Water-in-sunflower seed oil emulsion as a dielectric fluid for micro electrical discharge machining (µEDM)

Abstract

Dielectric fluid is an important component in machining using Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM). Conventional dielectric fluids have disadvantages such as emit carbon dioxide and carbon mono oxide gases to the environment. Vegetable-based dielectrics are biodegradable, environment-friendly, and emit less harmful gases. This study focuses on water-in-sunflower seed oil as a replacement for conventional dielectric fluid. The quality of the performance is evaluated through selected machining responses such as material removal rate (MRR), tool wear ratio (TWR), circularity, taper conicity, and overcut of the hole. The experimental design of the project is designed based on the Taguchi L9 orthogonal array which results in 9 sets of experiments with different combinations of electrode diameter, dielectric fluids, feed rate, and capacitance. Water-in-sunflower seed oil provides the highest MRR. Besides that, it also performs well in the overcut which shows a steady spark throughout the whole fabrication.