Powder-mixed Electric Discharge Machining of Inconel 625

Nickel-based super alloys are widely used in aerospace, chemical and marine industries owing to their supreme ability to retain the mechanical properties at elevated temperatures. They also possess remarkable resistance to corrosion in adverse working conditions. However, they are very difficult-to-cut using conventional machining processes. Electric discharge machining (EDM) is one of the most widely used advanced machining processes to cut such ¿difficult-to-cut¿ materials. Nevertheless, low machining rate and poor quality of the machined surface have been the major concerns in EDM over the years. Although, variations like rotation or/and vibration of the tool electrode during EDM process addressed the aforesaid problems to some extent, addition of suitable powder particles to the dielectric has gained much attention in recent times due to its potential to significantly enhance material removal rate and surface quality of the EDMed component. Considering the incompleteness in literature, the objective of the current research work is set to investigate the influence of various powder additives and process parameters on surface integrity of Inconel 625 during powder-mixed EDM.