COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HSM AND EDM IN INJECTION MOULD MANUFACTURING

+M. R. Alam, +K. S. Lee, +M. Rahman, +Y. F. Zhang, *Y. D. Li and *K. S. Sankaran
+Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore

Singapore 119260, Fax: (65) 874-5115

* Makino Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore

Abstract
As EDM is a rather slow process, mould makers are forced to look for alternative processes in order to stay competitive. With the emerging technology, high speed machining (HSM) is a much faster process compared to EDM. Recently, HSM is being considered as a replacement for EDM in the manufacturing of moulds. However, HSM may not be appropriate for
machining all types of moulds. In this study, an algorithm has been proposed to select the most appropriate process whether HSM or EDM, or a combination of both for the manufacture of a particular mould. Several case studies have

been conducted and the economics of different processes have been analysed to justify the suitability of the algorithm. From the case studies, it
is concluded that, for the machining of a particular mould, HSM is preferred if found to be suitable. But the decision for the selection may depend on the setup of the organization and constraints.
Keywords

High speed machining (HSM); EDM; mould manufacturing; economics.

1. INTRODUCTION
Process planning is an important task in a manufacturing organisation. Among the process planning activities, selection of appropriate processes to manufacture a part is the most important one. Timing is critical for any mould making company wishing to have the leading edge in todays world market. Many manufacturing companies are willing to pay high premium for a shorter delivery lead-time of a mould [1]. Machining of injection mould needs considerable amount of time and money. At the same time it needs high accuracy. The competition is fierce in this area too. Considering accuracy, surface finish and high rate of production for the competition, a lot of new technologies are emerging in recent years. Mould manufacturing companies are beginning to adopt advanced technologies and machinery to reduce the leadtime, cost and improve quality. Among the advanced technologies, high speed machining (HSM) is the most emerging one. It offers good surface finish, shortens the processing time and reduces cost [2]. Electrical Discharge

Machining (EDM) is an essential process in mould manufacturing. Some mould cavities cannot be manufactured without this process [3]. But EDM is a very slow process compared to HSM. As a result, delivery lead-time of mould cannot be reduced significantly due to the EDM process. So mould makers are forced to find alternative processes for EDM. However, HSM is the faster process compared to EDM, but it may not be appropriate for all types of moulds. A few studies have been conducted to compare the economics between HSM and EDM. Aspinwall and Dewes [4] presented an analysis that compared the manufacture of a forging die by EDM with HSM. But the times and costs were based on the experience of the authors and not a real life example. Schumacher and Schulz [5] presented a comparison of EDM and HSM on the basis of typical applications, key features, process monitoring, equipment, work planning and staff knowledge of the process. But this comparison gives the general idea about two different processes. However, no algorithm has been proposed so far to select the most suitable method. In this study, an algorithm has been proposed to select the most appropriate processes for the manufacture of a particular mould and the economics of the processes have been analysed to justify the suitability of the algorithm.

2. PROCESS SELECTION ALGORITHM

Several processes such as milling, HSM, EDM and combination of HSM and EDM are frequently used in mould manufacturing. However, currently, there is no standard or algorithm for selection of the machining process and the decisions related to the selection are frequently made on the basis of the experience of the individuals. The proposed algorithm will give the rules of thumb to select the appropriate process for the manufacture of a particular mould.

2.1 Scope of the Work

In modern manufacturing approach, usually small and medium sized moulds with more ribs and complexities are manufactured in the mould shops. So the scope of this study is based on standard small to medium sized moulds having ribs and complexities. The ribs are usually 0.8-3 mm in width and their heights are 5-10 times of the widths. Such moulds are used for consumer electronics, printers, computer parts, telecommunication equipment, pagers, small cameras, signal lights for cars, electrical motors, health care items, etc.

2.2 Parameter selection and constraints

The main parameters for the selection of appropriate processes to manufacture moulds are tool length (effective length) to tool diameter ratio (L/D) and the hardness of the work piece material. Some other parameters and geometrical constraints of the features such as minimum radii of the corner and the bottom of the cavity, material removal rate, dimensions of the cavity, complexity of the mould, cost etc. are considered. Usually, if L/D is less than
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or equal to 3 and hardness is between 32 HRC and 55 HRC, generally HSM is a preferable choice and if L/D is greater than 3 and hardness is greater than 55 HRC, EDM is used. Figure 1 is drawn for low speed machining (LSM), HSM and EDM based on thumb rules applied for selection of appropriate machining processes.

