Multiobjective optimisation of Wire-EDM of Inconel 718 superalloy

using grey relational analysis

A B. Tech Project Report Submitted

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of

Bachelor of Technology

by

Abhinav Kumar
(131501001)
under the guidance of

Dr. D. Chakradhar

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the work contained in this thesis entitled “Multiobjective optimi-
sation of Wire-EDM of Inconel 718 superalloy using grey relational analysis”
is a bonafide work of Abhinav Kumar (Roll No. 131501001), carried out in the De-
partment of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad under my
supervision and that it has not been submitted elsewhere for a degree.

Dr. D. Chakradhar
Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad

i
 Acknowledgements

It is a genuine pleasure to express my deep sense of thanks and gratitude to my mentor

and guide Dr. D. Chakradhar Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Indian Insti-
tute of Technology Palakkad. His dedeication and keen interest above all his overwhelming
attitude to help his students and been solely and mainly responsible for completing my
work. His timely advice, meticulous scrutiny, scholarly advice and scientific approach have
helped me ta very great extent to accomplish this task. I owe a deep sense of gratitude
to Mr. Abhilash P M Research Scholar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian
Institute of Technology Palakkad for his keen interest on me at every stage of project.
His promt inspirations, timely suggestions with kindness, enthusiasm and dynamism have
enabled me to complete my thesis. I thank all the staff of Indian Institute of Technology
Palakkad, for their kind help and co-operation.

ii
Contents

List of Figures iv

List of Tables v

1 Introduction 1
1.1 Electric Discharge Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Wire EDM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.3 WEDM Process Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.4 Response Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.5 Wire Electrode Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.6 Inconel 718 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.7 Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.8 Organization of The Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2 Literature Review 7

3 Plan of Experiment 11
3.1 Experimental Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.2 Input and Output Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.3 Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.3.1 Coordinate Measuring Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.3.2 Grey Relation Analysis (GRA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

iii
4 Results and Analysis 19
4.1 Optimisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.2 Variation of output parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

5 Conclusion and Future Work 25

References 27

iv
List of Figures

1.1 Wire EDM Schematic [1] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

3.1 Wire EDM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

3.2 SURFCOM FLEX-35B surface profilometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.3 Accurate Tutor Bridge type CMM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

4.1 Cut Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

4.2 Effect of EDM parameters on the multi-performance characteristics . . . . 21
4.3 Variation of Flatness With Input parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.4 Variation of Surface Roughness With Input parameters . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.5 Variation of Cutting Speed With Input parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

v
List of Tables

1.1 Properties of Inconel 718 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

3.1 WEDM Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

3.2 CMM Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

4.1 Experimental results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

4.2 Normalised parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.3 Grey relation coefficient and grey relational grade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

1
Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 Electric Discharge Machine

Electric discharge machining or EDM is one of the well-known and widely used uncon-
ventional machining process. In EDM the material removal process is based upon the
electro-discharge erosion or EDE effect of electric sparks occurring between two electrodes
that are separated by dielectric liquid. High-intensity discharge results in generation of
extremely high temperatures the causes material removal by melting and evaporate the
two electrodes. Voltage pulse od magnitude about 20 to 120 V and frequency on the order
of 5kHz is applied between the two electrodes, which are separated by a small gap also
known as spark gap. The size of the gap ranges from 0.01 to 0.5mm.

1.2 Wire EDM

Wire-cut Electric discharge machine, commonly known as Wire EDM or WEDM is a special
kind of electric discharge machining which uses a small diameter wire as the electrode to
cut a narrow kerf (cut slot) in the work piece. The cutting action in wire EDM is achieved

1
by thermal energy from electric discharge between the electrode wire and the workpiece,
the workpiece is fed continuously and slowly past the wire in order to achieve the desired
cutting path. Similar to a bandsaw operation. CNC is used to control the workpiece
motions during cutting. The wire is continuously advanced between a supply spool and a
take-up spool to present a fresh electrode of constant diameter. Unlike EDM in WEDM
the dielectric is applied by nozzles directly to the tool-workpiece interface or the workpiece
is submerged in a dielectric bath (Fig. 1.1).

