Journal of Applied Mechanical Engineering

Abstract

Analysis of Wire Electrode Discharge Machining Process using FEA

Singh P, Jain AK and Maurya SK

The Wire Electro Discharge Machining (WEDM) process is a violent thermal process where literally thousands of electrical discharges are produced in a fraction of a single second in order to erode a certain volume of metal workpiece. The process is mostly and efficiently used in situations where intricate complex shapes need to be machined in very hard materials (such as hardened tool steel, CBN, Ceramic etc). However, the process generates surfaces that have poor properties such as high tensile residual stresses, high surface roughness, presence of micro-cracks and microvoids. These properties vary with different levels of the main conventional machining parameters. The aim of this FEA simulation is to present a transient thermal and structural simulation work that has been a three-dimensional finite element model with two new materials to predict the temperature distribution, Total heat flux at different pulses of time as well as stress distribution in WEDM wire electrode. Thermal stress developed after the end of the spark and structural stresses developed due to tension in wire electrode. The effect on significant machining parameter pulseon- time has been investigated and found that the peak temperature is sharply increases with the parameters. Wire electrical discharge machining process is a mostly used non-conventional material removal processes.