Studies on effect of wire EDM process parameters on machining characteristics of Inconel 825 plate

Abstract

Wire-cut Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM) is an emerging engineering process in the field of micro parts manufacturing to fabricate the complex shapes of micro products. This machining method has been magnificently employed in machining various materials starting from Al metal, a highly ductile material to a very high hard material like ceramics and Inconel’s. Inconel and Ti-based alloys treasure trove wider applications in these present industries. Those parts are producing difficulty in several machining processes and create difficult interactions with machining process parameters. Inconel 825 is a Ni-based strength metal and temperature resistant. Conventional machining of these results in large amounts of cutting forces, more strain-hardened and toughened chips, and extreme tool wear. In this work, an effort is made to study the influence of WEDM process parameters such as Ton, Toff and WF on the output variables such as the Cutting Width of Wire-cut EDM for Inconel 825. Preliminary trials were conducted by varying the process parameters in order to design a process parameter window. Factorial design matrix has been developed with L9 numbers of experiments and the corresponding output/responses such as Kerf Width and surface roughness (Ra) were measured and recorded. The responses have been used to measure the Ra and kerf values of all the specimens after cutting by Wire cut EDM machine. Use of ANOVA using identifies the influenced process parameter on machining (cutting) Inconel 825 output responses Kerf Width and surface roughness.