Surface modification by Electro-Discharge Coating (EDC) with Tic-Cu P/M electrode tool

Abstract

It is well known that Electro discharge machining (EDM) is a prominent non-conventional machining process for machining hard material. A very common perspective of EDM is surface modification which is done by the use of powder metallurgy green compact and sintered electrode as tool material which makes a hard and wear resistant layer on the workpiece during electrical discharge. The process is done with the reversal of polarity and is known as electro-discharge coating (EDC). Here we have used Titanium Carbide (TiC) and Copper (Cu) as coating material. Effect of various process parameters in EDM and powder metallurgy compaction process such as current, compaction pressure, composition of powder mixture on material transfer rate and tool wear rate have been investigated. The hardness of the coating was analyzed by Vickers Micro hardness Tester. Surface roughness values of the coatings were measured and also the analysis of compounds present in the coating was done by XRD (X-Ray Diffraction) technique.