Experimental investigation on wire-electro discharge machining of tungsten carbide (WC) using Response Surface Methodology (RSM)

Abstract

In this work, Wire-Electro Discharge Machining (WEDM) of Tungsten Carbide (WC) was carried out using copper wire-electrode of diameter 0.25 mm. Diatomite powder mixed with distilled water is used as the dielectric fluid to increase the working fluid conductivity. Selection of appro-priate machining parameters in WEDM is one of the most important aspects taken into consideration as these conditions to determine the im-portant characteristics such as Material Removal Rate (MRR) and surface roughness (Ra) among others. The main machining parameters such as voltage (V), pulse-on time (Ton) and wire tension (WT) were chosen to determine listed technological characteristics. The characteristic features of the WEDM process are explored through Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on Design of Experiments (DOE). From the results, it is evident that the pulse-on time is the most significant factor followed by the voltage and wire tension.