Influence of powder-mixed dielectric on MRR and TWR in EDM process

Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) is a non-conventional machining process, which is popular to make dies and moulds in manufacturing industry. This paper presents the machining work of powder mixed EDM on HcHcr D2 tool steel, which produces better results than conventional process. MMC electrodes are widely used in the industry therefore attempt has been made to see the effect of Al SiC composite in PMEDM. Nickel and chromium powders were used as additives in dielectric fluid. Pulse on time, current, voltage and duty cycle of EDM were chosen as design variables to see the effect on response factors in terms of Material Removal Rate (MRR) and Tool Wear Rate (TWR). Full factorial design and ANOVA has been used to plan and analyse the experiment. The most important variables affecting selected response measures are identified and effects of additive variations have been observed. Result shows the positive influence of the Nickel and Chromium powders for the improvement of material removal rate and tool were rate. The parametric optimization’s results from this study will be useful for EDM industry to select appropriate design parameters and levels.