Experimental Investigation of Sunflower Oil as Dielectric Fluid in Die Sinking Electric Discharge Machining Process

Abstract

Electric Discharge Machining (EDM) is used to machine complex geometries of difficult to cut materials in the area of making dies, mould and tools. Currently, hydrocarbon based dielectric fluids are used in EDM and which plays major role for material removal and it emits harmful emission. In this work, vegetable oil is attempted as dielectric fluid and their performance are studied during processing of AISI P20 steel. The effect of pulse on time (P on ) , pulse off time (P off ), and current (A) on Material Removal Rate (MRR), Tool wear rate (TWR) and surface roughness (SR) are analyzed. The result showed that vegetable oils are given good machining performance than conventional dielectric fluids. These proposed dielectric fluids are biodegradable eco friendly and enhance sustainability in EDM process.