Performance improvement of electric discharge machining via an environment-friendly biodegradable Tween surfactant dielectric additive

• Published in: International journal of advanced manufacturing technology Vol. 134; no. 1-2; pp. 139 - 157
• Main Authors: Saleem, Muhammad Qaiser, Asif, Noman
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Springer London 01.09.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: CAE) and Design; Chromium molybdenum vanadium steels; Computer-Aided Engineering (CAD; Cost analysis; Design of experiments; Design optimization; EDM electrodes; Electric discharge machining; Electrode materials; Electrodes; Engineering; Factorial design; Industrial and Production Engineering; Material removal rate (machining); Mechanical Engineering; Media Management; Original Article; Parametric analysis; Process variables; Surface properties; Surface roughness; Surfactants; Tool steels; Variance analysis; Wear rate; Environment-friendly; Sustainable manufacturing; Biodegradable; Tween surfactants; Additive-mixed EDM
• ISSN: 0268-3768; 1433-3015
• DOI: 10.1007/s00170-024-14119-0

This work reports on the improvement of electrical discharge machining (EDM) performance while employing a previously less investigated but environment-friendly, biodegradable, and economically viable Tween series dielectric additive.  It is validated through experimentation and process optimization that the Tween series surfactant-based dielectric improves material removal rate (MRR), reduces surface roughness (SR), and reduces relative electrode wear rate (REWR), which directly relate to aspects of productivity, quality, and cost. The work employed a full factorial design of experiment (DOE), followed by parametric analysis and optimization via analysis of variance (ANOVA) and composite desirability function. The effects of four process variables, namely additive type, additive concentration, pulse-off time, and electrode material, were considered for machining AISI D2 tool steel under positive polarity conditions. An improvement of ~ 106% in MRR, ~ 42% in REWR, and 40% in SR ( R a ) is reported herein by the use of this green additive-based approach in comparison to the performance of baseline dielectric with no such additives. Additionally, the SEM analyses done for topographical aspects reveal machined surfaces with no pores and free of cracks when the surfactant-based approach is used. As revealed by EDS analysis, this approach results in more carbides and oxides present on the machined surface, which are preferred for better surface and sub-surface properties. The composite desirability of ~ 77.30% has been obtained by establishing a compromise between the maximum MRR, minimum REWR, and minimum SR taken as output measures for this work.