Study on Wire-EDM Taper Cutting Process: A Review

Abstract

Wire-electro discharge machining (WEDM) has become an important non-traditional machining process, as it provides an effective solution for producing components made of difficult-to-machine materials like titanium, zirconium, etc., and intricate shapes, which are not possible by conventional machining methods. Taper-cutting is one of the most important application of wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) process used for producing precise complex geometries with inclined surfaces in hard material parts. The wire is subjected to deformation during taper cutting operation leading to deviations in the angular dimensions and loss of tolerances in machined parts. As a result, the machined part losses its precision. Most of the work is done on straight cutting but some researchers have explored a number of ways to improve the accuracy of taper cutting process. The paper reports a review on the research relating to WEDM taper cutting process for improving and optimizing performance measures and reducing time and cost of manufacturing. The literature survey has revealed that a limited research has been conducted to obtain the optimal levels of machining parameters that yield the best machining quality in WEDM taper cutting process in machining of difficult to machine materials.