Fig. 1.1 Wire EDM Schematic [1]

1.3 WEDM Process Parameters

Pulse on time it is the time duration for which current is allowed to flow in each cycle it is
denoted as Ton and it unit is micro seconds (µs).Higher value of Ton , higher will the energy
produced and which generates more heat energy. Higher energy applied leads to more
material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (Ra) tends to be higher as well.Higher
discharge may cause wire breakage.
Pulse off time it is the time duration between two consecutive sparks, also known as
pulse interval. Similar to pulse on time its unit is micro second (µs) and denoted by Tof f .
Surface roughness get better increase in pulse of time but reduces the MRR by reducing

2
the cutting speed.
Servo Voltage it gives the specific voltage for the actual gap between the work piece
material and wire.It is denoted by SV and expressed in volts (V).Higher servo voltage
results in discharge of higher energy per spark due to the large ionization of dielectric
between working gap, hence MRR increases.
Wire Feed, rate at which wire is feed through wire guide path to generate spark is
called wire feed rate (WF).MRR remains unchanged with variation of wire feed.Surface
roughness decrease with increase in WF because new wire comes in contact rapidly.

1.4 Response Parameters

Cutting speed (CS) it is one of the crucial parameter as it directly relates to MRR. Having
a higher MRR translated to having higher cutting speed or vice versa.Higher cutting speed
results in poor surface finish.
Surface Roughness it is an important parameter which affects the tribological aspect
of surface such as asperity interlocking or deformation can increases friction.Surface rough-
ness is denoted by Ra which is the average deviation of the profile from the mean line over
the length of assessment.
Flatness can be describe as how flat a surface is regardless of any other datums or
features. It comes in useful if a feature is to be defined on a drawing that needs to be uni-
formly flat without tightening any other dimensions on the drawing. Flatness tolerance is
always less than the dimensional tolerance associated with it. Flatness can be measured by
mechanical means, using a surface plate and dial indicator. Another method of measuring
flatness is interferometry, using an optical flat. The flat, a glass or fused quartz disk with
parallel flat surface, is placed on the surface of the workpiece. When a monochromatic light
beam is aimed at the surface at an angle, the optical flat splits into two beams, appearing
dark and light bands to naked eye. A truly flat workpiece surface will nor split the light
beam, and no fringes will appear.

3
1.5 Wire Electrode Material

Several Research has been done in the view of maximising MRR, tool life, surface finish
and minimising time consumed for process.For high speed cutting and highly accurate
machining a wire should have physical properties such as high conductivity tensile strength,
melting point etc.
One such material for electrode is Brass, it is the combination of copper and zine typical
alloyed composition ranges from 63-65% Cu and 35-37% Zn. Zinc provides significant tensile
strength, lower melting point and higher vapour pressure rating.These feature makes brass a
better choice than copper. Wire employed for the experiment was zinc coated brass wire.A
coated wire electrode has a core wire having high thermal conductivity, then a layer of
thin low melting metal and outermost layer of metal having high mechanical strength.High
performance coated wires, having high conductivity and better flush ability have been
developed and used for machining, resulting in better surface finish and improved cutting
speeds.

1.6 Inconel 718

Superalloys are important in high-temperature applications. Also known as heat-resistant

or high-temperature alloys, major applications are in jet engines, gas turbines, reciprocat-
ing engines, rocket engines: tools and dies for hot working of metals: and in the nuclear,
chemical and petrochemical industries. Superalloy generally have good resistance to cor-
rosion, mechanical and thermal fatigue, mechanical and thermal shock, creep, and erosion
at elevated temperature. Inconel 718 is an austenitic nickel-based superalloy, this alloy
exhibits high yield tensile and creep-rupture properties at temperatures up to 704.4C and
oxidation resistance to 982.2C. Table 1 show the physical properties of Inconel 718.

