Analysis of Wire-EDM Input Parameters on Kerf Width and Surface Integrity for Al 6061 Alloy

Al 6061 alloy is a precipitation-hardened aluminium alloy widely applicable for the general purpose and various commercial applications such as transportation, construction, similar engineering industries. Al 6061 is very difficult to machine precisely by the conventional method owing to high hardness. Therefore, non-conventional machining process like Wire-EDM can be the substitute for machining aluminium 6061 alloy in a precise manner. The kerf width (Kf) and surface roughness (Ra) of the machining zone are the important response criterion in Wire-Electro Discharge Machining (Wire-EDM) process. Surface roughness and kerf width are considered for the response criterion. Taguchi-based experimental design has been considered for the analysis of the aforesaid response parameters on the response. The significance of the machining parameters on the kerf width and surface roughness has been determined by using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Signal-to-noise ratio has been used to find out the importance of each parameter. The experimental results reveal that the above parameters are quite significant on kerf gap and surface roughness also.