Effect of the powder concentration and dielectric flow in the surface morphology in electrical discharge machining with powder-mixed dielectric (PMD-EDM)

The addition of powder particles to the electrical discharge machining (EDM) dielectric fluid modifies some process variables and creates the conditions to achieve a higher surface quality in large machined areas. This paper presents a new research work that aims to study the improvement in the polishing performance of conventional EDM when used with a powder-mixed-dielectric (PMD-EDM). The analysis was carried out varying the silicon powder concentration and the flushing flow rate over a set of different processing areas and the effects in the final surface were evaluated. The evaluation was done by surface morphologic analysis and measured through some quality surface indicators. The results show the positive influence of the silicon powder in the reduction of crater dimensions, white-layer thickness and surface roughness. Moreover, it was demonstrated that an accurate control of the powder concentration and flushing flow is a requirement for achieving an improvement in the process polishing capability.