Abstract
Electric discharge machining (EDM) has been proven as an alternate process for machining complex and intricate shapes from the difficult to machine materials such as hard steels. The success of electric discharge machined components in real applications relies on the understanding of material removal mechanisms and the relationship between the EDM parameters and formation of surface and subsurface damages. This paper presents a detailed investigation of EDM machining characteristics of hardened AISI D3 tool steel. The machining response is the overcut of the process (OC), while the input parameters are Pulse current (Ip), Pulse –on- time (Ton), Pulse –off- time (Toff), and the Gap voltage (Vg). The experimental results have given optimal combination of input parameters which give the minimal overcut on the EDMed surface.