4
 Sr no. Physical Property Values
1 Density 8.2 g/mmˆ3
2 Melting point 1260-1336 C
3 Specific heat 435 J/Kg K
4 Coefficient of thermal expansion 13 m/mK
5 Thermal conductivity 11.4W/mK
6 Ultimate tensile strength 1240 Mpa
7 Yield Strength 1036 Mpa
8 Hardness 38-40 HRC
9 Young’s Modulus 206 Gpa
10 Strain Hardening coefficient 1370 Mpa
11 Magnetic permeability 1.001
12 Electrical resistivity 753 -cm
Table 1.1 Properties of Inconel 718

1.7 Objective

The objective of this project was to perform multi objective optimisation of process pa-
rameters like pulse on time, pulse off time, wire feed and servo voltage to maximize cutting
speed and minimize surface roughness.Also to study the variation of surface feature flat-
ness for various input parameters and to find the optimal input parameter. Multi-objective
Grey relation analysis was employed for optimisation process

1.8 Organization of The Report

Chapter one contains the all the theoretical knowledge requires to understand the work
that has been conducted.In chapter two prior work performed by others and literature is
discussed. Chapter three talks about the plan of experiments such as experiment setup,
machine specification, methodology and optimisation technique.In chapter four results and
analysis is discussed. and finally in chapter five all the work and results are concluded and
scope of future work is discussed.

5
Chapter 2

Literature Review

Literature review was required as it is necessary to know all the methods and parameters
which will be utilised for the project. Each paper gave different insights of different the
part of the job.
Rajyalakshmi Venkata [1], has worked on Multiple process parameter optimization of
wire electrical discharge machining on Inconel 825 using Taguchi grey relational analysis,
which opens avenue to work on different grade of Inconel.Which motivated me to use Inconel
718 which has remarkable thermal and Physical proprieties(Table 1.1). Ching-Been Yang
et al [2], worked on Single and multi-objective optimization of Inconel 718 nickel-based
superalloy in the wire electrical discharge machining, and showed the difference in the
optimization method if only one parameter is taken at a time and multiple parameter at
a time. Amit et al [3] worked on Optimisation of wire-cut EDM process parameter by
Grey-based response surface methodology with is similar to Ching [2].
Mahapatra et al. [4] elobarates th method of optimisation of WEDM process para-
maters using Taguchi method. Priyaranjan et al [5], worked on Evaluation of WEDM
performance characteristics of Inconel 706 for turbine disk application their work was more
driven towards application bases study. Rishavraj et al.[6] gives introduction to all the
process parameters of WEDM, they talks about affects of all the process parameters on

7
cutting process, MRR and surface roughness, they also discuss about types to wire elec-
trode available and its durability. Coated wire electrode tends to have better machining
properties compare to wire without coating of same material, the have higher strength,
lower melting point and higher vapour pressure.Pasam et al.[7] conducted research to solve
this problem to determine the relation among the responses and its parameter. The most
important responses in WEDM are metal removal rate, workpieces surface finish, and kerf
width. Discharge current, pulse duration, pulse frequency, wire speed, wire tension, and
dielectric flow rate are some of the machining parameters which affect the responses.
Hossein et al.[8] this paper was based on the optimisation of open-end spinning yarns,
it gave good insight of grey relation analysis, orthogonal arrays and tell about importance
of grey relational grade. Chung-Feng et al.[9] examined multiple quality optimization of
the injection molding for polyether ether ketone. This study looked into the dimensional
deviation and strength of screws produced by the injection molding. This study applied the
Taguchi method to cut down on the number of experiments and combined grey relational
analysis to determine the optimal processing parameters for multiple quality characteris-
tics. Probir et al[10], has done Soft computing models-based prediction of cutting speed
and surface roughness in wire electro-discharge machining of tungsten carbide cobalt com-
posite, this paper explains about machining of hard material, for optimisation purposes
artificial neural network (ANN) was employed.This method requires to conduct numerous
experiments. Shandilya et al[11], has worked on, RSM and ANN Modelling Approaches for
Predicting Average Cutting Speed During WEDM of SiCp/6061 Al MMC, here compres-
sion between RSM and ANN is made to check which method predicts better. To evaluate
multiple responses a grey relational grade is obtained. Which helps converting multiple
responses optimisation into single relational optimisation. It may be noted that most of
the prevailing approaches have used complex mathematical or statistical methods such as
ANN, dual response approach, genetic algorithm, simulated annealing, and linear or nonlin-
ear or dynamic programming. These approaches are difficult to implement by individuals

8
with little background in mathematics/statistics and so are of little practical use.
Investigation on influence of input parameter of WEDM on the surface roughness, Flat-
ness and cutting speed is been study and continuous development is still going on as there
is no analytical relation available to explain the output i.e., surface roughness and cutting
speed. These factors highly depend on the type and composition material, instrument
specification and atmospherics condition.

