Experimental investigations on EDM of Ti6Al4V with planetary tool actuation

Planetary tool actuation is a widely recognized process improvement technique used in electro discharge machining (EDM) process due to its cost effectiveness, as well as multifarious benefits. However, majority of works reported in such aspect has been carried out for the generation of circular cavities. In the present study, an attempt has been made to study the effect of various parameters associated with EDM as well as planetary tool actuation on critical responses like material removal rate, wear ratio and surface roughness during generation of square shaped cavities on Ti6Al4V. Two different electrode materials—copper and graphite has been employed for the present study. Analysis of Variance has been carried out on the results to identify the statistically significant parameters. Further, empirical models have been developed for all three responses using non-linear regression. Results suggest that pulse ON time has a dominant effect on all response. Even though graphite electrodes are preferable for machining features with high material removal rate, copper electrodes have been observed to perform in a better fashion as they facilitate the generation of features with high wear ratios, as well as better surface finish.