DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

CHARACTERISATION OF AL6061 USING

WIRE EDM AND LASER MACHINING
PROCESS

GUIDED BY PRESENTED BY
TINTO MATHEW ALDRIN A M
ASST. PROF. OF MECHANICAL HKC20ME005
ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT MGMCET, PAMPAKUDA
 CONTENT
1. INTRODUCTION
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
3. OBJECTIVE
4. ALUMINIUM 6061
5. WIRE EDM
6. LASER MACHINING PROCESS
7. CONCLUSION
8. REFERENCE
 1. INTRODUCTION
• The investigation of machining characteristics is one the most important aspects
to take into consideration in the majority of manufacturing processes and
particularly in processes related to Wire cut Electrical Discharge Machining
(WEDM) being widely used in die and Tool making industries, aerospace,
aeronautics and nuclear industries.

• Hence it’s wide use and has high hardness requires unconventional machining
such as WEDM, the investigation of machining characteristics of Aluminium
6061 will provide a more economic and efficient method in it.
 2. LITERATURE REVIEW
SL.NO TITLE AUTHOR YEAR OUTCOME
1. Investigation of machining B.Selva Babu et.al 2020 Characteristics of Al
characteristics of 6061
aluminium 6061 by wire
EDM
2. Experimental study of laser S.D Jadhav et.al 2019 Various combination
machining of Al6061 by of cutting
fibre laser parameters.
3. Wire electric discharging a Oana Dodun et.al 2020 Machining process
review using Wire Edm
 3. OBJECTIVE

• To investigate the MRR and surface roughness of AL6061 using wire

EDM

• To investigate the surface roughness of AL6061 using laser machining

process
 ALUMINIUM

• Third most abundant element

in earth crust

• Silvery white in color

• Non magnetic metal

• Ductile metal

FIG 1. Structure of aluminium

 4. ALUMINIUM 6061
• Precipitation-hardened aluminium alloy
• Containing magnesium and silicon as its
major alloying elements.
• Originally called "Alloy 61S"
• It was developed in 1935.
• It has good mechanical properties,
exhibits good weldability, and is very
commonly extruded
FIG 2: Structure of aluminium 6061
 5. WIRE EDM

• Non-traditional machining processes

is Wire Electro Discharge
machining (WEDM)
• Used for machining difficult to
machine materials like composites
and inter-metallic materials.
• Capabable of producing a fine
precise, corrosion and wear resistant
surface. FIG 3: Wire EDM Machine
5.1 Components Of Wire Edm

1. Workpiece

2. Tool Electrode (Wire)

3. Dielectric Fluid

4. Power Supply

5. Control System
FIG 4: Experimental setup for wire EDM
 5.2 Principles Of Wire Edm

• In Wire EDM, the conductive materials are machined with a series of electrical
discharges (sparks) that are produced between an accurately positioned
moving wire (the electrode) and the workpiece.

• High frequency pulse so alternating or direct current is discharged from the

wire to the work piece with a very small spark gap through an insulated
dielectric fluid .
5.3 Performance Measures Of Wire Edm

• Material removal rate

• Electrode wear rate

• Surface quality

• Continuous Feeding

• Precision Control
5.4 Effects On MRR And Surface Roughness
• The effect of the process variables on the MRR has been determined
as follows
MRR = F * Dw * H mm3/min
Where F = Machine feed rate in mm/min
F = (60 l)/t
l = cutting length in mm
t = cutting time in sec
Dw = wire diameter in mm
H = Piece work thickness in mm
When pulse on and peak current increase the MRR increases, and MRR decreases in the period
of pulse off time. This is because of increase in discharge energy and enhancement in pulse on
and peak current that lead to a faster MRR. The number of discharges within a given period
becomes less because the off time between the pulses increase which leads to a lower MRR.

FIG 5: Graph showing MRR

• Surface roughness value increases when pulse on and peak current increase. The discharge
energy increases with the pulse on time and peak current and larger discharge energy
produces a larger crater, causing a larger surface roughness value on the work piece.

FIG 6: Graph showing surface roughness

 5.5 Advantages And Disadvantages
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
High precision and accuracy. Slow Material Removal Rate

Capability to machine complex and intricate Limited Material Compatibility

shapes.

Minimal tool wear because the wire electrode is Complex Setup

not in direct contact with the workpiece.

Suitable for hard and exotic materials High Equipment and Maintenance Costs

Good surface finish. Wire Breakage

Excellent repeatability. Limited Material Thickness

 6. LASER MACHINING PROCESS
• Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.

• It is a device that generates a beam of coherent light through a process called

stimulated emission.

• It is a device that produces a highly focused, intense beam of light through the
process of stimulated emission.

• This process involves the release of photons, or particles of light, from excited
atoms or molecules.
6.1 Components Of Laser Machining Process

• Power supply
• Flash lamps
• Reflecting mirrors
• Laser light beam
• Lens
• Workpiece

FIG 7: Schematic diagram of laser machining proces

6.2 Processing Parameters Of Laser Machining
Process
6.4 Advantages And Disadvantages
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
High precision High initial cost:
High speed: Limited material compatibility
Non-contact Complex setup:
Versatility Risk of damage to workpiece:
Clean Limited depth of penetration:
Automation Limited to two-dimensional machining
6.5 Effect Of Surface Response

• The aluminium alloys were difficult to cut by lasers due to their high reflectivity
and thermal conductivity.

• The problem was further intensified by the self-extinguishing oxidation reaction

and a higher power requirement in continuous wave mode of operation.
• As a laser power increases the kerf width is decreases and at the specific laser
power the kerf width is maximum due to high instantaneous energy results in
melting.

• Higher energy of laser power at lower cutting speed can cause thermal damage
to the cutting surface while higher cutting speed causes striations and spoils the
finish hence moderate level cutting speed is desired while taking better kerf and
finish.
 7. CONCLUSION

• Wire EDM is better machining process for aluminium alloys than laser
machining process.

• It provide better surface finishing .

 8. REFERENCE
• 1] K. Rajkumar, C. Balasubramaniyan, M. Dhananchezian, K. Ramraji, Analysis of Triangular
WEDM Cut Corner Inaccuracy of Aluminium Composite Mold Material, Mater. Today. Proc. 22
(2020) 1341–1350.
• [2] Swarup S. Deshmukh, Vijay S. Jadhav, Ramakant Shrivastava, Study Spark Gap of Wire
Electric Discharge Machining on AISI 4140, Materials Today: Proceedings 22 (2020), pp:1812–
1821.
• [3] S. Suresh Kumar, F. Erdemir, Temel Varol, S. Thirumalai Kumaran, M. Uthayakumar, Aykut
Canakci, Investigation of WEDM process parameters of AleSiCeB4C composites using response
surface methodology, International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 3 (2020),
pp:127-135
• [4] D. Vijay Praveen , D. Ranga Raju , M.V. Jagannadha Raju, Optimization of machining
parameters of wire-cut EDM on ceramic particles reinforced Almetal matrix composites – A
review, Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (2019), pp:1-4
• [5] A. Muniappan, V. Jayakumar, R. Ajithkumar, S.K. Veerabhadra, R. Prasanna, Optimization of
WEDM Process Parameters for Cutting Speed using Taguchi technique, Materials Today:
Proceedings 18 (2019), pp:332–341
THANK YOU……