9
Chapter 3

Plan of Experiment

Details on design aspects

3.1 Experimental Setup

The experiments were performed on Ecocut CNC Wire cut EDM,Fig.3.1. This machine
is able to perform machining or cutting procedure by wire of thickness 0.25mm and can
give surface roughness of up to 1.12 Ra. To perform experiment on wire cut EDM the size
of the work piece considered is 10mm width 8mm height and 2mm depth. According to
Taguchi method based on design of experiments, L9 mixed orthogonal array is employed
for experimentation.
The wire EDM machine specification is displayed in Table. 3.1.

11
Machine tool Ecocut
Max. table size 370 x 600 mm
Max. workpiece hieght 200 mm
max. workpiece weight 300 kg
Main table traverse (X,Y) 250,350 mm
Auxiliary table traverse 30,30 mm
(u,v)
Max. taper cutting angle ±5◦ /100 mm
Max. wire spool capacity 6 kg
Dry run Speed 80 mm/min
Wire Diameter 0.25 mm (Standard) 0.2
(optional)
Generator ELPULS-15
Display Colour LCD
Min. Input Command 0.001
Interpolation function Linear & Circular
Simultanously controlled X,Y,u,v
axes
Min. resolution for X,Y,u,v
0.001 mm
Input Power Supply 3 Phase, AC 415 V, 50Hz
Data Input / Output USB 2.0, Key board,
RS232C isolated serial
interface
Connnected load 3 kVA
Average power consump- 1.3 to 2.3 kVA
tion
Dielectic fluid Deionised water
Tank capacity 140 liters
Paper filter 10 Single cartridge
Table 3.1 WEDM Specifications

12
 Fig. 3.1 Wire EDM

3.2 Input and Output Parameters

While setting the input paraments our goal is threefold, to maximise Cutting Speed. min-
imise SR and to maximise the flatness of the surface, these are the output parameters.
For the experiment the input parameters selected to achieve above mention goals are Ton
(pulse on time), Tof f (pulse off time) and Servo voltage (SV). All other paraments will be
constant.

3.3 Methodology

Measurement of surface roughness will be performed by SURFCOM FLEX-35B surface

profilometer which can measure surface roughness up to 0.01 Ra. CMM (coordinate Mea-
suring Machine) is employed to measure dimensions of the cut-out work piece. This CMM
is a probe type CMM with diameter of probe tip 5mm. Performing measurement will give
the required output parameters (SR, MRR, Dimensional accuracy of cut). Further these
results will be use to perform grey relation analysis for optimisation of output parameters.

13
 Fig. 3.2 SURFCOM FLEX-35B surface profilometer

3.3.1 Coordinate Measuring Machine

A coordinate measuring machine (CMM) is a device that measures the geometry of physical
objects by sensing discrete points on the surface of the object with a probe. Various types of
probes are used in CMMs, including mechanical, optical, laser, and white light. Depending
on the machine, the probe position may be manually controlled by an operator or it may be
computer controlled. CMMs typically specify a probe’s position in terms of its displacement
from a reference position in a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system (i.e., with X
Y Z axes). In addition to moving the probe along the X, Y, and Z axes, many machines
also allow the probe angle to be controlled to allow measurement of surfaces that would
otherwise be unreachable. The CMM which is been use is Bridge type CMM, the bridge
arrangement over the table carries the quill (z-axis) along the x-axis and is sometimes

14
referred to as a traveling bridge. It is claims that the bridge construction provides better
accuracy, although it may be offset by difficulty in making two members track in perfect
alignment CMMs are very versatile in their capability of measuring very complex profile
rapidly and with high sensitivity.

