge machining process (EDM), rough machining parameters have to be selected according to the size of the eroding surface. In general, the size of the eroding surface varies according to the depth of machining. Thus, it has to be determined on-line. The work presented in this paper shows that the electric current signal depends on the size of the eroding surface. For constant machining parameters and varying size of the eroding surface, the attributes of the electric current signal were acquired and used as inputs to the modeller; a conditional average estimator (CAE) was used as a nonparametric regression modeller. According to the outputs of the model, the size of the eroding surface is determined accurately enough for the selection of optimal machining parameters.