Performance of Additive Mixed Kerosene–Servotherm in Electrical Discharge Machining of Monel 400™

Abstract

In general, kerosene and commercial grade EDM oils are conventional dielectric fluids in electrical discharge machining (EDM), despite their poor performance measures being major drawbacks. The aim of this study was to develop a dielectric fluid offering good performance measures in the EDM process, by determining the appropriate proportion of kerosene–servotherm and analyzing its performance with and without the additive concentration in EDM of monel 400™. Sixteen samples of kerosene–servotherm of varying proportions were used in this study. The optimum proportion of kerosene–servotherm was found to be 75:25, which resulted in the highest material removal rate (MRR) as compared with tool wear rate (TWR), and surface finish was found to be poorer than when using kerosene alone. In addition, 1 l of kerosene–servotherm concentrated with 6 g of graphite powder (one micron) exhibited substantial improvement in MRR, surface finish, and TWR compared with conventional dielectric fluids. Therefore kerosene–servotherm (75:25) concentrated with 6 g/l of graphite powder can be accepted as a potential dielectric fluid offering high MRR along with enhanced surface finish in EDM.