1.

Introduction

New materials and machining processes are current demand of advance manufacturing industries due to

existing requirement of quality engineering goods. In view of good quality products industries are more

serious towards development of new materials and their processing. With the inventions and innovations

in material science and engineering there is a need to machine these materials advanced manufacturing

methods are developed. Across industrial sectors a radical transition has been witnessed over the last few

decades. Advanced materials such as MMCs have some special qualities, such as light weight, strength

and ability to wear. Because of these properties, MMCs are commonly used in manufacturing industries,

but such products are not easy to process using traditional machining methods since they require a lot of

power and high machining cost [1]. Drilling holes in such advanced engineering materials are challenging

due to their superior mechanical, electrical and thermal properties.

Presently, many unconventional machining methods are accepted worldwide [2]. Each of the

unconventional machining methods is having their own potential and limitations. To overcome these

constraints and limitations combination of two or more than two unconventional methods are done. This

combination of unconventional machining processes is termed as hybrid machining processes (HMP).

The overall machining performance is different from the characteristics of their constituent processes,

when they are separately performed. In unconventional machining every process is based on mechanical,

thermoelectric or electrochemical phenomenon. In fact, because of abrasive strength, the machinability of

the MMC is very distinct from conventional materials [3]. At low feeds, however, particle fracture or

pull-out reduced the surface roughness of the MMC, at higher feeds it was mostly restricted by load. On

the other side, the surface roughness of the non-reinforced alloy was regulated primarily by feed [4] and

therefore it can be noted that MMC machining is not the same as alloy machining and so careful attention

should also be paid to learning newer MMC machining. Non-traditional machining route such as Electro-

Discharge Machining (EDM) is highly advocated for the machining of MMCs to address the limitations

of conventional machining methods. EDM is considered to be a useful technique for MMCs as it offers
strong surface finish and avoids mechanical damage to the samples which is otherwise not possible by

traditional machining techniques [5-6] . More information about the EDM process can be found in [7, 8].

When EDM is combined with conventional drilling then it forms Electro Discharge Drilling (EDD)

process. EDD is a combination of thermoelectric and mechanical process. It is used for making micro and

macro holes in the manufacturing industry. Yadav and Yadava [9] demonstrated the advantages of the

Electro-Discharge Drilling (EDD) process over the static electrode machining process for creating holes

on titanium alloy workpiece.

Singh et al.[10 worked on optimization of different process parameters such as MRR and TWR of MMCs

and also compared the feasibility of EDM and EDD process. They stated the outline of optimized process

parameters (discharge current, arc on time and tool speed) for maximum material removal rate, minimum

tool wear rate. Wang and Yan [11] investigated the feasibility of machining Al 6061/ Al 2O3 composite

materials by EDM for blind hole drilling and evaluated the material removal rate (MRR), tool wear rate

(TWR) and surface roughness (SR) with various input parameters (e.g. polarity, peak current, pulse

duration, power supply voltage, rotational speed of electrode, injection flushing pressure). Yan and Wang,

[12] studied that on increasing peak current increased MRR is obtained. During the machining of

Al6061/Al2O3 composites using rotary electro-discharge machining with a tube electrode the MRR, TWR

and Ra increased on increasing flushing pressure. Rajurkar et al.[13] studied the effect of input

parameters (peak current, pulse on time and wheel speed) on the output parameters during abrasive

electro discharge grinding (AEDG) of Al-SiC composite and titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V). He concluded

that AEDG improves MRR and surface finish (Ra) for both the materials as compared with EDM and

EDG. The EDM was performed using the same graphite wheel as in EDG without wheel rotation. The

increase in MRR is found in EDD when it was compared to EDM. In EDG wheel rotation improves the

flushing condition between the machining gap and reduces the amount of normal discharges.

Kumar et al.[14] used copper instrument electrode and kerosene as the dielectric medium to test the

impact process parameters such as pulse-on-time and discharge current on the surface
characteristics during EDM of titanium alloy. Hascalık and Caydas[15] conducted Ti–6Al–4V EDM by

adding various electrodes (that is, graphite, electrolytic copper and aluminum electrode) and changing

process variables to test the effect of EDM parameters on surface integrity. Authors concluded that the

rate of material removal, surface roughness, wear of tools and thickness of white layers assumed an

increasing trend with increased current density and duration of pulses. Raj and Prabhu[16] provided a

comparative analysis on the possible application of brass and molybdenum wires (in the WEDM process)

for the efficiency of titanium alloy surface roughness and material removal rate. Romoli et al. (2014)

reported about 32% decrease in Ra in micro-EDD as compared to conventional process [17]

Singh et al.[18] have reported the effect of input parameters (such as wheel speed, current, pulse on time
and duty factor) on output parameters (MRR, wheel wear rate and average surface roughness) for
tungsten carbide cobalt composite. Song et al.[19] investigated the effect of micro electrical discharge
drilling (micro EDD) for cobalt-bonded tungsten carbide and produced an electrolytic corrosion-free hole
with deionized water. Yadav et al.,[20] investigated the machining parameter design of EDDG process.
The EDDG set up was developed and experiments were performed on high speed steel work piece by
varying current, pulse on time, duty factor and wheel speed by using the Taguchi methodology. Prakash
et al [21] showed that optimizing material and machining parameters for surface finishing and increasing
material removal rate (MRR) when transforming aluminum / rock dust composite by Taguchi and Grey
Relational Analysis (GRA). Singh and Yadava [22] utilized One Parameter at a Time approach to
analyze the process behavior of EDD during the fabrication of hole in aluminum alloy based MMC.
The effect of input process parameters namely discharge current (C), pulse duration (Ton), pulse
interval (Toff), flushing pressure (P), and tool rotation (RPM) were analyzed on output performance
characteristics of Material Removal Rate (MRR), Kerf Taper (T), and Radial Overcut (ROC). Dilip
et al (23020) performed experiments on Inconel 718 using the Box – Behnken
experimental method for three factors: voltage, ERS and feed rate to test their
impact on the surface properties of the hole 's inner side walls along with the
MRR, diametric overcut, and taper angle. Using EDD process, Reynaerts et al.[24] [10] have
machined 290 μm diameter microholes in the Ti-6Al-4 V alloy. Singh
et al. [25][2013] have
successfully machined Al6063/SiC/Al2O3/Gr hybrid MMC with EDD
process using 7.5-mm-diameter copper tool. Lin et al. [26] have studied
electrical discharge drilling of Al2o3 particle-reinforced MMCs. 

Literature highlighted that researchers have contributed significantly to adopt various machining
technique and elucidate the effects of various control factors on the different quality process
performance. Modelling and optimization studies have been carried out to set the process regime for
optimal performances. The researchers have tried to improve different quality characteristics by suitable
process/mechanism modifications and have found improvements up to some extent. Only a few
researchers have reported setup development of EDD process. The objective of the present work is to
develop a compact and lightweight experimental setup for electrical discharge drilling process and
perform experimental study in order to examine influence of process parameters on responses during
electrical discharge drilling of Al6061 SiC MMC work material. The effect of input parameters such as
pulse current, pulse on time, pulse off time and tool speed on the output responses such as MRR and Ra.

References

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