MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY II

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, A.M.U., ALIGARH

MEC/EMEC-3930
Name………………………………….……………….…S.No…………... Section……..…….
College No……………………………….……….Enrolment No…………………………...…
Date of Experiment:………………………..……Date of Submission………………….………

EXPERIMENT NO. : 8

Object: Determine the material removal rate (MRR) and tool wear rate (TWR) in Electric
Discharge Machining (EDM) of mild steel using copper electrode.

Apparatus Required:

1. Electro Discharge Machine (EDM)

2. Dielectric (EDM oil or Kerosene oil)
3. Mild steel workpiece
4. Copper electrode
5. Weighing machine

Introduction to EDM Process:

Electric Discharge Machining (EDM) is a well-established non-traditional machining process

suitable for manufacturing engineering components that are difficult-to-machine by
conventional machining processes and have geometrically complex features.

The working principle of EDM process is "Melting and Evaporation".

The main characteristics of the EDM machine are as follows:

 When the discharge takes place between two points of anode and cathode, the intense
heat generated near the zone melts and evaporates the material in the sparking zone.
 For improving the effectiveness, the workpiece and the tool are submerged in a
dielectric fluid. Generally, kerosene oil is used as a dielectric medium.
 Material removal rate (MRR) depends on process parameters like current, voltage,
pulse on-time, etc.
  Tool material: Cu, Brass, Cu-W alloy, Graphite.
 Workpiece: All conducting metals/alloys can be machined. EDM process is used to
machine difficult-to-machine materials and high-strength metals.

Theory

This section describes the process of material removal and identifies the variables that affect
the material removal rate and dimensional accuracy. EDM is an electro-thermal non-traditional
machining process, where electrical energy is used to generate an electrical spark, and material
removal mainly occurs due to the thermal energy of the spark. The schematic of the process is
shown in Fig. 1. In EDM, a potential difference is applied between the tool and workpiece by
a suitable pulse power generator. Generally, the positive terminal of the power supply unit is
connected to the work material and the negative terminal to the tool. Both the tool and the work
materials should be electrically conductive. To improve the effectiveness of the process, both
the tool and the work material are immersed in a dielectric medium (hydrocarbon or mineral
oil). A servomotor is used to maintain a predefined gap (10-125 μm) between the tool and the
work material, known as the inter-electrode gap (IEG).

Fig.1: Schematic of the EDM process.

Depending upon the applied potential difference and the gap between the tool and workpiece,
an electric field would be established and ionization of the dielectric creates a plasma channel
between the tool and the workpiece. Thus, the discharge takes place through the channel in the
form of a spark. The localized intense heat from the spark melts and evaporates the material
forming a vapour bubble. As the potential difference goes to zero at the end of the voltage
pulse, the plasma channel and the bubble collapse, and a shock wave is generated by the
cavitation effect, which ejects the molten material.

Dependence of MRR with process parameters:

Material removal rate (MRR) can be expressed by the following equation:

MRR = k. V. I. ton . f .................................(eq. 1)

= (k. V. I. ton )/ (ton + toff ) ...............(eq. 2)

= k. V. I. dc ...................................... (eq. 3)

= (W1 - W2)×1000×ρ×t ….…..….….(eq. 4)

Where,
k - Proportionality constant which depends on the tool and work material combination
V - Voltage
I - Current
f - Frequency of sparking = 1/(ton + toff )
Ton - Pulse on time
Toff - Pulse off time
dc - Duty cycle = ton /(ton + toff )
W1 and W2 - Weight of workpiece before and after machining respectively (g)
ρ - Density of workpiece in (g/cm3)
t - Machining time in minutes

The above relation expresses the dependence of MRR on various experimental parameters.

The specific energy requirement is defined as the ratio of stock removal to energy input.

Power supply:

In EDM, the generator is used to apply voltage pulses between the tool and the workpiece. A
constant voltage is not applied. Only sparking is desired in EDM rather than arcing. Arcing
leads to localized material removal at a particular point, whereas sparks get distributed all over
the tool surface leading to uniformly distributed material removal under the tool.

Process Variables

EDM process depend upon some input parameters which influence the machining rate. The
parameters are described below:
Discharge Current or Peak Current:

The maximum amount of current available for each pulse. It starts at zero and rises until it
reaches a peak value, called discharge current.

Discharge Voltage:

When the current flows through the plasma channel, the open circuit Voltage goes down and
the electrode gap comes to a steady stay position. It is the most important factor which controls
the spark energy.

Pulse-on Time:

The ionization and sparking time is known as pulse on-time or pulse duration. It is measured
in terms of microseconds (μs). The amount of energy applied at this time is directly
proportional to the material removal rate (MRR). Due to this, high material removal rate and
good surface roughness is obtained even at high spark energy.

Pulse-off Time:

The duration between two consecutive pulses is called pulse off time or pulse interval. It is
calculated when the supply voltage is off. In this time period, deionized dielectric regains its
strength for the next cycle. In the meantime, the molten metal can get solidified, and debris
will be washed out from the machining zone through flushing.

Duty Cycle:

Duty cycle is the percentage of pulse on-time with relative to the total cycle time. Generally
higher duty cycle means high cutting efficiency.

Duty cycle (%) = (Pulse-on time/Total cycle time) X100

Total cycle time (μs) = Pulse-on time + Pulse-off time

Material Removal Rate (MRR):

The MRR can be defined as the amount of material removal from the workpiece per unit time.
It is measured in terms of mm3/min.

Tool Wear Rate (TWR):

The TWR can be defined as the amount of material removed from the electrode per unit time.
It is measured in terms of mm3/min.
Objective

1. To study the characteristic features of the EDM process.

2. To study the effect of process parameters such as current, pulse on-time, and pulse off-
time on material removal rate (MRR) and tool wear rate (TWR) in the machining of
mild steel workpiece using a copper tool.

Procedure

1. Weight of the workpiece and the tool before the experiment is to be taken.
2. The tool is to be mounted in the quill, and the workpiece is to be clamped in the
production vice mounted in the machine.
3. The power supply of the pulse generator and the control unit is to be switched on.
4. The pump is to be switched on to fill the chamber with electrolyte up to the operating
level.
5. The Flushing nozzle is to be placed near the workpiece.
6. Desired pulse on-time and pulse off-time are to be set.
7. Proper gap setting and desired polarity are to be set.
8. An appropriate current (1-16 Amp) is to be set.
9. Stopwatch is to be started as soon as the spark is initiated.
10. Machining is to be done for predefined depth/predefined time.
11. Machine and stopwatch are to be stopped as soon as the intended machining is over.
12. The electrolyte is to be drained out and the quill is to be lifted.
13. The workpiece and the tool are to be taken out and cleaned.
14. The weight of the workpiece and the tool will be taken, and the MRR and TWR will be
calculated.

Results and Discussion

1. The report should contain graphs showing the dependence of MRR and TWR on
discharge current and pulse on-time. Explain the results.
Observation Table:
Gap Voltage = …………… (V) Machining time = ……….. (min)

Weight of Workpiece Weight of Tool

Peak Pulse on
S.No. Current Time MRR TWR
(A) (µs) After (gm/min) (gm/min)
Before machining After machining Before
machining
(gm) (gm) machining (gm)
(gm)
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

7.

8.

9.