Abstract
Abstract To reduce the machining time and energy, it is important to have uninterrupted machining to make the process sustainable. Understanding the factors and mechanism that affect the wire failure is vital to reduce machining time to preserve resources and improve sustainability. Therefore, the mechanism of wire electrode rupture during electrical discharge machining (EDM) of Ti-6Al-4V alloy has been investigated in this study. To aid the analysis, electrolyte flushing pressure (7, 10, 15, 18 MPa), wire tension (800, 1100, 1400 and 1700 gf) and pulse-on-time (4, 6, 8 and 10 μsec) were varied to understand the effects of these parameters on wire rupture. The incidents of wire rupture are high at lower flushing pressure and higher wire tension. The influence of pulse-on-time depends on the interaction ns between wire tension and flushing pressure. The wire rupture occurs at instantaneous high temperature due to generation of unwanted arcs when the EDM debris/wastes are not flushed away properly. Higher wire tension may break the wire even at lower temperature in the machining zone. The wire rupture might be very sudden and/or gradual decrease of cross-section of the wire, however, the tips of the broken wire experience necking before fracture which is contributed to associated wire tension and softening by high temperature. The coating of the wire was disrupted and wear-off around the tips of broken wire. Workpiece material was not detected on the tips, however, trace of oxides islands was detected that formed due to high temperature oxidation of wire materials around the broken tips.
Highlights
electrical discharge machining (EDM) generally occurs in a special fluid, called as electrolyte, where the tool electrode produces the cavity of its shape in the workpiece electrode
The available researches on Wire EDM (WEDM) of metal matrix composites (MMCs) are focused on the influence of input variables (Pramanik, Basak et al 2015, Pramanik 2016), wire tension and spark energy on the wire rupture (Cabanes, Portillo et al 2008, Gamage and DeSilva 2016), surface finish of the machined parts (Lal, Kumar et al 2013, Habib and Okada 2016), materials removal rate along with the theory and experimental authentication of crater generation on the workpieces (Kinoshita, Fukui et al 1982, Jennes, Snoeys et al 1984)
It is imperatively needed to underpin the current understanding of wire rupture during wire EDM and reveal the physical mechanisms of wire rupture. This present study investigates the complex interconnectivity among wire rupture, frequency of wire rupture and morphology of broken wire for a range of electrolyte flushing pressure, wire tension and pulse-on-time during wire EDM grade 5 titanium (Ti-6Al-4V) alloy
Summary
EDM generally occurs in a special fluid, called as electrolyte, where the tool electrode produces the cavity of its shape in the workpiece electrode. High frequency electric pulses pass through the gap between the workpiece and wire, and material removal takes place in front of moving wire by spark discharges (Tosun and Cogun 2003).
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