Wedm Process In Manufacturing

1.1 INTRODUCTION

In manufacturing, the practice of severing redundant segment of metal workpiece in the form of bitty chips to produce a desired final shape and size by controlled material removal is known as machining. During the course of history people have revised the machining processes drastically. Unconventional machining processes are the conclusion of year’s long progression of tools and energy sources to muscle these tools to meet the requirements for making our lives easier and enjoyable. This is where Wire Electrical Discharge Machining came into existence. This process with a lean wire as an electrode transfigures electrical energy to thermal energy for cutting materials. By this process, conductive ceramics, alloy steels and aerospace

In 1974, D.H.Dulebhon harnessed the optical line follower system to spontaneously manage the shape of work parts to be machined by this process. By 1975, its popularity hastily increased, as the process and its capabilities were being better understood by the manufacturing industries. Decades back when computer numerical control (CNC) system was introduced to the WEDM towards the end of the 1970’s, this brought about a major evolution in the era of machining processes.

Wire cut EDM is a CNC controlled equipment, which can direct the wire on all the three dimensional axis to provide greater flexibility. Because of its versatility, manufacturers utilize WEDM functions for an extensive domain of applications. Since the process can work for precise items, it is the ideal choice for the production of highly detailed & delicate items that would otherwise be too difficult for other machining options. Moreover the process is very cost efficient for low quantity projects and can be even beneficial in prototype engineering, however if the actual project is accomplished by different

The WEDM equipment composed of a prime worktable (X-Y) on which the workpiece is secured, a peripheral table (U-V) and wire drag mechanism. The prime table shifts along X and Y axis, driven by servo DC motors. The moving wire is continually delivered from a wire feed spool and taken up on a take up spool which moves along the workpiece. Wire is kept under tension between a pair of wire guides placed on the contrary sides of the workpiece. The upper guide supported on a U-V table, can be budged transversely along U and V-axis in reference to lower wire guide, which is kept stationary. The upper guide can also be vertically positioned along Z-axis by budging the quill. In order to work for taper machining, the wire has to be tilted. This taper is achieved by budging the upper guide in reference to lower wire guide. The required taper angle is attained by the simultaneous direct the movement of U-V table and X-Y table along their respective paths that are fed in the controller. The path description of U-V table and X-Y table are stored in the controller in terms of circular and linear elements via NC program. Figure 1.1 depicts the schematic diagram of the basic principle of WEDM