Micro electrical discharge drilling in SS304 and its multiparameter optimization using desirability function analysis

Abstract The present investigation examines the use of micro-electrical discharge machining ( μ EDM) for microhole drilling in stainless steel grade 304. In this experiment, a Taguchi L18 orthogonal array is considered with four process parameters, viz. capacitance, voltage, feed rate and tool rotation. Material removal rate and microhole precision, such as circularity, overcut, and taperness, have been studied to assess machinability. Parametric variation of response measures with process variables are studied and their corresponding impacts are calculated using ANOVA. Desirability function analysis (DFA) is selected to optimize the process parameter for the best possible response and most desirable condition of the experiment, and results show an improvement in overall desirability by 10.47% at optimum parameter settings of capacitance = 10 3 pF, voltage = 150 V, feed rate = 20 μ m sec −1 and tool rotation = 2800 rpm.