Experimental Analysis of Micro Electro Chemical Diamond Grinding Process for Titanium Alloy and Nickel Alloy

Abstract

newline In this study, a hybrid advanced machining technique known as electrochemical cut-off diamond grinding (ECCDG) is used to grind Ti-6Al-4V and Inconel 718. The machinability of such materials is very poor with conventional machining methods due to the generation of heat from cutting leads to work hardening, resulting in numerous defects. The ECM process is best suited for the machining of nickel-based superalloys and titanium alloys due to its high metal removal rate, zero residual stress, and negligible tool wear. As part of this study, an electrochemical cut-off diamond grinding setup has been developed taking into account the size and weight of various parts, as well as corrosion resistance in particular. The developed ECCDG setup is capable to perform cut-off grinding process on Ti-6Al-4V and Inconel 718. The present research is applied to investigate the influence of supply voltage (V), tool feed rate (TFR), electrolyte concentration (EC), electrolyte flow rate (EFR), and grinding wheel speed (GWS) on responses i.e. the MRR and Ra during the ECCDG process. A face-centered central composite design (CCD) approach is applied to design the experiments using the response surface methodology (RSM). The mathematical models are developed using response surface methodology (RSM) for MRR and Ra. The effects of the process parameters on the MRR and surface roughness for the ECCDG process of Ti-6Al-4V and Inconel 718 are investigated with the help of contour and surface plots. The developed models are found to be well fitted for the MRR and Ra. The adequacy of the models is checked by ANOVA, and the models are validated for different input conditions. The developed models are significant with a contribution of 98.89% and 97.03% in explaining the behavior of the MRR and Ra, respectively, for the ECCDG of Ti-6Al-4V. Similarly, the models are significant, with a contribution of 98.84% and 98.74% in explaining the behavior of the MRR and Ra, respectively, for the ECCDG of Inconel 718.