Effect of machining parameters on surface textures in EDM of Fe-Mn-Al alloy

In this work, the surface characteristics caused by EDM were analyzed by means of the atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique. An empirical model of Fe-Mn-Al alloy was proposed based on the experimental data. A qualitative energy dispersive spectroscopic analyzer was used to measure the chemical composition of the specimen. Surface hardness was determined with a microhardness tester. Experimental results indicate that the EDM process causes a ridged surface and induces machining damage in the surface layer, and increases the surface roughness. The depth of micro-cracks, micro-voids and machined damage increase with an increase in the amount of pulsed current and pulse-on duration. The effect of the magnitude of the pulse-on duration on the surface texture of the specimen is more significant than the pulsed current. Furthermore, the AFM method reveals the 3D surface textures of the EDM specimen with a nanometer scale.