Experimental Investigation and Optimization of Machining Characteristics in Ultrasonic Machining of WC–Co Composite Using GRA Method

Abstract

WC–Co composite material is highly demanded in manufacturing industries, because of its unique properties such as excellent hardness with toughness, higher mechanical strength, and good dimensional stability. The present investigation is aimed at studying the impact of different experimental conditions (by varying cobalt content, thickness of work piece, tool profile, tool material, abrasive grit size, and power rating) on responses of interest (material removal rate and tool wear rate) in ultrasonic drilling of WC–Co composite material. The experiments have been planned by using Taguchi's L-36 orthogonal array and grey relation analysis has been applied for optimization of multiple responses. Analysis of variance is also employed to find the significant factors. Significant effects are observed for process variables such as cobalt content, abrasive grain size, and power level. Tools with higher hardness delivered better machining performance.