See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/320491280

Effect of wire-EDM process parameters on cutting speed of AL6061 hybrid

composite

Article · October 2017

CITATIONS READS

0 1,048

5 authors, including:

A. Muniappan Jayakumar Vijayarangam

Saveetha University 50 PUBLICATIONS   42 CITATIONS   
26 PUBLICATIONS   30 CITATIONS   
SEE PROFILE
SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Natural Fibre Composites View project

Cellular Manufacturing Systems View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Jayakumar Vijayarangam on 19 October 2017.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET)
Volume 8, Issue 10, October 2017, pp. 185–189, Article ID: IJMET_08_10_023
Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=8&IType=10
ISSN Print: 0976-6340 and ISSN Online: 0976-6359

© IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed

EFFECT OF WIRE-EDM PROCESS

PARAMETERS ON CUTTING SPEED OF AL6061
HYBRID COMPOSITE
A. Muniappan, C. Thiagarajan, P.V. Senthiil, V. Jayakumar and T. Shaafi
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Saveetha School of Engineering,
Saveetha University, Thandalam, Chennai, India

ABSTRACT
In this paper, the effect of different wire electrodes used in wire electrical
discharge machining (WEDM) on the machining characteristics of Al/SiC/Graphite
has been presented. Aluminium metal matrix composites reinforced with silicon
carbide particulate find several applications due to their improved mechanical
properties for a wide variety of aerospace and automotive applications. The hybrid
composite (Al6061/SiC/Graphite) is prepared by stir casting method. These
reinforcements have 10– 13 micron size particles of SiC & graphite. Three types of
wire materials such as Brass wire, zinc coated wire and diffused coated wires have
been used. The process performance is measured in terms of cutting speed. Taguchi
experimental design strategy is used in the experimentation. Six process parameters,
namely pulse on time, pulse off time, peak current, gap set voltage, wire feed and Wire
tension have been considered. Cutting speed, kerf width, surface roughness is
calculated for each experiment. In this paper cutting speed is compared and studied
for the different wire electrodes. In this study, diffused coated wire electrode’s
performance is better than the other wire electrodes.
Keywords: WEDM, Hybrid composite, Taguchi method, Cutting speed and Stir
casting.
Cite this Article: A. Muniappan, C. Thiagarajan, P.V. Senthiil, V. Jayakumar and
T. Shaafi, Effect of Wire-Edm Process Parameters on Cutting Speed of Al6061 Hybrid
Composite, International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology 8(10),
2017, pp. 185–189.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=8&IType=10

1. INTRODUCTION
Aluminium metal matrix composites (MMCs) reinforced with silicon carbide particulate
(SiCp) find several applications due to their improved mechanical properties over the
conventional metals for a wide variety of aerospace and automotive applications.In the recent
days, Al matrix composites have been used for the production of automotive parts such as
engine piston, cylinder liner, brake disc/drum etc.[1].However, the presence of

http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 185 editor@iaeme.com

 Effect of Wire-Edm Process Parameters on Cutting Speed of Al6061 Hybrid Composite

discontinuously distributed hard ceramic in the MMCs made them as difficult-to-cut materials
for conventional machining methods. Wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) is an
indispensable machining technique for producing complicated cut-outs.By 1975; its
popularity was rapidly increasing, as the process and its capabilities were better understood by
the industry [2]. Wires used in wire electrical discharge machining are the core of the
system.In WEDM, material is eroded from the work-piece by a series of discrete sparks
occurring between the work piece and the wire separated by a stream of dielectric fluid, which
is continuously fed to the machining zone [3]. Brass wire electrode is used extensively as a
tool for WEDM. However, along with the recent diversification in applications of
manufacturing fields, demand is expanding for a wire electrode with performance superior to
the conventional brass wire electrode. These electrodes in use are generally zinc coated wire
with a copper/brass alloy or steel core, the brass containing either a small amount of Cr, or a
high concentration of Zn. Huang et al. [4] argued that several published works [5,6,7] are
concerned mostly with the optimization of parameters for the roughing cutting operations and
proposed a practical strategy of process planning from roughing to finishing operations.

2. PREPARATION OF HYBRID COMPOSITE

In this study, the hybrid MMC has been fabricated by stir casting process. The hybrid
composite consists of 10 wt% SIC and 5 wt% Graphite particulates in metal matrix Al6061
alloy. The Al alloy of 6061 is having great potential to be utilized in aerospace and
automotive industries because of its high strength-to-weight ratio and good resistance to
corrosion. Reinforcements SiC and graphite in particulate form are used to fabricate the
hybrid composite. These reinforcements have 10– 13 micron size particles of SiC& graphite.

