Evaluation of WEDM performance characteristics and prediction of machining speed during taper square profiling on Hastelloy-X

Abstract

Hastelloy-X is one of the wrought nickel-base superalloy comprising of oxidation resistance and high-temperature strength. Wire electric discharge machining process is the favoured technique for precise component fabrication of such materials. Apart from precision the most essential aspect with surface integrity and cutting velocity in manufacturing. This investigation deals with the effects of cutting speed override, corner dwell time, wire guide distance and wire offset on taper profile response characteristics. The variation of these parameters is studied by machining a simple square profile at 0°, 15° and 30° taper angles. It is observed that as the taper angle gets increased, both the machined errors at corners and machined roughness increased although the machining speed gets reduced. The recast layer and micro-hardness are explored for the taper square profile components. It is observed that the recast layer thickness was least for 30° taper profiles indicating least thermal degradation which was validated by micro-hardness. It was established that in a machined profile, that corners possessed lower hardness than the edges. The micro-hardness of inner profile corners was found to be lower than outer profile corners. Adaptive neuro-fuzzy interference system is better prediction computing method having least error ranging from 0–4.89%. In conclusion, the machining speed and taper angle also contribute to the output characteristics in wire electric discharge taper profiling. © 2021 Engineers Australia.