Xuejie Guo

Zuyuan Yu
e-mail: zyu@dlut.edu.cn

Zhongwei Lv
Jianzhong Li
Key Laboratory for Precision,
and Non-Traditional,
Machining Technology of Ministry of Education,
School of Mechanical Engineering,
Dalian University of Technology,
Dalian 116024, China

Wataru Natsu
Department of Industrial Technology
and Innovation,
Graduate School of Engineering,
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology,
Tokyo 184-0012, Japan

Optimization of Planetary
Movement Parameters
for Microhole Drilling by
Micro-Electrical Discharge
Machining
Microholes are widely used in industrial products, such as engine nozzles and filters for
biomedical industry. Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is one of processes to drill
microholes in alloy with high aspect ratio. However, the achievable aspect ratio of a
microhole by micro-EDM is limited. To improve the aspect ratio of a microhole drilled by
micro-EDM, the planetary movement of electrode is applied during machining. It was
found that the machining efficiency of microhole drilling can be further improved by
proper setting of planetary movement of electrode, such as the electrode feed rate and
movement speed of electrode in XY plane. In this paper, a theoretical model is proposed to
optimize parameters of the planetary movement of electrode. Microholes are drilled aided
with planetary movement using different machining parameters to verify the model. Experimental results agree with theoretical values, which indicate the validity of the proposed
model. This model provides certain theoretical basis for machining parameter selection
when microholes are drilled aided with planetary movement. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4025160]
Keywords: micro-EDM, planetary movement, microhole, optimization of parameters

Introduction
Minimized products have advantages of less material use, low
power consumption, stable performance, and limited space occupation. Therefore, product minimization technology is widely
used in aerospace, automobile, medical industries, and MEMS.
Micro-EDM can be used to generate microfeatures in any electrically conductive material regardless of hardness of the workpiece
material. Microholes of 5 lm in diameter and 3D complex microcavities have successfully been machined by micro-EDM [1,2].
Microholes are widely used in industrial products, such as ink
jet nozzle and fuel injection nozzle [3,4]. In the process of microholes drilling by micro-EDM, the machining speed slows down
and even stops when the aspect ratio reaches a certain value.
Many attempts have already been done to increase the high aspect
ratio of hole. Masuzawa and Heuvelman proposed a self-flushing
method by which the debris is removed efficiently. The exhaustion of debris can be observed from the expected side of hole during experiments [5]. Special cross-sectional shapes of electrode,
such as drums shape, were designed to improve the efficiency of
microhole drilling [6]. Yu et al. applied the planetary movement
of electrode to drill microholes with an aspect ratio up to 18 [7].
Hung et al. used a helical microtool combining with ultrasonic
vibration to achieve fine surface and dimensional accuracy of
microholes [8]. Microholes with aspect ratio of 29 have been
drilled aided with ultrasonic vibration and planetary movement of
electrode by micro-EDM [9].
In the process of microholes drilling by micro-EDM, the dielectric
is blocked from the working area by gaseous bubbles. The planetary
movement of electrode provides unevenly distributed gaps for gaseous bubbles to escape from the working area. The viscous resistance
Contributed by the Manufacturing Engineering Division of ASME for publication
in the JOURNAL OF MICRO- AND NANO-MANUFACTURING. Manuscript received May 11,
2013; final manuscript received July 25, 2013; published online August 13, 2013.
Assoc. Editor: Hitoshi Ohmori.

in the discharge gap is then reduced. Therefore, the dielectric flows

into the discharge area and the machining continues. Bamberg and
Heamawatanachai experimentally studied the relationship between
material removal rate (MRR), electrode wear, and the radius of planetary movement [10]. However, the relationship between the electrode feed rate and the movement speed of electrode in the XY
plane to perform the planetary movement is unclear.
In this paper, a model is proposed to optimize the parameters of
planetary movement in microhole drilling by EDM. Experiments
are carried out to verify this model. The relationship between the
electrode feed rate and the discharge gap is also studied.
Conclusions of this paper are given in the final section.

