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The superior engineering properties and excellent biocompatibility of titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) stimulate applications in biomedical industries. Electric discharge machining, a widely used process in advanced applications, is an attractive option that simultaneously offers machining and surface modification. In this study, a comprehensive list of roughening levels of process variables such as pulse current, pulse ON time, pulse OFF time, and polarity, along with four tool electrodes of graphite, copper, brass, and aluminum are evaluated (against two experimentation phases) using a SiC powder-mixed dielectric. The process is modeled using the adaptive neural fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) to produce surfaces with relatively low roughness. A thorough parametric, microscopical, and tribological analysis campaign is established to explore the physical science of the process. For the case of the surface generated through aluminum, a minimum friction force of ~25 N is observed compared with the other surfaces. The analysis of variance shows that the electrode material (32.65%) is found to be significant for the material removal rate, and the pulse ON time (32.15%) is found to be significant for arithmetic roughness. The increase in pulse current to 14 A shows that the roughness increased to ~4.6 µm with a 33% rise using the aluminum electrode. The increase in pulse ON time from 50 µs to 125 µs using the graphite tool resulted in a rise in roughness from ~4.5 µm to ~5.3 µm, showing a 17% rise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric discharge machining is relatively a slow process in terms of machining time and material removal rate. The presence of overcut and the hole taper angle caused by the excessive tool wear are other challenges in the electric discharge machining die-sinking process. The areas of focus to solve these challenges in the performance of electric discharge machines include increasing the rate of material removal, decreasing the rate of tool wear, and reducing the rate of hole taper angle and overcut. Triangular cross-sectional through-holes have been produced in D2 steel through die-sinking electric discharge machining (EDM). Conventionally, the electrode with uniform triangular cross-section throughout the electrode length is used to machine triangular holes. In this study, new designs of electrodes (non-conventional designs) are employed by introducing circular relief angles. For material removal rate (MRR), tool wear rate (TWR), overcut, taper angle, and surface roughness of the machined holes, the machining performance of conventional and unconventional electrode designs is compared. A significant improvement in MRR (32.6% increase) has been achieved by using non-conventional electrode designs. Similarly, the hole quality resulted by non-conventional electrodes is way better than hole quality corresponding to conventional electrode designs, especially in terms of overcut and hole taper angle. A reduction of 20.6% in overcut and a reduction of 72.5% in taper angle can be achieved through newly designed electrodes. Finally, one electrode design has been selected (electrode with 20 degree relief angle) as the most appropriate electrode resulting in better EDM performance in terms of MRR, TWR, overcut, taper angle, and surface roughness of triangular holes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the sustainability goals in the aeronautical industry includes developing cost-effective, high-performance engine components possessing complex curved geometries with excellent dimensional precision and surface quality. In this regard, several developments in wire electric discharge machining have been reported, but the influence of flushing attributes is not thoroughly investigated and is thus studied herein. The influence of four process variables, namely servo voltage, flushing pressure, nozzle diameter, and nozzle–workpiece distance, were analyzed on Inconel 718 in relation to geometrical errors (angular and radial deviations), spark gap formation, and arithmetic roughness. In this regard, thorough statistical and microscopical analyses are employed with mono- and multi-objective process optimization. The grey relational analysis affirms the reduction in the process's limitations, validated through confirmatory experimentation results as 0.109 mm spark gap, 0.956% angular deviation, 3.49% radial deviation, and 2.2 µm surface roughness. The novel flushing mechanism improved the spark gap by 1.92%, reducing angular and radial deviations by 8.24% and 29.11%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stainless steel (SS 304) is commonly employed in industrial applications due to its considerable corrosion resistance, thermal resistance, and ductility. Most of its intended applications require the formation of complex profiles, which justify the use of wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM). However, its high thermal resistance imposes a limitation on acquiring adequate surface topography because of the high surface tension of the melt pool, which leads to the formation of spherical modules; ultimately, this compromises the surface quality. Furthermore, the stochastic nature of the process makes it difficult to optimize its performance, especially if more than one conflicting response is involved, such as high cutting speed with low surface roughness and kerf width. Therefore, this study aimed to comprehensively investigate the interaction of SS 304 and WEDM, with a prior focus on simultaneously optimizing all the conflicting responses using the Taguchi-based grey relational approach. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that the current was the most significant parameter for cutting speed and kerf, whereas roughness, voltage (45%), drum speed (25.8%), and nozzle offset distance (~21%) were major contributing factors. SEM micrographs showed that optimal settings not only ensured simultaneous optimization of the conflicting responses but also reduced the number and size of spherical modules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]