The material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (SR) are the key output measures of wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM). In this paper, the influence of several process parameters, such as the discharge current, pulse interval, open-circuit voltage and servo voltage on the MRR and SR of WEDM, were investigated. Experimental data were initially collected based on the Taguchi method of experimental design. Modelling was carried out using regression analysis and the analysis of variance techniques, and mathematical relationships between the parameters and their related outputs were developed and tested. A Tabu search algorithm was then used to minimize a weighted sum of the outputs that represent different measures of machining quality and determine the optimal set of parameters for any combination of the weighting factors. The final results present the optimized MRR and SR of the process and confirm the efficiency and abilities of the model.
BrownJ.Advanced machining technology handbook, 1998 (McGraw-Hill, New York).
3.
El-HofyH.Advanced machining processes, 2005 (McGraw-Hill, New York).
4.
YuanJ.WangK.YuT.FangM.Reliable multi-objective optimization of high-speed WEDM process based on Gaussian process regression. Int. J. Mach. Tools Manufact., 2008, 48, 47–60.
5.
ChiangK. T.ChangF. P.Optimization of the WEDM process of particle-reinforced material with multiple performance characteristics using grey relational analysis. J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2006, 180, 96–101.
6.
KungK. Y.ChiangK. T.Modeling and analysis of machinability evaluation in the wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) process of aluminum oxide-based ceramic. J. Mater. Manufact. Proc., 2008, 23, 241–250.
7.
RamakrishnanR.KarunamoorthyL.Modeling and multi-response optimization of Inconel 718 on machining of CNC WEDM process. J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2008, 207, 343–349.
8.
RaoR. V.PawarP. J.Modelling and optimization of process parameters of wire electrical discharge machining. Proc IMechE, Part B: J. Engng Manufact., 2009, 233, 1431–1440.
9.
JiaY.KimB. S.HuD. J.NiJ.Parametric study on near-dry wire electrodischarge machining of polycrystalline diamond-coated tungsten carbide material. Proc IMechE, Part B: J. Engng Manufact., 2010, 224, 185–193.
10.
HuangJ. T.LiaoY. S.HsueW. J.Determination of finish-cutting operation number and machining-parameters setting in wire electrical discharge machining. J. Mater. Process. Technol., 1999, 87, 69–81.
11.
AliM. Y.MohammadA. S.Experimental study of conventional wire electrical discharge machining for microfabrication. J. Mater. Manufact. Proc., 2008, 23, 641–645.
12.
SanchezJ. A.PlazaS.OrtegaN.MarcosM.AlbizuriJ.Experimental and numerical study of angular error in wire-EDM taper-cutting. Int. J. Mach. Tools Manufact., 2008, 48, 1420–1428.
13.
SarkarS.SekhM.MitraS.BhattacharyyaB.Modeling and optimization of wire electrical discharge machining of γ-TiAl in trim cutting operation. J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2008, 205, 376–387.
14.
HaddadM. J.TehraniA. F.Material removal rate (MRR) study in the cylindrical wire electrical discharge turning (CWEDT) process. J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2008, 199, 369–378.
15.
TosunN.CogunC.Analysis of wire erosion and workpiece surface roughness in wire electrical discharge machining. Proc IMechE, Part B: J. Engng Manufact., 2003, 217, 633–642.
16.
KuriakoseS. H.ShunmugamM. S.Multi-objective optimization of wire-electro discharge machining process by non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm. J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2005, 170, 133–141.
17.
TosunN.CogunC.TosunG.A study on kerf and material removal rate in wire electrical discharge machining based on Taguchi method. J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2004, 152, 316–322.
18.
SarkarS.MitraS.BhattacharyyaB.Parametric analysis and optimization of wire electrical discharge machining of γ-titanium aluminide alloy. J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2005, 159, 286–294.
19.
MohammadiA.TehraniA. F.EmanianE.KarimiD.Statistical analysis of wire electrical discharge turning on material removal rate. J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2008, 205, 283–289.
20.
GöklerM. İ.OzanözgüA. M.Experimental investigation of effects of cutting parameters on surface roughness in the WEDM process. Int. J. Machine Tools Manufact., 2000, 40, 1831–1848.
21.
GuoZ. N.WangX.HuangZ. G.YueT. M.Experimental investigation into shaping particle-reinforced materials by WEDM-HS. J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2002, 129, 56–59.
22.
HuY. H.HwangJ. N.Handbook of neural network signal processing, 2002 (CRC Press, New York).
23.
RoyR.A primer on Taguchi method, 1990 (Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York).
24.
MontgomeryD. C.Design and analysis of experiments, 7th ed, 2008 (Wiley, New York).
