Parametric Optimization of Taper Cutting Process using Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM)

Abstract

Significant technological advancement of wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) process has been observed in recent times in order to meet the requirements of various manufacturing fields especially in the production of parts with complex geometry in precision die industry. Taper cutting is an important application of WEDM process aiming at generating complex parts with tapered profiles. Wire deformation and breakage are more pronounced in taper cutting as compared with straight cutting resulting in adverse effect on desired taper angle and surface integrity. The reasons for associated problems may be attributed to certain stiffness of the wire. However, controlling the process parameters can somewhat reduce these problems. Extensive literature review reveals that effect of process parameters on various performance measures in taper cutting using WEDM is also not adequately addressed. Hence, study on effect of process parameters on performance measures using various advanced metals and metal matrix composites (MMC) has become the predominant research area in this field. In this context, the present work attempts to experimentally investigate the machining performance of various alloys, super alloys and metal matrix composite during taper cutting using WEDM process. The effect of process parameters such as part thickness, taper angle, pulse duration, discharge current, wire speed and wire tension on various performance measures such as angular error, surface roughness, cutting rate and white layer thickness are studied using Taguchi’s analysis. The functional relationship between the input parameters and performance measures has been developed by using non-linear regression analysis. Simultaneous optimization of the performance measures has been carried out using latest nature inspired algorithms such as multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) and bat algorithm. Although MOPSO develops a set of non-dominated solutions, the best ranked solution is identified from a large number of solutions through application of maximum deviation method rather than resorting to human judgement. Deep cryogenic treatment of both wire and work material has been carried out to enhance the machining efficiency of the low conductive work material like Inconel 718. Finally, artificial intelligent models are proposed to predict the various performance measures prior to machining. The study offers useful insight into controlling the parameters to improve the machining efficiency.