Surface Integrity of Binderless WC Using Dry Electrical Discharge Assisted Grinding

Binderless tungsten carbide (WC) is preferred for manufacturing tools, mould, and wear-resistant components. However, due to its high brittleness and hardness, the machined binderless WC surface is prone to generate microcracks and the machining efficiency is extremely low. Aiming at this difficulty, a clean and eco-friendly dry electrical discharge assisted grinding (DEDAG) method without any liquid medium was proposed for the processing of binderless WC. DEDAG principle was revealed and the DEDAG platform was first developed. A series of DEDAG, conventional dry grinding (CDG), and conventional wet grinding (CWG) experiments were conducted on binderless WC under different processing parameters. The current and voltage waveforms during the DEDAG process were observed, and the discharge properties were analyzed. The chip morphologies, surface hardness, residual stress, as well as surface and subsurface morphologies were analyzed. The results show that the surface hardness and roughness obtained by DEDAG are smaller than that by CDG or CWG. The measured residual tensile stress after CDG is larger against DEDAG. The ground surface by DEDAG has better crystal integrity than that by CDG. DEDAG can soften/melt workpiece material and diminish grinding chips, thereby promoting plastic removal and increasing processing efficiency. The influences of DEDAG parameters on the ground surface quality are also investigated, and the optimal DEDAG parameters are determined. With the increase of open-circuit voltage or grinding depth, the surface quality improves first and then worsens. The optimal open-circuit voltage is 40 V and the grinding depth ranges from 10 µm to 15 µm. This research provides a new idea for promoting the efficient and low-damage processing of binderless WC.