An Investigation of WEDM Process Parameters on the Surface Roughness of Al/B4Cp Metal Matrix Composites

The purpose of this study is to define the effects of wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) process parameters on surface roughness for Al/B4Cp metal matrix composites (MMCs) having different amounts of reinforcement particle (3, 6, and 12 wt.%). Totally nine experiments were performed according to the experimental design method conducted by Taguchi L-9 orthogonal array on Al/B4Cp MMC samples to determine the effect of WEDM process parameters on the surface roughness. The particle reinforcement amount (wt.%) is the most dominant factor (60.69%) on the surface roughness and it is followed by pulse on time (36.28%) and wire feed (1.49%), respectively. The surface roughness value taken from confirmation experiments and predicted value is 5.26 mu m, 5.37 mu m respectively.