Determination of surface finish and Metal Removal Rate by varying parameters in wirecut Electrical Discharge Machining and optimizing using genetic algorithm

Wire Electric Discharge Machining (WEDM) is one of the greatest innovations in the tooling and machining industry. This process has brought dramatic improvements in accuracy, quality, productivity and earnings. Before wire EDM, costly processes were often used to produce finished parts. Now with the aid of computer and wire EDM machines, extremely complicated shapes can be cut automatically, precisely and economically even in materials as hard as carbide. The selection of optimum machining parameters in WEDM is an important step. Improperly selected parameters may result in serious problems like short-circuiting of wire, wire breakage and work surface damage which is imposing certain limits on the production schedule and also reducing productivity. The objective of the present work is to investigate the effects of the various Wire cut EDM process parameters on the surface quality, maximum material removal rates and obtain the optimal sets of process parameters so that the quality and MRR of machined parts can be optimized. Experiments will be conducted on the pieces by parameters. The material used for machining is Aluminium alloy. The process parameters considered are Pulse Time on, Pulse Time off, Input Power, Wire Feed, Servo Voltage and Wire Tension. The optimization will be done by using Genetic Algorithm. The above work is performed in English at WinWill Technical Services, located in Hyderabad, India, for a period of 4months.