Experimental Investigation into the Influence of the Process Parameters of Wire Electric Discharge Machining Using Nimonic-263 Superalloy

Abstract

Nimonic alloy is difficult to machine using traditional metal cutting techniques because of the high cutting forces required, poor surface integrity, and tool wear. Wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) is used in a number of sectors to precisely machine complex forms of nickel-based alloy in order to attempt to overcome these challenges and provide high-quality products. The Taguchi-based design of experiments is utilized in this study to conduct the tests and analyses. The gap voltage (GV), pulse-on time (Ton), pulse-off time (Toff), and wire feed (WF), are considered as the variable process factors. GRA is used for the WEDM process optimization for the Nimonic-263 superalloy, which has multiple performance qualities including the material removal rate (MRR), surface roughness (SR), and kerf width (KW). ANOVA analysis was conducted to determine the factors’ importance and influence on the output variables. Multi objective optimization techniques were employed for assessing the machining performances of WEDM using GRA. The ideal input parameter combinations were determined to be a gap voltage (GV) of 40 V, a pulse-on time (Ton) of 8 µs, a pulse-off time (Toff) of 16 µs, and a wire feed (WF) of 4 m/min. A material removal rate of 8.238 mm3/min, surface roughness of 2.83 µm, and kerf width of 0.343 mm were obtained. The validation experiments conducted also demonstrated that the predicted and experimental values could accurately forecast the responses.

Study of Wire-Cut Electro-Discharge Machining of Heat-Resistant Nickel Alloys

“…Among these techniques, WEDM is highly suited for fabricating gas turbine blades because it allows for greater freedom to cut complex shapes with excellent precision. In this process, the cutting force to remove material is absent, thus reducing the residual stresses in machined workpieces [17].…”