Effect of different tool materials during EDM performance of titanium grade 6 alloy

During this investigation, a comparative study has been carried out on electro discharge machining (EDM) of titanium grade 6 alloy using different type of electrodes viz. copper, brass and zinc. The process performance has been assessed by means of material removal rate (MRR) and tool wear rate (TWR). A face-centered central composite design (FCCCD) based response surface methodology (RSM) has been implemented to design the experiment. The influence of process parameters viz. pulse on time, peak current, gap voltage and duty cycle on the process performance has been studied. Metallographic analysis was carried out for the machined surfaces. Higher material removal rate is attained by brass and zinc electrodes compared to copper electrode. Copper electrode exhibits less tool wear and less recast layer, followed by brass and zinc electrodes.