EFFECT OF ALUMINIUM POWDER ADDITION IN DIELECTRIC DURING ELECTRIC DISCHARGE MACHINING OF HASTELLOY ON MACHINING PERFORMANCE USING REVERSE POLARITY

Abstract

The addition of powder particles suspended in dielectric fluid of electrical discharge machining (EDM) modifies some process characteristics and creates the condition to achieve higher machining performance. In this paper attempt has been made to study the effect of aluminium powder on the machining performance of conventional EDM with reverse polarity. The machining performance is evaluated in terms of material removal rate, tool wear rate, percentage wear rate, surface roughness. Concentration and grain size of aluminium powder are taken as the input powder parameters and its effect are presented on machining performance. It is found experimentally that powder characteristics significantly affect machining characteristics.