Optimization of machining parameters of EN24 alloy steel on WEDM using RSM

Due to the technological development of mechanical and production industries, the demands for materials having high hardness, toughness, strength and impact resistance are increasing. Wire EDM machines are used to cut all conductive material of any hardness or toughness or that are difficult or impossible to cut with conventional methods. The machines also specialize in cutting complex contours or fragile geometries that would be difficult to be produced using conventional machining parameters. Wire electrical discharge machining process is a highly complex, time varying & stochastic process. The process output is affected by large number of input variables. Therefore a suitable selection of input variables for the wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) process relies heavily on the operators technology & experience because of their numerous & diverse range. The problem of arriving at the optimum levels of the operating parameters has attracted the attention of the researchers and practicing engineers for a very long time. WEDM is extensively used in machining of conductive materials when precision is of prime importance. Rough cutting operation in wire EDM is treated as challenging one because improvement of more than one performance measures viz. Metal removal rate (MRR), surface finish & cutting rate are sought to obtain precision work. This paper reviews the effects of various input parameters on the performance parameters i.e. material removal rate, surface finish etc.