Punching of noncircular micro-holes and development of micro-forming

In this paper, vibration-EDM technology was introduced by the vibrating worktable designed to fabricate noncircular micro-electrodes and micro die-openings using wire electro-discharge grinding (WEDG). Micro punches and micro die-openings with different clearances were fabricated by controlling the spark gap in micro electrical discharge machining (micro-EDM). The micro-punching experiments include producing triangular and hexagonal micro-holes with a side length of 200 μm on brass strip. Punching of successive hexagonal micro-holes was also carried out successfully. The micro-forming experiments were conducted on copper and brass, producing cup-shaped protrusions with a diameter of 300 μm. All the experimental results show that the modified micro-punching machine is able to perform both micro-punching and micro-forming operations.