Experimental Investigation of Process Parameters of Submerged Wire EDM for Machining High Speed Steel

Wire-EDM as a precision cutting technology is possible to fabricate product of all ranges. In Wire EDM, the conductive materials are machined with a series of electrical discharges (sparks) that are produced between an accurately positioned moving wire (the electrode) and the work piece. High frequency pulses of alternating or direct current is discharged from the wire to the work piece with a very small spark gap through insulated dielectric fluid (water). In this current work Pulse on time, Wire tension and Spark gap voltage are the three parameters taken for optimization of MRR. The work piece is HSS M42 Grade and the work tool is brass wire of 0.25 mm dia. The Experiment was conducted in 8 runs using full factorial design and most significant factors are determined using ANOVA. Optimum values of parameters are obtained by using MatLab program (Genetic algorithm). Response surface methodology is also adopted to verify the accuracy of obtained mathematical model.