Comparison and evaluation of microchannel array machining with structured cutter

ABSTRACT

The wide application of microchannel arrays promotes the development of their fabrication in the direction of simplicity, low cost, and high quality. In this paper, a method of machining parallel microchannels with equal width and spacing by a cutter with multiparallel helical edge is proposed, and the response of the cutter when machining materials with different hardness (copper and nickel-based superalloy Inconel718) is explored. The tool takes only 4.5 minutes to manufacture, a significant cost saving. The time-domain signal characteristics, surface quality, burr characteristics, dimensional accuracy, and tool wear state of milling different materials are compared and analyzed. In addition, the characteristics of the chip produced by the tool are discussed. The results show that parallel microchannels with a dimensional accuracy of 118.7 ± 1.35 μm and 118.7 ± 3.61 μm can be fabricated on In718 and copper, respectively. This research is expected to be used to fabricate parallel microchannels in a variety of materials and has important application value to promote the efficient and low-cost processing of small-sized microchannel arrays.

KEYWORDS:

• Microchannel
• micromilling
• electrode
• discharge
• machining
• copper
• inconel718
• arrays
• microtexture
• efficiency

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors thank the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1908230); Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. N2103013); Postdoctoral Scientific Research Funds of Liaoning Province (2021-BS-053).