Electrical discharge machining characteristics of metal matrix composites

This paper reports experimental investigations of the effect of machining parameters (discharge current, pulse-on time, pulse-off time, voltage) on the machining feed rate and surface roughness during wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) of metal matrix composite AlSi7Mg/SiC and AlSi7Mg/Al2O3. Generally, the machining characteristics of WEDM metal matrix composites are similar to those which occur in the base material (AlSi7Mg aluminium alloy). The machining feed rate of WEDM cutting composites significantly depends on the kind of reinforcement. The maximum cutting speed of AlSi7Mg/SiC and AlSi7Mg/Al2O3 composites are approximately 3 times and 6.5 times lower than the cutting speed of aluminium alloy, respectively.