Investigation into material removal mechanism of high-volume-fraction SiCp/Al composite by fast ED milling

Jun-Cheng Lu; Jian Wang; Qiang Gao; Qian Zheng; Yi-Fan Lu; Ya-Ou Zhang; Wan-Sheng Zhao

doi:10.1007/s40436-025-00575-8

Advances in Manufacturing ›› 2026, Vol. 14 ›› Issue (2) :397 -415. DOI: 10.1007/s40436-025-00575-8

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research-article

Investigation into material removal mechanism of high-volume-fraction SiCp/Al composite by fast ED milling

Jun-Cheng Lu ¹^,²^,^a
, Jian Wang ³
, Qiang Gao ¹^,²
, Qian Zheng ¹^,²
, Yi-Fan Lu ¹^,²
, Ya-Ou Zhang ¹^,²
, Wan-Sheng Zhao ¹^,²

Author information +

¹, State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration, 200240, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

²School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

³, Nanjing Engineering Institute of Aircraft Systems, AVIC, 211100, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China

^a Junchenglu@sjtu.edu.cn

Jun-Cheng Lu

Jun-Cheng Lu is currently pursuing doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering at School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai, China. He has completed B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China. His areas of interest are electrical discharge machining technology, including fast electric discharge milling, fast electric discharge drilling, and the adaptive servo control technology for these processes.

Jian Wang

Jian Wang is currently an engineer at Nanjing Engineering Institute of Aircraft Systems. He has completed B.S. degree in Aviation Manufacturing Engineering from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. His areas of interests are electrical discharging machining, process control, and artificial intelligence in manufacturing.

Qiang Gao

Qiang Gao is currently pursuing doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering at School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. He has completed B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Jilin University, Changchun, China. His areas of interests are electrical discharging machining, pulse power supply for EDM, and adaptive servo control technology.

Qian Zheng

Qian Zheng received B.S. degree in Mechanical Automation from Harbin Institute of Technology in 2021 and M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2024. Her areas of interests are EDM and the surface quality of EDM.

Yi-Fan Lu

Yi-Fan Lu is currently pursuing doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering at School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. He has completed B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. His areas of interests are die sinking electric discharge machining, CNC systems for EDM machines and its process servo control technology.

Ya-Ou Zhang

Ya-Ou Zhang is currently working as an associate investigator at School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. He received M.S. degree from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2003 and Ph.D. degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2008. His areas of interests are electrical discharging machining, specialized robot, and smart manufacturing.

Wan-Sheng Zhao

Wan-Sheng Zhao is currently working as a professor at School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. He received B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology in 1982, 1984, and 1989 , respectively. His research interests includes EDM, CNC systems for EDM machines towards smart manufacturing, and artificial intelligence in manufacturing.

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Abstract

High-volume-fraction SiC particle-reinforced aluminum (SiCp/Al) metal matrix composites (MMCs) are widely utilized in the electronic packaging of aerospace equipment because of their low density and high thermal conductivity. However, the extremely high hardness of SiC and compact structure of electronic packaging components pose significant challenges to conventional manufacturing techniques. Severe tool wear can reduce the processing efficiency and increase the manufacturing costs. Therefore, this work introduces a fast electrical discharge (ED) milling approach for machining high-volume-fraction SiCp/Al MMCs. This method was successfully applied to the fabrication of gas-film holes. Nevertheless, Ni-based superalloys differ significantly from SiCp/Al, and their material-removal mechanisms and machining capabilities represent core knowledge gaps. Consequently, this study employed an observation setup based on a high-speed camera to capture the gap discharge phenomenon and analyze the machined surfaces and generated debris. This analysis revealed the material-removal processes and mechanisms under two processing conditions with pulse durations of 50 μs and 500 μs. Additionally, the capability of fast ED milling to process high-volume-fraction SiCp/Al MMCs was initially verified through sample machining. The experimental results demonstrated that this method could create parts with complex and precise geometries, achieving satisfactory results in terms of machining accuracy and surface quality. Dimensional errors could be controlled within ± 50 μm, and the average surface roughness was less than 3 μm.

Keywords

SiC particle-reinforced aluminum (SiCp/Al) / Material-removal mechanism / Gap discharge phenomena / Fast electrical discharge (ED) milling

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Jun-Cheng Lu, Jian Wang, Qiang Gao, Qian Zheng, Yi-Fan Lu, Ya-Ou Zhang, Wan-Sheng Zhao. Investigation into material removal mechanism of high-volume-fraction SiCp/Al composite by fast ED milling. Advances in Manufacturing, 2026, 14(2): 397-415 DOI:10.1007/s40436-025-00575-8

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