A novel approach to measure kerf-width in wire-electric discharge machining

Abstract

Wire-electric discharge machining is best suitable for manufacturing components from materials having poor machinability. Numerous studies have been carried out on the process optimisation of wire electric discharge machining for achieving better surface finish and higher material removal rates. These parameters depend on kerf loss, which is usually quantified in terms of the average kerf-width. However, arbitrary selection of discreet points to measure kerf loss often makes this method ineffective to reveal the details of actual kerf loss. An area-based measurement procedure, which considers all irregularities on the kerf wall, is proposed in this study as a solution to estimate the kerf loss. On analysing the possibility of reducing kerf loss during the machining of duplex stainless steel, it was observed that a pulse on time, current and voltage combination of 12 µs, 1 A and 80 V is suitable for achieving high dimensional accuracy.