Parametric study of electric discharge machining of titanium grade 2 alloy in distilled water

Abstract

The current article provides a detailed discussion on the machining of titanium grade 2 alloy in an electric discharge machine (EDM). Copper is taken as a tool electrode, and distilled water is taken as dielectric for machining purpose. Machining with hydrocarbon oil in EDM causes environmental pollution and severe threats to the operator's health. Machining is carried out in distilled water to replace the hazardous hydrocarbon oil. The full factorial experimental design method is adopted to realize the outcome of input parameters on the output parameters. The consequence of current (Ip) and pulse-on time (Ton) are analyzed on response measures viz. material removal rate (MRR), tool wear rate (TWR), and surface roughness (SR). The cause of change in MRR, TWR, and SR trends is discussed. All the response measures show a rising trend with a rise in the value of process parameters. Analysis of Variance is implemented to notice the contribution fraction of each control variable on the response measures. Optical microscopic images are analyzed at lower and higher energy settings to observe the difference in surface morphology. MRR varies from 2.142 to 10.116 mg/min, TWR from 0.251 to 1.356 mg/min, and SR from 4.1 to 9.6 µm, respectively. Overall evaluation criteria are used to obtain input parameters to optimize the performance parameters.