Study on the persistent and efficient wire electrical discharge machining of SiCp/Al

The high-speed wire electrical discharge machining (HS-WEDM) of high-volume-fraction SiC particle-reinforced aluminum matrix composites (SiCp/Al) can only occur under low-energy conditions. Wire breakage easily occurs during the cutting of SiCp/Al through the conductive block power supply method under high-energy conditions, and the causes of this problem are analyzed in this study. To address this problem, an open-guide-wheel power supply method is proposed. This method increases the contact area and angle between the wire electrode and the guide wheel, achieving a stable power supply through rolling contact and effectively suppressing the electric corrosion effect. Additionally, the open structure resolves the issue of the power supply device burning out, which occurs with the traditional closed structure. The experimental results show that using the open-guide-wheel power supply method achieves persistent and efficient cutting of 70 mm 55vol% SiCp/Al. The cutting efficiency is 111.65 mm ² /min, which is more than three times the long-term cutting efficiency of the conductive block power supply method.