Surface modification of High Carbon High Chromium, EN31 and Hot die steel using powder mixed EDM process

This paper investigates the effect of electric discharge machining (EDM) process parameters and powder mixed in dielectric on surface properties of three die steel work materials; namely High Carbon High Chromium (HCHCr), EN 31 and Hot Die Steel (HDS). The mechanism of material deposition from the suspended powder and/or tool electrode is reported. Current emerged as the most significant factor affecting the microhardness along with powder mixed in the dielectric and electrode material. Amongst the two electrode materials, copper-tungsten along with tungsten powder had the best microhardness. Selected samples were analyzed for X-ray Diffraction (XRD) followed by microstructure analysis using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The results showed significant material transfer from the electrode as well as powder either in free form or in compound form. It was concluded that surface modification of die steels can be done by incorporating simple modifications in the EDM set-up resulting in higher microhardness and superior wear resistance of the machined surface.