Experimental investigation on effects of dielectric mediums in near-dry electric discharge machining

Abstract

A dielectric fluid plays a significant role on the machining efficiency of Electric discharge machining (EDM). Two phase (liquid-air) dielectric medium was utilized in near-dry (EDM). It is an environmentally friendly process. The present article reports the effect of different dielectric mediums on responses of near-dry EDM. Dielectric mediums used for experimentation were water-air, EDM oil-air and glycerin-air mixtures. The process parameters selected for experimentation were current, duty factor, flushing pressure and lift. Material removal mechanism of near-dry EDM is investigated using imaging techniques. Dielectric fluid with higher viscosity and higher Prandtl number provided better results than fluids with lower viscosity. The results reveal that the Material removal rate (MRR) with glycerin-air dielectric medium is about three-times higher than other dielectric medium used with negligible recast layer. The tool wear rate is negligible in near-dry EDM in relation to all the dielectric mediums. © 2016, The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.