Modeling the Planetary Movement of Electrode in

Microhole Drilling
Figure 1 is the tool path of the planetary movement of electrode
in the XY plane. In one cycle, the electrode moves along these 12
points in order while the electrode is fed into the workpiece to
drill a microhole separately.
In one cycle, the moving distance of electrode in the XY plane
is given as
L 24r sin 15 deg 6:21r

(1)

where r is radius of planetary movement and L is the moving distance of electrode in one cycle.
The time of electrode moving in one cycle can be expressed as
T

L
vr

(2)

where T is time used for an electrode to move in one cycle and vr

is velocity of planetary movement.
In one cycle, the electrode feed length in Z axis can be
calculated as

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Table 1 Machining conditions and parameters used in

experiments
Open circuit voltage (V)
Capacitance (pF)
Workpiece material
Electrode material
Dielectric
Machine tool
Polarity setting (electrode/workpiece)

80
100/470/1000/3300
Stainless steel 304
Tungsten
De-ionized water
Horizontal
/

As shown in Fig. 2, the electrode is fed into the workpiece with

Fp during one cycle of planetary movement. If the velocity of
electrode planetary movement in the XY plane is very small, the
electrode feed in the Z axis is larger than the discharge gap, C,
causing the short circuit. If the velocity of electrode planetary
movement is very large, it requires the high movement response
of the XY stages. To control the machining in normal discharge
state, in one cycle of electrode planetary movement, the feed
length, Fp, in the Z axis is less than the discharge gap, C, as shown
in Fig. 2. Their relationship can be expressed as

Fig. 1 Tool path of planetary movement of electrode

Fc kC
Fig. 2
gap

The relationship between electrode feed and discharge

where C is discharge gap, k is scale factor, 0 < k < 1.

Substituting Eqs. (3) and (5) into Eq. (6), the relationship
between the velocity of electrode planetary movement in the XY
plane, radius of electrode planetary movement, the microhole drilling speed under a certain machining condition, and the corresponding discharge gap can be obtained as expressed in the
following equation:
6:21v0z S0 r
kC
vr S

Fig. 3 A horizontal micro-EDM

F c vZ T

6:21vz r
vr

(3)

where Fc is electrode feed length in one cycle and vz is actual hole

drilling speed with planetary movement.
Under the same machining conditions, the MRR of micro-EDM
is constant. In other words, the MRRs of drilling microholes with
and without the planetary movement of electrode are same, which
can be given by




pD02 F0p  W 0
pD2 Fp  W
(4)

4t0
4t
where conditions without planetary movement: D0 is diameter of
the hole, F0 p is feed length, W0 is wear length, t0 is process time;
conditions with planetary movement: D is diameter of the hole, Fp
is feed length, W is wear length, t is process time.
Equation (4) can be simplified as
v0z S0 vz S

(5)

where v0 z is actual machining speed without planetary movement,

S0 is the cross-sectional area of hole, and S is the cross-sectional
area of hole drilled with planetary movement.
031007-2 / Vol. 1, SEPTEMBER 2013

(6)

(7)

This model is used to set the parameters of planetary movement

in drilling micro holes with high aspect ratio by micro-EDM. In
this model, the actual machining speed without planetary movement, v0 z, and the discharge gap, C, can be obtained in experiments. The cross-sectional area of hole, S0 , is calculated based on
the diameter of electrode and the discharge gap, C. When the radius of planetary movement, r, is selected, the cross-sectional area
of hole drilled with planetary movement, S, and the moving distance of electrode in XY plane in one cycle, L, are known. Therefore, the velocity of planetary movement, vr, is obtained if the
scale factor, k, is known. The high material removal rate of drilling
micro hole with high aspect ratio is achievable when the planetary
movement speed of electrode is determined based on Eq. (7).