Fig. 3.3 Accurate Tutor Bridge type CMM

15
 Model Specta
measuring range X axis 500-600 mm
measuring range Y axis 600-1000 mm
measuring range Z axis 400-500 mm
mode of operation Motorised CNC
Clearance under bridge 63-770 mm
Max. workpiece weight 250 kg
Accuracy 1.5
Resolution 0.1-0.5
Guidance Air bearing on all axis
Linaer velocity 300 mm/s
Volumetric Velocity 520 mm/s
Measuring table material Granite
Probe Ruby probe, 5 mm dia.
Table 3.2 CMM Specifications

3.3.2 Grey Relation Analysis (GRA)

Grey Relation analysis is an optimisation method involves one or more input parameters
to optimise one or more output parameters.Specially when multiple output parameters
are involve this method helps in optimising each of them individually. In GRA data pre-
processing is required as each input parameter has its own range and unit. The is converted
from its original form to comparable form, in order to do that data is normalized between
0 to 1. The normalisation is done on the bases of the output parameter’s characteristics,
”maximum the better” (equ.3.1) and ”minimum the better” (equ.3.2) are the two types.

yi (k) − minyi (k)

xi (k) = (3.1)
maxyi (k) − minyi (k)

maxyi (k) − yi (k)

xi (k) = (3.2)
maxyi (k) − minyi (k)

where xi (k) is the normalized parameter for comparison minyi (k) is the minimum value
of yi (k) for the k t h response,and maxyi (k) is the maximum value of yi (k) for the k t h
response

16
 An ideal sequence is x0 (k) (k=1,2,3) for three responses. The definition of the grey
relation grade in the grey relation analysis is to show the relational degree between the
nine sequences. The grey relation coefficient ξi (k) can be calculated as:

∆min + ζ∆max
ξi (k) = (3.3)
∆0i (k) + ζ∆max

where ∆0 i(k) = ||x0 (k) − xi (k)|| is the difference of absolute value between x0 (k) and
xi (k). ζ is the distinguish coefficient, values from 0 to 1. ∆min is the smallest value ∆0i ,
and ∆max is the largest value ∆0i . After averaging the grey relation coefficients, the grey
relational grade γi can be obtained as:

n
1X
γi = ξi (k) (3.4)
n k=1

where n is the number of process responses. Higher value of the grey relation grade
represents the stronger relational degree between the reference sequence x0 (k) and the
given sequence xi (k). The reference sequence x0 (k) is the best process response in the
experimental layout. Higher value of grey relational grade indicates that the corresponding
parameter is closer to optimal [add ref.].The optimisation of the multiple process responses
is converted into optimisation of a single grey relational grade.

17
Chapter 4

Results and Analysis

4.1 Optimisation

The experiment results were recorded and analysis for optimisation, for the optimisation
process grey relation analysis is employed and Table 4.1 shows the experimental layout
using an L9 orthogonal array and experimental results.

Fig. 4.1 Cut Sample

In Fig 4.1 a= 8mm , b= 10 mm and c=2 mm. these are the dimensions of the cut sample.
Surfaces ab and bc are machine by WEDM and surface ac is untouched by WEDM.

19
Exp. Ton Toff WF SV Ra(µm) Flatness (µm) Cutting
No. Speed
(mm/min)
1 105 48 6 35 2.107 0.00270 0.8180
2 105 38 7 40 1.997 0.00225 1.2100
3 105 43 8 45 1.983 0.00135 0.7900
4 110 48 7 45 2.381 0.00380 0.5380
5 110 38 8 35 2.664 0.00275 1.9550
6 110 43 6 40 2.453 0.00135 1.3710
7 115 48 8 40 2.808 0.00425 1.0980
8 115 38 6 45 2.614 0.00330 1.1580
9 115 43 7 35 2.817 0.00310 1.4200
Table 4.1 Experimental results

Exp. RaN FlatnessN CSN

No.
1 0.8519 0.5345 0.1976
2 0.9832 0.6897 0.4742
3 1.0000 1.0000 0.1778
4 0.5235 0.1552 0.0000
5 0.1842 0.5172 1.0000
6 0.4366 1.0000 0.5879
7 0.0112 0.0000 0.3952
8 0.2439 0.3276 0.4375
9 0.0000 0.3966 0.6224
Table 4.2 Normalised parameters

Exp. GRCRa GRCF latness GRCCS GRG RANK

No.
1 0.7715 0.5179 0.3839 0.5578 5
2 0.9675 0.6170 0.4874 0.6907 2
3 1.0000 1.0000 0.3782 0.7927 1
4 0.5120 0.3718 0.3333 0.4057 8
5 0.3800 0.5088 1.0000 0.6296 4
6 0.4702 1.0000 0.5482 0.6728 3
7 0.3358 0.3333 0.4526 0.3739 9
8 0.3980 0.4265 0.4706 0.4317 7
9 0.3333 0.4531 0.5698 0.4521 6
Table 4.3 Grey relation coefficient and grey relational grade

