Feasibility Study and Performance Analysis of Concentric Flow Dry Ultrasonic Assisted Wire Electric Discharge Machining CDUWEDM

Abstract

Aim: This research study has been planned to investigate feasibility of using ultrasonic vibrations to wire and supplying gaseous dielectric concentrically in sparking gap. The rationale tough is that the concentrically flowing gases forms an uniform gaseous shield around wire surface and ultrasonic vibrations prevents the formation of debris conglomeration in sparking gap, which in turn will minimize unwanted sparks. newlineMaterials and Methods: Ti 6Al 4V grade titanium alloy as workpiece material and molybdenum as wire material have been used for this research. Compressed air was used as gaseous dielectric for the experiments. Current, Pulse on time, Pulse off time, Amplitude and Pressure were control parameters for experimentations. Cutting Velocity (CV), Surface roughness (SR) and Kerf width (KW) were measured as response parameters for this research. newlineResults and Discussions: Parametric trend analysis of Concentric flow Dry ultrasonic assisted WEDM (CDUWEDM) over existing processes were carried out to understand the characteristic of this process. Comparative analysis of CDUWEDM over Side flow Dry WEDM (SDWEDM) was also analyzed to evaluate relative performance. Results of CDUWEDM process indicated significant 50.6% improvements in CV and 11.8% reduction in KW with minor 1.6% rise change in SR over existing SDWEDM. newlineFor modelling and optimization, detailed experiments were planned using Central Composite Design (CCD) techniques. Due to contribution of many parameters in responses of developed process and its complicated stochastic behavior, quadratic regression models were generated for responses. Optimizations were carried out using desirability approach to obtain optimal set of control parameters. Predicted responses were compared with results of conformity experiments for verification of generated models and found that models have predicted responses with good degree of accuracy. newline