Parametric Optimization for Micro EDM

Abstract

Micro electrical discharge machining (micro-EDM) is one of the most recently developed newlinemicromachining technologies and predominantly used to produce miniature components and newlinemicro features. It has many advantages like negligible contact forces, minimal mechanical stresses, newlinechatter, and vibrations, which is due to no direct contact between tool and work. This makes it newlinesuitable for machining of intricate shapes and complicated micro features. Micro-EDM process is newlineparticularly suitable for machining hard materials that are difficult-to-cut by traditional machining newlineprocesses. newlineInconel 600 is a nickel-chrome alloy which has an exceptional combination of hightemperature newlinestrength, toughness and is incomparable in terms of its creeping resistance, oxidation, newlineand corrosion resistance at the elevated temperatures. Because of these characteristics, these alloys newlinewidely used in aerospace, nuclear power, heat processing industries, chemical processing plants, newlinebecause of its poor machinability, high cutting forces involved during machining, and heat newlinegeneration, which results in excessive tool wear. newlineThe present experimental study focuses on parametric optimization for micro-EDM of newlineInconel 600 alloy. The experimentation includes fabrication of micro-holes, micro-slits, and newlinemicro-slots. During these, a novel tooling approach has proposed wherein a copper foil is used newlineinstead of a traditional pin-shaped tool electrode. Experiments are planned using Taguchi and newlinecentral composite design procedure. Multi-response optimization is carried out using Grey newlinerelational analysis. For dimensional measurement of micro features, high precision microscope newlinesuch as Zeta instrument optical microscope has used. Subsequently, the mathematical modelling newlineis done using multiple regression, response surface modeling, and dimensional analysis for the newlineprediction of material removal rate. newlineThe first objective of the present study is to investigate the influence of process parameters newlineon micro-featured machining in terms of material removal rate, tool wear rate,