Material characterization and Optimization of wire electrical Discharge machining parameters of Aisi a2 tool steel machining in various Conductive states and mediums

Abstract

Currently, the demand is increasing for machine micro and nano size dies of complex profile with minimum post-processing operations. These dies are used primarily in dental, jewellery and optical fields. These should have explicit characters as follows: (i) a high surface finish to attain good quality with fewer defects, (ii) the corrosion formation inside the dies should be minimized to provide a good life for the components, and (iii) the strength should be good for avoiding the deformation of dies and reducing material wastage to maximize the utilization of the work material. Taking these points as the objectives, the present work has been carried out. newlineIn the conventional machining process, the tool contacts the workpiece and the defects are more. To overcome these drawbacks, an unconventional machining process, where the tool does not contact the workpiece, was investigated. But all unconventional machining processes are not suitable for manufacturing dies with intricate shapes; the Wire Electrical Discharge Machine (WEDM) is more suitable. The wire electrical discharge machining is a process of generating sparks between the wire electrode and the work material. The machining of the material takes place with sparks and the machined material scraps were removed with the help of a dielectric fluid. The performance of the WEDM is very low, therefore many researchers tried to improve the performance of WEDM. A Few researchers optimized the machining parameters for improving the performance. A Few investigated by changing the wire electrodes. newline