Electrical Discharge Machining of SiC and Gr Reinforced 6061-T6 Aluminum Alloy Hybrid Composite Fabricated by Friction Stir Processing

Abstract

Aluminum based hybrid composites are advanced materials having the properties of high hardness, superior wear resistance, strength, high elevated temperature and low thermal expansion coefficient. These hybrid composites are widely used in industries like automobile and aerospace. In this present paper 6061-T6 Aluminum alloy reinforced with SiC and Gr particles, hybrid composites are fabricated by using Friction stir processing (FSP) technique. It prevents the further development of hybrid composites for machining by nonconventional methods like water jet and laser cutting process. Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is used for machining the complex shapes of the material. This paper presents an overview of EDM studies conducted on the Al-SiC/Gr hybrid composites using a copper electrode in EDM. The EDM experiment machining parameters such as the dielectric fluid, peak current, pulse on, pulse off times are changed to explore their effects on machining performance, material removal rate (MRR), Tool wear rate (TWR), and surface roughness (SR). It is observed that the MRR and SR of the Al-SiC/Gr hybrid composites increase with an increase in the current.