Modeling the Effects of Electrical and Non-Electrical Parameters on the Material Removal and Surface Integrity in Case of µEDM of a Non-Conductive Ceramic Material using a Combined FuzzyAOM Approach

Abstract

Micro-EDM is a non-contact process based on the thermoelectric energy between a tool electrode and a workpiece. In µEDM process, the mechanism of material removal is melting and evaporation. The thermal energy in the discharge plasma helps remove material from the workpiece, at the same time deteriorates the quality and integrity of the workpiece surface. The material removal phenomenon in µEDM of partially conductive and non-conductive materials is very complex. This paper presents a novel approach to model the effects of electrical and non-electrical parameters on the material removal phenomenon and surface integrity for a non-conductive ceramic material. The fuzzy logic modeling system is employed for predicting the µEDM process responses. The trends in the material removal rate and hardness values with the chosen electrical and nonelectrical parameter for the model and obtained using AOM approach are compared. The average deviation between the model predictions and the results obtained using AOM plots is less than 10%. The material removal rate (MRR) decreases linearly with voltage, indicating a difference in material removal mechanism in the µEDM of non-conductive materials.