Tool wear investigation in electric discharge machining of aluminum matrix composite materials

Abstract

The objective of this work is to investigate the effect of tool diameter and pulse-on time (ton) on the tool wear rate, material removal rate and surface integrity of silicon carbide hybrid aluminum matrix composites. The SODICK AD3L CNC – electrode discharge machine and the cylindrical electrode as tool were used for the proposed research. Aluminium metal matrix hybrid composite with 7% silicon carbide (SiC) was drilled by using steel electrode tool with two different diameters. Positive polarity was maintained and water – soluble dielectric fluid VITOL KS was used. Experimentally one can notice that by increasing the pulse duration the electrode wear and machining speed increase. In case of drilling deep holes with small diameters, the electrode tool wear is more pronounced and the machining speed decreases significantly.