Analysis of rotary electrical discharge machining characteristics in reversal magnetic field for copper-en8 steel system

The material removal rate (MRR), along with the electrode wear rate (EWR), plays an important role in analysing machine output during electrical discharge machining. This work focuses on the improvement of machine output by introducing an induced magnetic field on the workpiece during rotary electrical discharge machining (REDM) of EN-8 steel with a rotary copper electrode. The workpiece was placed inside the induced magnetic field, wherein polarity of the magnetic field gets reversed periodically. Using Taguchi’s recommended design of experiments, we initially conducted experiments with eight input parameters at different levels . Significant parameters were identified with the help of the signal-to-noise ratio and ANOVA. Finally, another set of experiments was conducted for analysis of the process and development of empirical expressions for MRR and EWR. Experimental results established that rotary electrical discharge machining with a polarity reversal magnetic field delivers better machining output than machining in a non-magnetic field. Thus, this work benefits the EDM process by reducing the machining costs and by producing better geometrical trueness on workpieces, as MRR increased and EWR decreased.