Effects of electrical parameters on electrical discharge grinding of non-conductive engineering ceramics

Non-conductive engineering ceramics are hard-to-machine materials. And they can not be processed directly by traditional electrical discharge machining equipments. The authors have developed a new electrical discharge grinding method which can exert electrical discharge energy on the surfaces of non-conductive engineering ceramics workpieces, and can machine them very easily. In this paper, the machining of non-conductive Al2O3 engineering ceramics by this method is researched. The effects of electrical parameters, such as pulse width, pulse interval, peak voltage, and peak current, on material removal rate and surface roughness of the insulating Al2O3 ceramics workpiece are discussed in detail. The results of the experiments reveal that higher MRR with acceptable surface quality can be obtained by this new electrical discharge grinding method with appropriate selection of parameters.