In this work, wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) of aluminum (LM25) reinforced with fly ash and boron carbide (B4C) hybrid composites was performed to investigate the influence of reinforcement wt% and machining parameters on the performance characteristics. The hybrid composite specimens were fabricated through the stir casting process by varying the wt% of reinforcements from 3 to 9. In the machinability studies, the WEDM process control parameters such as gap voltage, pulse-on time, pulse-off time, and wire feed were varied to analyze their effects on machining performance including volume removal rate and surface roughness. The WEDM experiments were planned and conducted through the L27 orthogonal array approach of the Taguchi methodology, and the corresponding volume removal rate and surface roughness were measured. In addition, the multi-parametric ANOVA was performed to examine the statistical significance of the process control parameters on the volume removal rate and surface roughness. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of the parameter values for both the responses were statistically analyzed to confirm the selection of the range of the process control parameters. Finally, the quadratic multiple linear regression models (MLRMs) were formulated based on the correlation between the process control parameters and output responses. The Grass–Hooper Optimization (GHO) algorithm was proposed in this work to identify the optimal process control parameters through the MLRMs, in light of simultaneously maximizing the volume removal rate and minimizing the surface roughness. The effectiveness of the proposed GHO algorithm was tested against the results of the particle swarm optimization and moth-flame optimization algorithms. From the results, it was identified that the GHO algorithm outperformed the others in terms of maximizing volume removal rate and minimizing the surface roughness values. Furthermore, the confirmation experiment was also carried out to validate the optimal combination of process control parameters obtained through the GHO algorithm.
Wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) is one of the promising methods to produce precision dies and machine tools. In the present work, die corner accuracy achievable through trim cutting operation has been analyzed in the presence of a higher wire lag arising due to the higher workpiece thickness, acute corner angle, and higher flushing nozzle height. The influence of the corner error (uncut area left between the actual profile and the desired profile) generated in the first cut (rough cut) on the considered responses, namely volume removal rate, corner accuracy, surface roughness, and dimensional shift, has been analyzed by setting three different parameters during the first cut of the trim cutting operation. It is established that the trim cutting operation is a superior strategy for improving die corner accuracy than the pulse parameter modification strategy. Nevertheless, the high pulse parameter setting in rough cut was preferred for achieving greater productivity while the low pulse parameter setting in rough cut was chosen to achieve better corner accuracy at the cost of lower productivity.
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