Modeling and Optimization of Electrical Discharge Machining Parameters for Titanium Alloy Using Copper Electrode

Abstract

In the current experiment, material removal rate of Ti-6Al-4V alloy with the help of a copper electrode was studied. Effect of process parameter viz., peak current, pulse on time, and pulse off time and gap voltage was studied. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used for the investigation of MRR and surface roughness. The desirability function approach was used to perform multi-response optimization to obtain a compromise between maximizing MRR and reducing surface roughness. The best machining parameters were set to maximum current of 14 A, pulse on time of 70 μs, pulse off time of 30 μs, and gap voltage of 50 V with a composite desirability value of 0.5797. MRR and Ra under optimal conditions were predicted to be 12.7043 mm3/ min and 3.3104 μm, respectively. Confirmation experiments were carried out and the results indicated that there was good agreement of the experimental results with the predicted value.