Surface characteristics of tool steel machined using micro-EDM

High-speed tool steels are extensively used in tooling industries for manufacturing cutting tools, forming tools, and rolls. Electrical discharge machining (EDM) has been found to be an effective process for machining these extremely hard and difficult-to-cut materials. Extensive research has been conducted to identify the optimum machining parameters for EDM with different tool steels. This paper presents a fundamental study of the surface characteristics of SKH-51 tool steel machined by micro-EDM with particular focus on obtaining a better surface finish. An RC pulse generator was used to obtain a better surface finish as it produces fine discharge craters. The main operating parameters studied were the gap voltage and the capacitance while the resistance and other gap control parameters were kept constant. A negative tungsten electrode was used in this study. The micro-EDM performance was analyzed by atomic force microscopy to determine the average surface roughness and the distance between the highest peak and lowest valley. The topography of the machined surface was observed using a scanning electron microscope and a digital optical microscope.