On near-dry wire ECDM of Al6063/SiC/10p MMC

Metal matrix composites (MMC's) with their exceptional properties are gaining importance in many industries (i.e., automobile, structural, aerospace, etc.). The secondary processing of MMC's, like machining, is challenging and sometimes infeasible by conventional machining processes. The present study reports development and investigation on a new non-conventional hybrid machining process named near-dry wire electrochemical discharge machining (ND-WECDM). The investigation involved understanding the material removal mechanism of developed ND-WECDM for machining of Al6063/SiC/10p MMC. A detailed experimental investigation was planned and conducted using Taguchi's L(18)mixed-level design. The influences of input parameters (i.e., pulse on-time, applied voltage, mist flow rate, wire feed rate, and pulse off-time) were analyzed on the slit width (SW) and slit depth (SD) as the performance characteristics. The significant parameters affecting the ND-WECDM process were identified by applying the ANOVA. The SW and SD were most affected by the applied voltage and pulse on-time, respectively. In the ND-WECDM process, material removal is due to electric discharge (ED), electrochemical dissolution (ECD), and thermal spalling (TS). ND-WECDM process is found competent to develop micro features on Al6063/SiC/10p MMC.