Figure 1: Appropriate zone for LSM, HSM and EDM

The use of low L/D ratio cutters is the best practice; because, high L/D ratio cutters reduce efficiency of machining. The diameter of the cutter must be less than the diameter of the blend for HSM. The effect of different L/D in the efficiency of machining is shown in Table 1 [6].

The high L/D ratio cutter increases run-out and a cutter with 0.01 mm run-out extends tool life up to 300% than one with 0.04 mm run-out [7]. On the other hand, run-out affects surface finish and contouring of the corners of the mould cavity.

3. ECONOMIC ANALYSIS FOR DIFFERENT PROCESSES

An economic module has been developed to compare the effectiveness of HSM, EDM and combination of HSM and EDM in mould manufacturing. The module calculates total processing time and cost to manufacture the

moulds by using different processes. Total processing time is calculated from the total set-up time, machining time, programming time and design time. All data are obtained by conducting different experiments. On the other hand, total processing cost is calculated by the addition of material cost, tool cost, machining cost, programming cost and design cost. Machining cost, design
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cost and programming cost are calculated from the multiplication of corresponding time and hourly rate of a particular company. In the following case study, economics for different processes are analysed.

4. CASE STUDY
Several case studies are tested with the algorithm. In this article, a cavity for an electronic component shown in Figure 2 is presented to verify the algorithm and compare the economics between HSM, EDM, and a combination of both. According to algorithm, HSM is appropriate for the machining of this cavity. Three different experiments are conducted to compare the economics and surface finishes. The first experiment is the machining of the cavity by HSM; the second experiment is the machining of cavity by EDM and third experiment is the machining using combination of both HSM and EDM.

Figure 2: A cavity of an electronic component The maximum length, width and height of the cavity shown in Fig. 2 are 117.77 mm, 28.30 mm and 5 mm respectively. There are two bosses having diameters 4.72 mm and 3.25 mm respectively in the cavity. Heights of the bosses are 3 mm. The blend radii in top and bottom of the boss are 1.55 mm and 0.75 mm respectively. The taper angle is 2 degrees. The blend radius all along the bottom edge is 2 mm. The material used is ASAAB Stavx (AISI 420 MOD) and the hardness of the material is 51 HRC. Three ball nose end mill carbide cutters having diameter 6, 3 and 1.5 mm, coated with TiALN are used for the machining of cavity and copper electrodes used for the EDM experiments. The model of the electrode is shown in Figure 3 and comparative analysis of different experiments is shown in Table 2.

Figure 3: Electrode for EDM

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5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

In process selection algorithm (section 2.2), it was mentioned that there is already a division of effective zones for HSM and EDM based on L/D of the cutters and hardness of the material of the mould. But in a small area based on the estimated costs, both the HSM and EDM coincide. Using advanced CAM technology, advanced tooling and coating technology, machining of the mould of the coincident zone can be achieved by HSM. On the other hand, by using high-speed jump, graphite electrode with high-speed cutting, EDM can also be made appropriate for fabrication of the mould at that zone. In these circumstances, the decision of the selection of the processes depends on the nature of set-up of the organisations. If the organisations have more milling resources, they have to select HSM, otherwise EDM or a combination of both. From the economic analysis of case study 1 (section 4), it is obvious that HSM requires minimum processing time and processing cost while EDM requires maximum processing time (321% more than HSM) and cost (200% more than HSM) to manufacture the cavity. It is concluded that, for the machining of a particular cavity, HSM is preferred if found to be suitable, because the cost and lead-time are the most important at the end (see Table 2). If HSM cannot be applied, a combination of HSM and EDM should be considered.

6. REFERENCES
1. 2. 3. 4 Alam M. R., Lee K. S., Rahman M., Zhang Y. F., Automated process planning for the manufacture of sliders. Computers in Industry 2000; 43: 249-262. Ikeda, T. et al., Ultra high speed milling of die steel with ball-nose end mill. Proceedings of International Conference on Die and Mould Technology (ICDMT), Singapore, 1992; 48-46. Tanaka K. Precision die and mould manufacturing-a case study. Die and Mould Manufacturing International, April 1991; 47-50. Schumacher B., Sculz, H., EDM competing HSC- tool manufacturing/hardened steel, CIRP-2000-WG E/C-2, January 2000; Paris, France. Aspinwall, D. K., Dewes R. C., EPSRC case for support - ultra high speed machining of hardened ferrous alloys, school of manufacturing and mechanical engineering, University of Birmingham, 1994. Technical guide- SECO Tools AB, Sweden. Tooling systems- catalogue, MST Corporation, Japan 2000.
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