Experimental Investigation of Wire-EDM Process Parameters on MRR of Ti-6al-4v Alloy

The objective of the present work was to investigate the effect of the wire electrical discharge machining process parameters on material removal rate of titanium alloy using Taguchi approach. A brass wire of 250μm was applied as a tool electrode to cut the specimen. L36 mixed orthogonal array (2 ×3) has been selected for experimentation under different variables like dielectric conductivity, pulse width, time between pulses, maximum feed rate, servo control mean reference voltage, short pulse time, wire feed rate, wire mechanical tension and injection pressure. The predicted optimal setting of process parameters for material removal rate has been obtained and analyzed by using Taguchi method. The significant process parameters have also been identified and their effects on material removal rate have been studied in detail. The predicted value for MRR at optimal parameter setting is 28.483mm/min and the experimental average value for MRR at optimal parameter setting is 27.584mm/min. So the above mathematical prediction for MRR using MINITAB 15 is validated by confirmation experiment with percentage error of 3.25%.