Optimization of Al-SiC-MW CNT metal composite by W-EDM using Taguchi method

Abstract

EDM process is primarily used in machining of Al6061 metal matrix composite reinforced with silicon carbide (SiC) and carbon nano-tube (CNT). This process can be used to measure the Metal Removal Rate (MRR), Tool Wear Rate (TWR) and Surface Roughness (SR) of the work piece material. Using Taguchi’s parameter design, significant machining parameters affecting the performance of the process such as discharge current, pulse ON time and duty cycle are the input parameters. The performance measure for each combination of the parameters has been taken. In this work, the MRR, TWR and SR for each combination have been estimated. The results obtained are tabulated. The study demonstrates that the EDM process parameters can be adjusted to do better MRR, TWR and SR by optimizing the parameters using grey relational analysis (GRA).