Study on electrical discharge and ultrasonic assisted mechanical combined machining of polycrystalline diamond

Polycrystalline diamond (PCD) is currently used in the industry for cutting tools of difficult-to-machine materials because of its superior characteristics such as hardness, toughness and wear resistance. But the PCD material is difficult to machine due to its above properties. Electrical discharge and ultrasonic assisted mechanical combined machining process is a ideal method suitable for PCD materials. On the basis of analyzing the principle of this method, the electrical discharge and ultrasonic assisted mechanical combined machining process has been realized by using bronze-bonded diamond grinding wheel. The relationship of the machining effects and the parameters of the combined machining process has been studied. The experiment results indicate that parameters of pulse width, pulse interval, peak current, ultrasonic amplitude and open-circuit voltage influence the processing effects distinctly. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.