Model Verification
Discharge Gap and Radius of Planetary Movement. To verify the proposed model, experiments are carried out on a horizontal micro-EDM shown in Fig. 3. It consists of XYZ stages with a
resolution of 0.1 lm. Electrodes for experiments are prepared
using an electrical discharge grinding unit on the machine. An
electrode is dressed under the conditions of open voltage of 80 V
and a capacitor of 3300 pF, and then it is finished to the final diameter under the open voltage of 80 V and capacitor of 100 pF by
reducing the roughly dressed electrode diameter of 10 lm. It was
found that the machining process is smooth when the microhole is
drilled less than 300 lm in depth. The microhole drilling speed
can be considered as the machining ability under this machining
condition. The influence of secondary discharge caused by debris
on the discharge gap is negligible. In microhole drilling with electrode planetary movement, the influence of the secondary discharge on the discharge gap is small because the debris escapes
from the working area easily from the wider side of the gap.
Therefore, the discharge gap, C, in Eq. (7) can be obtained by
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Table 2 Discharge gaps

Capacitance
(pF)

Diameter of
electrode (lm)

Diameter of
hole (lm)

Discharge
gap (lm)

71.99
53.81
63.48
65.52

85.73
69.45
85.50
87.70

6.87
7.82
11.01
11.09

100
470
1000
3300

Table 3

MRR of hole drilling

Voltage (V) Capacitance (pF) Diameter of electrode (lm) MRR (lm3/s)

80
80
80
80
80
80

100
470
1000
3300
470
1000

60.19
60.50
58.46
62.41
79.95
79.97

12423.90
16504.45
17108.60
19027.47
23864.65
24509.27

Fig. 5 Electrode of 53.04 lm in diameter after hole drilling

Fig. 6 Microhole of 100.91 lm in diameter drilled by microEDM without planetary movement

Fig. 4 Microhole of 120.41 lm in diameter drilled by microEDM with planetary movement

drilling microholes to 300 lm in depth. Under various machining

conditions listed in Table 1, experiments are carried out. The
diameters of electrode and microhole are measured using an optical microscope with a resolution of 0.1 lm. Discharge gaps are
listed in Table 2.
The radius of planetary movement is determined through experimental observation. If the radius of planetary movement is small,
the effect of electrode planetary movement is not obvious. If the
radius of planetary movement is large, more material has to be
removed. In this study, the radius of planetary movement is
selected as 10 lm and 15 lm, respectively, for drilling microholes
with diameters arrange from 100 lm to 150 lm.
Material Removal Rate Calculation of General Drilling.
Under the same machining conditions, material removal ability of
micro-EDM (MRR) is constant. The MRR of microhole drilling
can be obtained through general drilling experiments. The actual
machining velocity of microholes drilling aided with electrode
planetary movement of electrode can be converted using Eq. (5).
In micro-EDM hole drilling, when the aspect ratio of a microhole reaches a certain value during drilling, short circuiting frequently occurs, leading to extreme electrode wear and significant
Journal of Micro- and Nano-Manufacturing

drop in machining speed. This depth of microhole is called the

turning point. The MRR in this paper is material removal rate at
turning point depth.
Before and after each hole drilling, a reference point on the
workpiece surface is touched by the electrode. The difference in Z
axis is the tool wear length. The hole depth is the difference
between the electrode feed depth and the electrode wear length.
The machining time is also recorded. The MRR can be calculated
by the depth of hole, diameter of hole, and the machining time. In
order to reduce the influence of random error, five experiments of
each set of machining conditions are carried out. The average values under different conditions are shown in Table 3.
A microhole in Fig. 4 was drilled in a stainless steel 304 sheet
under conditions of open voltage of 80 V, capacitance of 470 pF,
and radius of planetary movement 15 lm. The electrode after
machining is shown in Fig. 5. Figure 6 shows the hole drilled
under the same machining conditions without electrode planetary
movement.
k Calculation. Figure 6 shows MRRs under different velocities
of electrode planetary movement. It is clear that there is an optimal MRR in each figure of Fig. 7. Based on the highest MRR, the
corresponding velocity of electrode planetary movement in each
machining condition, the discharge gap, radius of planetary movement, and the diameter of hole, k is obtained using Eq. (7). All ks
in Figs. 7(a)7(c) are summarized in Table 4. The hole crossSEPTEMBER 2013, Vol. 1 / 031007-3

