EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON THE EFFECT OF BORON CARBIDE IN PMEDEM OF TI-6AL-4V

The present project work aims to optimize machining parameters by mixing B4C additives in different dielectric fluids on EDM of Ti-6Al-4V using a copper tube as electrodes. EDM oil and pungai oil are considered dielectric fluids. B4C mixed in dielectric fluids enhance the discharge energy and sparking phenomenon. Three controlling parameters were selected such as dielectric type, abrasive concentrations, and gap voltage, and changed to explore their performances on Material Removal Rate (MRR) and Tool Wear Rate (TWR). In this investigation, Taguchi L18 Orthogonal Array (OA) was utilized to execute a minimum number of experiments. It was observed from the experimental results that the additives in dielectric fluids augmented the MRR and reduced the TWR. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test has revealed that dielectric fluid type, is an important machining parameter affecting MRR; abrasive concentrations were highly relevant process parameter influencing TWR. An empirical expression for MRR and TWR was constructed by using Minitab 18 statistical software. Moreover, surface analysis was conducted at optimized PMEDM conditions by using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) photographs.