3. MACHINING PARAMETERS AND RESPONSE

six input process parameters in WEDM, namely, pulse on time, pulse off time, pulse current,
gap set voltage, the wire drum speed and wire tension were chosen to study their effects on
SR and kerf width while machining the hybrid composite. The ranges of these process
parameters were selected on the basis of the pilot experiments. The levels of various
parameters and their designations are presented in Table 1.

Table 1 Process parameters and their levels

Symbol Process parameter Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
A Pulse on time 108 117 126
B Pulse off time 40 50 60
C Pulse current 90 160 230
D Gapset Voltage 10 30 50
E Wire drum speed 3 4 5
F Wire tension 4 8 12

4. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN USING TAGUCHI METHOD

Taguchi technique is an efficient tool for the design of a high-quality manufacturing system. It
is a method based on OA experiments, which provide much reduced variance for the
experiment with optimum setting of process control parameters. The six control parameters,
that is, pulse on time (A), pulse off time (B), peak current (C),Gap set voltage (D), wire drum
speed (E) and wire tension(F) at three levels were selected in this study.

http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 186 editor@iaeme.com

 A. Muniappan, C. Thiagarajan, P.V. Senthiil, V. Jayakumar and T. Shaafi

5. EXPERIMENTAL SET UP:

Experiments were conducted on Electronica Sprint cut (Electra-Elplus 40A Dlx) CNC wire
electrical discharge machine to study the surface roughness, cutting speed and kerf width
affected by the machining parameters at different levels. WEDM is a spark erosion process.
The sparks are generated between the work piece and the wire electrode. The dielectric fluid
is continuously fed into the machining zone with required pressure. The material is getting
removed by a series of discrete sparks taking place at the area to be machined through electro-
thermal mechanism. During machining process small gap maintained between the work and
wire material. The machined particles were flushed away by the continuous flow of the
dielectric fluid. The wire is held by a pin guide at the upper and lower parts of the work piece.
The work specimen size used in this study is 95 x 80 x 8 mm rectangular plate. Brass, Zinc
coated brass and diffused coated wire electrodes of 0.25 mm diameter was used in this study.
Deionised water was used as dielectric fluid at room temperature. During machining, the
cutting speed was observed and documented.

6. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Figure 1 & Figure 2 shows cutting speed variation for Brass, Zinc coated and diffused coated
wire electrodes. From the graph it is observed for lower pulse on time and pulse off time
values zinc coated brass wire electrode gives better cutting speed comparison with brass wire
electrode. Brass wire electrode gives better cutting speed at high range of input process
parameters. Power consumption will be higher at high peak current and voltage. Surface
roughness is poor at higher cutting speed. So zinc coated wire electrode performance is better
than the brass wire electrode. For zinc coated wire electrode, the maximum cutting speed was
observed at higher pulse on time and peak current. At high peak current, cutting speed was
high due to more heat is generated. The cutting speed was high for wire electrodes at high
discharge current at 230 units. Low cutting speed was observed for high discharge current and
low pulse on time for all wire electrodes. So it is understood that cutting speed will be
maximum for higher discharge current and pulse on time. At high pulse on time, the rate of
material removed is also high.

Table 4 Cutting speed with Process parameters

Pulse Pulse Gap Cutting Speed
Peak Wire Wire
Ex. No. on off set
Current Feed Tension Zinc Brass Diffused
Time Time voltage
µs µs A V m/min mm/min mm/min mm/min
1 108 40 90 10 3 4 3.43 3.66 3.47
2 108 40 90 10 4 8 3.70 4.03 3.59
3 108 40 90 10 5 12 3.97 3.82 3.55
4 108 50 160 30 3 4 3.30 3.61 3.55
5 108 50 160 30 4 8 3.23 3.59 3.55
6 108 50 160 30 5 12 3.17 3.53 3.59
7 108 60 230 50 3 4 1.82 1.72 1.90
8 108 60 230 50 4 8 1.78 1.72 1.85
9 108 60 230 50 5 12 1.69 1.70 1.83
10 117 40 160 50 3 8 4.69 4.69 4.80
11 117 40 160 50 4 12 4.62 4.65 4.80
12 117 40 160 50 5 4 4.65 4.48 4.65
13 117 50 230 10 3 8 4.62 4.92 4.92

http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 187 editor@iaeme.com

 Effect of Wire-Edm Process Parameters on Cutting Speed of Al6061 Hybrid Composite

14 117 50 230 10 4 12 4.48 4.92 4.92

15 117 50 230 10 5 4 4.44 4.88 4.92
16 117 60 90 30 3 8 2.05 2.05 2.31
17 117 60 90 30 4 12 1.98 1.97 2.34
18 117 60 90 30 5 4 2.10 2.09 2.35
19 126 40 230 30 3 12 4.84 4.96 5.04
20 126 40 230 30 4 4 4.80 5.00 5.00
21 126 40 230 30 5 8 4.84 5.00 5.00
22 126 50 90 50 3 12 4.08 3.61 3.75
23 126 50 90 50 4 4 4.08 3.53 3.70
24 126 50 90 50 5 8 4.11 3.61 3.68
25 126 60 160 10 3 12 4.29 4.96 5.00
26 126 60 160 10 4 4 4.32 4.88 4.88
27 126 60 160 10 5 8 4.29 4.92 5.00

