Electrical Discharge Machining of René 108 DS Nickel Superalloy for Aerospace Turbine Blades

Manufacturing industries aim for high quality production with decreased cost and time. To this purpose, optimization of the processing parameters is required, in order to reduce the machining time and match the quality standards. This study has been conducted to electrical discharge machining on Renè 108 DS. In the process, the electrode material is crucial for metal removal and tool wear, whose optimization usually leads to conflicting goals. Therefore, two electrode materials, graphite (Poco EDM-3) and copper-infiltrated-graphite (Poco EDM-C3) have been tested in a factorial plan including current, voltage, duty cycle and electrode polarity. The process is discussed in terms of material removal rate, tool wear rate, wear ratio and final surface roughness of the work-piece.