Investigation of Copper and Zinc Contamination on the Work Piece Surface with WEDM

Abstract

This work presents an investigation on Wire Electric Discharge Machining (WEDM) of Pure Titanium (Grade-2). Pure Titanium and its alloys are the most suitable metallic materials for biomedical applications. In health care, they are used for implant devices like knee and hip implants, fixing materials for bones like nails and screws, and in the oral and maxillofacial surgery. Properties like good biocompatibility, high corrosion resistance, and high fracture strength make titanium parts the perfect solution for bio-implants. The more frequent use of the titanium necessitates an economical machining process. Conventional processes like milling, grinding or drilling have their limits because of the material’s mechanical properties which cause high tool wear. WEDM proves to be an alternative especially for manufacturing complex parts as there is no actual contact with tool and the work piece. Within this study, the capabilities of Wire-EDM for the manufacturing of clean surfaces with distinct Surface Roughness (SR) and Machining Speed (MS) are conducted through optimization of process parameters. Taguchi technique is used for optimization and the experiments are conducted according to Taguchi Design of Experiments (DOE). Different wire electrode materials have been used considering a possible copper and zinc contamination on the work piece surface.