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Fig. 7 Relationship between MRR and velocity of electrode

planetary movement: (a) diameter of electrode (59.37 lm), capacitance (470 pF), radius of planetary movement (15 lm); (b)
diameter of electrode (82.44 lm), capacitance (470 pF), radius of
planetary movement (10 lm); (c) diameter of electrode
(60.67 lm), capacitance (3300 pF), radius of planetary movement (10 lm)
Table 4 k calculation
Experimental
serial number
a
b
c

Hole cross-sectional
area (lm2)

Best shake
speed (lm/s)

12785.09
13575.92
10878.88

46.12
35.83
25.73

0.33
0.39
0.38

Table 5 Experimental results statistics

Experimental
serial number
a
b
c
d

Calculated velocity of electrode

planetary movement (lm/s)

0.35
0.35
0.38
0.38

35.83
32.13
29.67
24.91

sectional area is the averaged value of 5 experiments in each

figure of Fig. 7. It was found that k is 0.36 6 0.03.
Model Validation. Four groups of experiments are carried out
under different machining conditions to verify the proposed
031007-4 / Vol. 1, SEPTEMBER 2013

Fig. 8 Relationship between MRR and k: (a) diameter of electrode (61.00 lm), capacitance (100 pF), radius of planetary
movement (10 lm); (b) diameter of electrode (61.56 lm), capacitance (470 pF), radius of planetary movement (10 lm); (c) diameter of electrode (62.86 lm), capacitance (1000 pF), radius of
planetary movement (15 lm); (d) diameter of electrode
(80.00 lm), capacitance (1000 pF), radius of planetary movement (10 lm)

model. The electrode feed rate is set based on Eq. (5). The velocity of electrode planetary movement is calculated based on
Eq. (7). Table 5 lists the selected k within range of 0.36 6 0.03
and the corresponding calculated velocity of electrode planetary
movement. In a similar way, different velocities of electrode planetary movement can be obtained by adjusting k. Figure 8 shows
different factors, k, and the corresponding MRR. It is clear
that the maximum of MRR is obtained under the velocity of
electrode planetary movement calculated using k within range of
0.36 6 0.03.
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Conclusions
In the process of microholes drilling by micro-EDM, the planetary movement of electrode is applied to achieve high aspect ratio
of microhole. To obtain the maximum machining efficiency, it is
necessary to select proper parameters for planetary movement of
electrode. This paper proposed a theoretical model to calculate the
velocity of electrode planetary movement. It was found that the
optimal MRR can be achieved when the scale factor, k, is set
within range of 0.36 6 0.03. This model has been verified by experimental results.

W
t
v0 z
S0
S

conditions with planetary movement, wear length

conditions with planetary movement, process time
actual machining speed without planetary movement
cross-sectional area of hole without planetary movement
cross-sectional area of hole drilled with planetary
movement
C discharge gap
k scale factor, 0 < k < 1

References
Acknowledgment
The authors are thankful for the support from the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Nos. 51075053 and
51175062), the National High-Tech R&D Program of China (No.
2009AA044205).

Nomenclature
r
L
T
vr
Fc
vz
D0
F0 p
W0
t0
D
Fp

radius of planetary movement

moving distance of electrode in one cycle in the XY plane
time used for an electrode to move in one cycle
velocity of planetary movement
electrode feed length in one cycle
actual hole drilling speed with planetary movement
conditions without planetary movement, diameter of the
hole
conditions without planetary movement, feed length
conditions without planetary movement, wear length
conditions without planetary movement, process time
conditions with planetary movement, diameter of the hole
conditions with planetary movement, feed length

Journal of Micro- and Nano-Manufacturing

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