International Journal of Advanced Technology & Engineering Research (IJATER)

OPTIMIZATION OF PROCESS PARAMETERS OF WIRE EDM USING ZINC-COATED BRASS WIRE

Authors: 1Manoj Malik, 2Rakesh Kumar Yadav, 3Nitesh Kumar, 4Deepak Sharma, 5Manoj

Abstract
Wire electrical discharge machining is a widely accepted non-traditional material removal process used to manufacture components with intricate profiles. In wire EDM, the conductive materials are machined with a series of electrical discharges (sparks) that are produced between an accurately positioned moving wire (the electrode) and the work piece. High frequency pulses of alternating or direct current is discharged from the wire to the work piece with a very small spark gap through insulated dielectric fluid (water). In this paper there are three factors has been taken for optimization i.e. Metal removal rate, Electrode wear rate, and Surface roughness using Zinc-coated brass wire. Keywords: - WEDM, Metal removal rate, surface finish, taguchi method, Electrode wear rate.

I. Introduction
Recently, non-conventional machining is well established used by component manufacturer as a manufacturing method. Non-conventional is not involved with the high force, without tool ware and the most things for the environment it is a green process. The process is not deal with the metal chip and only water is used as an electrode. Wire electrical discharge machining (wire-EDM), EDM die sinking, water jet cutting and laser cutting are the most regularly used by the manufacturer. Wire-EDM as a precision cutting technology is possible to fabricate from a small range of product until a large size of component. All type of good conductivity metal such as mild steel and copper are possible to be cut using wire-EDM. However, machine setting varies for each type of metals. So, certain parameters need to be clearly defined for each of materials. In wire-EDM, to cut two types of material in one time or parallel cutting is a big challenge. Machine setting for both of the materials need to be considered and optimized. Besides that, the machine setting is also base on the curve or profile to be cut. The setting is easy tuned for a straight line and become more difficult for the curve or part which is involving an angle. Limitation of cutting speed is applied by Sanchez et. al. (2007) in order to minimize the errors at different zones of the corner. Ninety degree angle is the most difficult section to be cut by wire-EDM because of the dramatically direction changing. Wire electrical discharge maISSN No: 2250-3536

chining process is a highly complex, time varying & stochastic process. The process output is affected by large no of input variables. Therefore a suitable selection of input variables for the wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) process relies heavily on the operators technology & experience because of their numerous & diverse range. WEDM is extensively used in machining of conductive materials when precision is of prime importance. Rough cutting operation in wire EDM is treated as challenging one because improvement of more than one performance measures viz. Metal removal rate (MRR), surface finish & cutting width are sought to obtain precision work. In this paper an approach to determine parameters setting is proposed. Using taguchis parameter design, significant machining parameters affecting the performance measures are identified as pulse peak current, pulse on time, and duty factor. The effect of each control factor on the performance measure is studied individually using the plots of signal to noise ratio. The study demonstrates that the WEDM process parameters can be adjusted so as to achieve better metal removal rate, surface finish, electrode wear rate.

Fig. 1 Wire EDM Set-up Table1 PROCESS PARAMETERS OF MICRO WIRE EDM PROCESS
S. PARAMETERS RANGE

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No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Frequency Pulse width gap % of voltage gain pulse peak current output voltage Dwell time polarity hole diameter spindle speed 0-200 KHz 1-10 s 60-100% 0-100 40A 60-250V 0-20s +/0.05 -1 mm 100-1000 rev/min

Kunieda and Furudate tested the feasibility of conducting dry WEDM to improve the accuracy of the finishing operations, which was conducted in a gas atmosphere without using dielectric fluid. In addition, WEDM uses deionised water instead of hydrocarbon oil as the dielectric fluid and contains it within the sparking zone. The deionised water is not suitable for conventional EDM as it causes rapid electrode wear, but its low viscosity and rapid cooling rate make it ideal for WEDM.

III. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

3.1 GREY BASED TAGUCHI METHOD:Genichi Taguchi, a Japanese scientist, developed a technique based on OA of experiments. This technique has been widely used in different fields of engineering to optimize the process parameters. The integration of DOE with parametric optimization of process can be achieved in the Taguchi method. An OA provides a set of well-balanced experiments, and Taguchis signal-to-noise. (S/N) ratios, which are logarithmic functions of the desired output, serve as objective functions for optimization. It helps to learn the whole parameter space with a small number (minimum experimental runs) of experiments. OA and S/N ratios are used to study the effects of control factors and noise factors and to determine the best quality characteristics for particular applications.