20
 In Table 4.2 the results are normalized since the range an unit of the data differs from
one another.RaN FlatnessN CSN are the normalized value of surface roughness, Flatness
and Cutting Speed respectively. In Table 4.3 GRCRa GRCF latness GRCCS are the grey
relation coefficient of the corresponding output parameter.GRG is the grey relation grade,
and to find the optimal input parameter GRG is ranked. Ranking gives the result that
input parameters for optimized output is the set of parameter employed for experiment 3.
Surface roughness value and Flatness value falls under the category of ”Minimum the
better” which means minimum value of these two output parameters are more desirable.
Whereas Cutting speed falls under the category of ”Maximum the better” as fast cutting
speed allows faster production.
Fig 4.2 shows the grey relational grade (GRG) obtained for different process parame-
ters.The mean of GRG for each parameter is shown by horizontal line. Basically, the larger
the grey relation grade is, the closer will be the product quality to the ideal value. Thus,
larger grey relational grade is desired for optimum performance.

Fig. 4.2 Effect of EDM parameters on the multi-performance characteristics

4.2 Variation of output parameter

As the experiment employed four input parameters the variation in these input parameters
causes the result or the output parameters to change accordingly.

21
 Fig. 4.3 Variation of Flatness With Input parameters

Fig. 4.4 Variation of Surface Roughness With Input parameters

Fig. 4.5 Variation of Cutting Speed With Input parameters

In Fig.4.4 variation of flatness with input parameters is represented for the selected
levels of those parameters. Since Flatness is ”minimum the better” parameter its least
value is desirable. It was observed that as Ton increased the flatness value also increases
where as in case of Tof f the trend is decreasing and then increasing, servo voltage(SV)

22
shows the similar trend but change is insignificant.
Variation of surface Roughness (Ra) is featured in Fig.4.3 as surface roughness is also
a ”minimum is better” parameter and its least value is favorable.It was observed that
variation in Tof f and wire feed (WF) does not cause any significant change in Ra value.
As SV increased amount of current discharge in one pulse increases and for lower Ton the
Ra value decreased.In the case of Ton more pulse time means more electric erosion which
generates bigger debris and leaves behind more rough surface hence longer pulse time means
rough surface.
Cutting speed is a ”maximum the better” parameter value faster cutting speed or
least cutting time is desirable Fig.4.5 shows the variation of Cutting speed with the input
parameters. Tof f and SV largely affect the cutting speed as it can be observed that as both
increases the cutting speed decreases.

23
Chapter 5

Conclusion and Future Work

The grey relational analysis based on Taguchi method has been proposed as way to study
the optimisation of WEDM process parameters for Inconel 718. The optimal machining
parameters have been determined by the grey relational grade for multi-performance char-
acteristics that is Cutting speed, Surface roughness and Flattnes. It was observed that
different input parameters had different response towards output parameter. The condi-
tion for this particular WEDM to perform an optimal machining process on 10mm thick
Inconel 718 is 105µs Ton , 43µs Tof f , 8m/min wire feed rate and 45V Servo voltage. Surface
geometry of the cut sample was also affected by the variation of input parameters and
different flatness values were obtained. This work will help us in understanding process of
machining super alloys such as Inconel 718 and further adds to our knowledge and allows
us to take benefits of its properties.

25
References

[1] G. Raiyalakshmi and P. V. Ramaiah, “multiple process parameter optimization of wire

electrical discharge machining on inconel 825 using taguchi grey relational analysis,”
vol. 69, pp. 1249–1262, 2013.

[2] C. Yang, C. Lin, H. Chiang, and C. Chen, “Single and multi-objective optimization of
inconel 718 nickel-based superalloy in the wire electrical discharge machining,” vol. 93,
pp. 3075–3085, 2017.

[3] A. Kumar, T.Soota, and J. Kumar, “Optimisation of wire-cut edm process parameter
by grey-based response surface methodology,” vol. 14, pp. 821–829, 2018.

[4] S. Mahapatra and A. Patnaik, “Optimization of wire electrical discharge machining

(wedm) process parameters using taguchi method,” Int J Adv Manuf Technol, vol. 34,
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