Sustainable Engineering Approaches Used in Electrical Discharge Machining Processes: A Review

Abstract

Sustainable engineering is the approach in which the process is designed in such a way that there is a balance between the use of energy and resources so that it will not affect the environment and can be conserved for fulfilling the needs of future generations. Sustainable engineering in manufacturing focuses on the enhancement of productivity by controlling process parameters. So, it has become a hot topic in almost every field of manufacturing, aiming to achieve more economical and efficient processes. The key methods of sustainable production mainly include the optimization of energy usage and the innovation of machining techniques, etc. Nowadays, many relevant investigations have been conducted. In this paper, the main study is focused on the sustainable engineering approaches used in the electrical discharge machining processes, various optimization techniques used for better productivity in EDM processes. Effect of different process parameters like pulse-on, pulse-off, peak current, spark gap voltage, tool feed, flushing pressure, electrode polarity, dielectric fluid, etc., in machining operations has been discussed. For better machining time and less energy consumption, the optimization of process parameters, the problem of wire rupture in case of wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM), and the use of different electrode materials in EDM machining operations have been reviewed in this study. Efforts have been made to enhance EDM operations by sustainable engineering approaches with a systematic review of different research articles, industrial catalogs, technical fundamentals, etc. Various conclusions are drawn based on a thorough review of research articles and a list of gaps or future scopes have been provided in this paper.