II. LITERATURE REVIEW

The material removal mechanism of WEDM is very similar to the conventional EDM process involving the erosion effect produced by the electrical discharges (sparks). In WEDM, material is eroded from the work piece by a series of discrete sparks occurring between the work piece and the wire separated by a stream of dielectric fluid, which is continuously fed to the machining zone. However, today's WEDM process is commonly conducted on work pieces that are totally submerged in a tank filled with dielectric fluid. Such a submerged method of WEDM promotes temperature stabilisation and efficient flushing especially in cases where the work piece has varying thickness. The WEDM process makes use of electrical energy generating a channel of plasma between the cathode and anode, and turns it into thermal energy at a temperature in the range of 8000-12,000 OC or as high as 20,000 OC initializing a substantial amount of heating and melting of material on the surface of each pole. When the pulsating direct current power supply occurring between 20,000 and 30,000 Hz is turned off, the plasma channel breaks down. This causes a sudden reduction in the temperature allowing the circulating dielectric fluid to implore the plasma channel and flush the molten particles from the pole Surfaces in the form of microscopic debris. While the material removal mechanisms of EDM and WEDM are similar, their functional characteristics are not identical. WEDM uses a thin wire continuously feeding through the work piece by a microprocessor, which enable parts of complex shapes to be machined with exceptional high accuracy. A varying degree of taper ranging from lSO for a 100 mm thick to 30" for a 400 mm thick work piece can also be obtained on the cut surface. The microprocessor also constantly maintains the gap between the wire and the wok piece, which varies from 0.025 to 0.05 mm. WEDM, eliminates the need for elaborate pre-shaped electrodes, which are commonly required in EDM to perform the roughing and finishing operations. In the case of WEDM, the wire has to make several machining passes along the profile to be machined to attain the required dimensional accuracy and surface finish (SF) quality.

Fig.2. Principle of wire EDM

The optimal process parameters obtained from the Taguchi method are insensitive to the variation of environmental conditions and other noise factors. However, originally, Taguchi method was designed to optimize single-performance characteristics. Optimization of multiple performance characteristics is not straightforward and much more complicated than that of single-performance characteristics. To solve the multiple performance characteristics problems, the Taguchi

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method is coupled with grey relational analysis. Grey relational analysis was first proposed by Deng in 1982 to fulfil the crucial mathematical criteria for dealing with poor, incomplete, and uncertain system This grey-based Taguchi technique has been widely used indifferent fields of engineering to solve multi-response optimization problems. The taguchi method can be obtained by step by step procedure as shown in fig. 3 below:

Table 2. Electrical discharge machining condition

Work condition Electrode Work piece Voltage Peak current Pulse duration Interval time Dielectric fluid Description Brass wire with zinc coated, diameter 9 mm, Length 70 mm Tungsten Carbide ceramic, square shape (100x100x7mm) 120 to 200 V 8 to 64 A 1.6 to 50 s 3.2 to 800 Kerosene

3.2 DESIGN OF EXPERIMENT: As per the taguchi quality design concept L9 orthogonal array table was arbitrarily chosen to study optimization process. 1. Three control factors were chosen each at 3 levels A- Pulse on time (s) B- Duty factor = (pulse on time/(pulse on time + pulse of time)) C- Pulse peak current (A) 2. Three response parameters were measured (I) Metal removal rate i.e. MRR (g/min) (II) Electrode wear rate i.e. EWR (%) (III)Surface roughness i.e. SR (m)

Table 3. Machining parameters & their levels

Symbol A B Parameter Pulse on time Duty factor Pulse peak current Unit s A Level 1 5 0.2 1 Level 2 100 0.4 5 Level 3 200 0.6 7

Fig. 3. Grey-based taguchi method procedure

In this paper, the cutting of Tungsten Carbide ceramic using electro-discharge machining (EDM) with a graphite electrode by using Taguchi methodology has been reported by Radzi et al. The Taguchi method is used to formulate the experimental layout, to analyse the effect of each parameter on the machining characteristics, and to predict the optimal choice for each EDM parameter such as peak current, voltage, pulse duration and interval time. It is found that these parameters have a significant influence on machining characteristic such as metal removal rate (MRR), electrode wear rate (EWR) and surface roughness (SR). The analysis of the Taguchi method reveals that, in general the peak current significantly affects the EWR and SR, while, the pulse duration mainly affects the MRR.

