Theoretical study on wire-electro discharge machining process for nickel-base alloys

Abstract

Wire-cut Electro-Discharge Machining (EDM) is a popular machining process in the manufacturing industries. But, usages of Wire-cut EDM in machining of advance material in industries are still very limited. The main factors were due to lack of knowledge and experiences to handle the machine and also less exposure regarding advance material cutting. The objective of this study was machining the advance material, Nickel-base Alloy by using the Wire-cut EDM. The Taguchi method (Design of Experiments) have been use to design the experiment. In this study, Design of Experiment L-9 (34) layout had chosen to experiment design. There are four variables in this study which is factor A- Peak Current, factor B- Wire Tension, factor C- Water Pressure and factor D- Voltage. These parameters have been use to analyze the setting required for optimizing the process variables for Wirecut EDM machine to gain the best combination. The effect of these factors was the calculation of Material Removal Rate (MRR) and surface roughness (SR). Confirmation test must be done to confirm the value estimated though the calculation and software of Design Expert (DX7). ANOVA (analysis of variance) is performed to know interactive effect of the variables on the responses which is to optimum the results. The results on the material removal rate and surface roughness have been discussed. The factor that influence material removal rate the most is the voltage of machining. For surface roughness, the wire tension of machining was influence the most. However, the estimate error value for the MRR and SR is not relying 10% because of some factors that affect the data taken during the observation and confirmation experiment. The objectives of the study have been achieved.