Optimization of WEDM process parameters using deep cryo-treated Inconel 718 as work material

The present work proposes an experimental investigation and optimization of various process parameters during taper cutting of deep cryo-treated Inconel 718 in wire electrical discharge machining process. Taguchi's design of experiment is used to gather information regarding the process with less number of experimental runs considering six input parameters such as part thickness, taper angle, pulse duration, discharge current, wire speed and wire tension. Since traditional Taguchi method fails to optimize multiple performance characteristics, maximum deviation theory is applied to convert multiple performance characteristics into an equivalent single performance characteristic. Due to the complexity and non-linearity involved in this process, good functional relationship with reasonable accuracy between performance characteristics and process parameters is difficult to obtain. To address this issue, the present study proposes artificial neural network (ANN) model to determine the relationship between input parameters and performance characteristics. Finally, the process model is optimized to obtain a best parametric combination by a new meta-heuristic approach known as bat algorithm. The results of the proposed algorithm show that the proposed method is an effective tool for simultaneous optimization of performance characteristics during taper cutting in WEDM process.