Study the Effect of Compact Pressure of P/M Tool Electrode on Electro Discharge Coating (EDC) Process

Abstract

Electro-discharge machining (EDM) is a widely accepted non-traditional machining process used mostly for machining materials difficult to machine by conventional shearing process. Surface modification by powder metallurgy sintered tools is an uncommon aspect of EDM. In this work, an attempt will be made to deposit tungsten carbide coating on the steel work surface by electro discharge processing, with a view to improve the hardness and wear resistance of the substrate. In the present investigation, an attempt will be made to improve the surface properties of steel substrate, using tungsten carbide (a hard and wear-resistant ceramic material) compact as tool electrode and reverse polarity setting. A coating layer of tungsten carbide has been formed on the work piece surface. The chemical composition of the surface layer and microstructure has been verified from X-ray diffraction technique and scanning electron microscope (SEM) respectively. The output measures i.e. Deposition rate, tool wear rate, has been correlated with different process parameters.