3.3 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS: The experimental results obtained in EDM are given below:

Table 3. Experimental results of process

A 1 1 B 1 2 C 1 2 MRR 0.0024 0.0058 EWR 29.896 5.253 RA 3.01 2.78

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1 2 2 2 3 3 3

3 1 2 3 1 2 3

3 2 3 1 3 1 2

0.0097 0.0066 0.0087 0.0029 0.59 0.0031 0.0037

4.897 2.345 0.765 28.906 0.234 28.865 0.789

3.45 2.95 2.98 2.5 2.12 2.56 2.01

IV. CONCLUSION
1. It can be seen from the graph 1 for MRR to b maximum factor A, B has to be at level 2 & factor c has to be at level 3. 2. Pulse peak current is the most critical factor affecting MRR& duty factor is the least significant parameter. 3. For minimum EWR factor A, C has to be at level 3 & factor B has to be at level 1. 4. Pulse peak current is the most critical factor affecting EWR& duty factor is the least significant parameter. 5. For minimum surface roughness factor A, B has to be at level 3 & factor C has to be at level 2. 6. Pulse on time is the most critical factor affecting surface roughness & duty factor is the least significant parameter.

ing of tungsten carbide, Journals of Material Processing Technology 115 (2001) pp.344-358. [10] Condra L W (1993), Reliability improvement with design of experiments, Marcel Dekker, [11] Bagchi Tapan P. (1993), Taguchi methods explained, practical steps to robust design, Prentice Hall of India, India Private Limited, New Delhi. [12] Berger P D, Maurer R E (2002), Experimental design, Thomson-Duxbury, Singapore. [13] Bhattacharya B, Manna A (1998), Taguchi Method based parametric study of CNC Wire-cut[14] EDM during machining of Al-SiC MMC. Industrial Engineering Journal, 83, 62-65. [15] Hines J W (1997), Fuzzy and neural approaches in engineering, John Willy and Sons, Inc., New York, [16] Ho K. H., Newman S. T. (2003), State of the art electrical discharge machining (EDM), International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture. 43, 1287-1300. [17] Ho K. H., Newman S. T. Rahimifard S. Allen R. D. (2004), State of the art in wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM), International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture. (Articlein press)

Biographies
1

MANOJ MALIK (MAIN AUTHOR) B.Tech. and M.Tech. from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak. His research areas include Manufacturing and Automation field. manojkumarmalik1984@gmail.com
2

V. REFERANCES
[1] Y.S. Liao, Y.Y. Chu and M.T. Yan, Study of wire breaking process and monitoring of WEDM, International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture, 37 (1997) pp. 555-567. [2] R. E. Williams and K. P. Rajurkar, Study of wire electrical discharged machine surface characteristics, Journal of Materials Processing Technology,28(1991) pp. 127-138 [3] S.S Mohapatra, Amar pattnaik, Optimization of WEDM process parameters using Taguchi method, International Journal of Advanced manufacturing Technology (2006) [4] P.J Ross. Taguchi Techniques For Quality Engineering. New York, McGraw-Hill ,1984 [5] Y.S Liao , J.T.Huang, A study on the machining parameter optimization of WEDM, Journal of Material Processing Technology,71(1997) pp. 487-493 [6] Mohd Amri Lajis , H.C.D. Mohd Radzi, The Implementation of Taguchi Method on EDM Process ofTungsten Carbide, European Journal of Scientific Research ISSN 1450-216X Vol.26 No.4 (2009), pp.609-617 [7] C.L.Lin, J.L.lin & T.C.Ko ,Optimization of the EDM process based on the Orthogonal Array with Fuzzy Logic and Grey Relational Analysis Method, International Journal of Advanced manufacturing Technology,19(2002) pp. 271-277 [8] Mu-Tian Yan , Hsing Tsung Chien,Monitoring & Control of the micro wire EDM process, International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture ,47(2007)pp.148-157. [9] S.H.Lee, X.P Li, Study of the effect of machining parameters on the machining characteristics in electrical discharge machin-

RAKESH KUMAR YADAV, Assistant Professor, AlFalah School of Engineering & Technology, Faridabad rkymech@gmail.com
3

NITESH KUMAR, Assistant Professor, Rawal Institute of Engineering & Technology, Faridabad nitesh.bitspilani@gmail.com
4

HARICHAND, Assistant Professor, Rawal Institute of Engineering & Technology, Faridabad harichand88@gmail.com
5

DEEPAK SHARMA, Assistant Professor, Rawal Institute of Engineering & Technology, Faridabad
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MANOJ, Lecturer, Rawal Institute of Engineering & Technology, Faridabad. mrdudeja@gmail.com

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