Figure 1 Cutting speed comparison (bar chart)

Figure 2 Cutting speed comparison (Line chart)

7. CONCLUSION
Aluminium based hybrid metal matrix composites (Al6061/SiC/Gr) have been successfully
fabricated by stir cast method by addition of reinforcement combined with preheating of
particulates. Taguchi technique is effectively utilised to analyse the process parameters on
performance characteristics in a wire electrical discharge machining of Al6061 hybrid

http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 188 editor@iaeme.com

 A. Muniappan, C. Thiagarajan, P.V. Senthiil, V. Jayakumar and T. Shaafi

composite. Based on the results and discussions the following conclusions are drawn. For
lower pulse on time and pulse off time values zinc coated brass wire electrode gives better
cutting speed comparison with brass and diffused coated wire electrodes. Power consumption
will be higher at high peak current and voltage. In overall diffused coated wire electrode gives
better cutting speed compared to other wire electrodes. Surface roughness is poor at higher
cutting speed.

REFERENCES
[1] K.M. Shorowordia, T. Laoui, A.S.M.A. Haseeb, J.P. Celis, L. Froyen, Microstructure and
interface characteristics of B4C, SiC and Al2O3reinforced Al matrix composites s: a
comparative study, J. Mater Process. Technol. 142 (2003) 738–743.
[2] G.F. Benedict, Electrical discharge machining (EDM), Non-Traditional Manufacturing
Processes, Marcel Dekker, Inc, New York & Basel, 1987, pp. 231–232.
[3] A.B. Puri, B. Bhattacharyya, An analysis and optimization of the geometrical inaccuracy
due to wire lag phenomenon in WEDM, Int. J. Mach. Tools Manuf. 43 (2003) 151–159.
[4] J.T. Huang, Y.S. Liao, W.J. Hsue, Determination of finish cutting operation number and
machining-parameters setting in wire electrical discharge machining, J. Mater. Process.
Technol. 87 (1–3) (1999) 69–81.
[5] Y.S. Tarng, S.C. Ma, L.K. Chung, Determination of optimal cutting parameters in wire
electrical discharge machining, Inter, Mach. Tools Manuf. 35 (12) (1995) 1693–1701
[6] D. Scott, S. Boyina, K.P. Rajurkar, Analysis and optimization of parameter combination
in wire electrical discharge machining, Inter. J. Prod. Res. 29 (11) (1991) 2189–2207
[7] Y.S. Liao, J.T. Huang, H.C. Su, A study on the machining parameters optimization of
wire electrical discharge machining, Mater. Process. Technol. 71 (3) (1997) 487–493
[8] Muniappan .A and Thiagarajan .C (2015) Experimental investigation of kerf width in
WEDM process for hybrid Aluminium composite using Zinc coated Brass wire,
International Journal of Applied Engineering research, Vol.10, No.33, pp.25609-25617.
[9] Muniappan.A and Thiagarajan.C (2015) Performance of wire electrodes on machining of
hybrid Aluminium composite, International Journal of Applied Engineering research,
Vol.10, No.65, pp.22-29.
[10] Muniappan.A and Thiagarajan.C (2015) Experimental investigation of kerf width in
WEDM process for hybrid Aluminium composite using Zinc coated Brass wire,
International Journal of Applied Engineering research, Vol.10, No.33, pp.25609-25617.
[11] Muniappan .A, Thiagarajan .C and Somasundaram .S (2017) Parametric Optimization of
kerf width and surface roughness in Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM) of
hybrid Aluminium (Al6061/SiC/Graphite) composite using Taguchi-based Gray
Relational Analysis” International Journal of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering
IJMME-IJENS Vol:16 No:05, pp. 95-103.
[12] Upinder Kumar, Rakesh Kumar and Aayush Mittal Multi Response Optimization of
Parameters for Wire EDM Operation. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering
and Technology, 8(7), 2017, pp. 1430–1439.
[13] Manish Saini, Rahul sharma, Abhinav, Gurupreet Singh, Prabhat Mangla and Er. Amit
Sethi. Optimizations of Machining Parameter In Wire EDM For 316l Stainless Steel by
Using Taguchi Method, Anova, and Grey Analysis. International Journal of Mechanical
Engineering and Technology, 7(2), 2016, pp. 307–320
[14] S. Madhavakrishnan and Dr. P. Suresh. Recent Developments in Wire EDM. Journal of
Mechanical Engineering and Technology, 4(1), 2016, pp. 11–14.

http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 189 editor@iaeme.com

View publication stats