Abstract:In order to explore the machining performance of DC short arc milling, tubular copperplated graphite was used as the tool electrode and 45 steel was used as the workpiece material. The effects of voltage, electrode speed, and processing depth on the electrode loss rate, material removal rate (MRR) and surface quality were analyzed. The experimental results show that: increasing the voltage can effectively improve the MRR, but it will reduce the surface quality of the workpiece; increasing the speed of the electrode can not only improve the surface quality of the workpiece, but also obtain higher MRR; increasing the milling depth can greatly improve the MRR, but too large cutting depth will make milling difficult;when the milling speed cannot meet the feed rate, a cutter collision phenomenon will occur, and the tool electrode will break to produce a stepped surface, which will seriously affect the workpiece surface forming quality.