Effect of manufacturing method of Cu-Al electrode on performance during electric discharge machining of siliconised silicon carbide (SiSiC) S.C. Kulkarni a,⇑ , M.S. Patil a , A.V. Kulkarni a , R.M. Kulkarni b , R.R. Malagi c a Department of Mechanical Engineering, KLS Gogte Institute of Technology, Belagavi 590008, India b Department of Chemistry and Centre for Nano Science and Nano Technology, KLS Gogte Institute of Technology, Belagavi 590008, India c Department of Product Design and Manufacturing, Center for PG Studies, Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi 590008, India article info Article history: Received 19 August 2019 Received in revised form 15 September 2019 Accepted 20 September 2019 Available online xxxx Keywords: Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) Box Behnken Design (BBD) Work piece Erosion Rate (WER) Electrode Erosion Rate (EER) Siliconised Silicon Carbide (SiSiC) Response Surface Methodology (RSM) abstract One of the most commonly employed non-traditional technique to machine very hard metals with com- plicated profiles is electrical discharge machining (EDM), wherein the material is removed by striking an electric spark between electrically conducting workpiece and tool electrode. This work is focused with an objective to analyze the effect of process parameters on work piece erosion rate (WER) keeping in view of productivity. The siliconised silicon carbide (SiSiC) is selected as work piece material with a consideration of variety of applications in different fields like: elements subjected to high-temperature environment such as gas turbines, bearings, manufacturing of molds, aerospace and lining of industrial furnaces. Efficient performance of the EDM process is obtained by the cathodic electrode and the anodic work piece. Response surface methodology (RSM) is applied in this study for analyzing the work piece erosion rate (WER) and electrode erosion rate (EER) along with the other influencing parameters like intensity of electric current, spark on-time and spark off-time, keeping flushing pressure constant at all the levels of the experimentation. Modeling of work piece erosion rate and electrode erosion rate is done using response surface methodology with the matrix obtained through Box Behnken Design (BBD). It is observed that there is increase in WER by 40% when Cu-Al (Stir Casting) tool electrode is used instead of Cu-Al (Powder Metallurgy) tool electrode for recommended settings. Hence it is concluded that for machining of SiSiC work material tool electrode manufactured by stir casting method is preferred over tool electrodes manufactured by powder metallurgy technique to increase the productivity. Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the First International Con- ference on Recent Advances in Materials and Manufacturing 2019. 1. Introduction For many years it is thought as almost impossible to machine complex structures and varied complicated geometries on hard and fragile materials. This lead to the advent of EDM manufactur- ing processes since 50 years to machine fragile parts, the machin- ing of which is a great challenge using traditional methods. The process involves conversion of electrical energy into thermal energy to carry out the machining operation which is accom- plished by melting and evaporation of the material by generation of large numbers of sparks [1] that produce small craters in the material. This leads to the erosion of the work material which takes the form of the tool [2]. The main function of dielectric is to keep the spark intact, concentrated and effective as it strikes the work sur- face. Dielectric also helps in effective flushing of the particle removed from the work [3]. The heat produced in the machining zone is extremely high and the temperature ranges between 8000 °C and 12,000 °C [4]. Temperature about 20,000 °C is also recorded [5]. The machined area depends on energy supplied by the relaxation circuit exciting direct current with frequency of 20,000 Hz to 30,000 Hz [6]. In this instance, EDM technique is extensively used for precision machining of conductive metals and conductive ceramics of high hardness [7]. The term advanced ceramic materials is coined in 1970, and it includes wide range of different materials that have high purity and are inorganic in nature and are usually obtained from elementary materials. Pow- der metallurgy technique subjects these materials to a special kind of processes and next, to the sintering processes at high tempera- ture. With the advent of these materials, the possibility to obtain denser parts is increased which exhibit excellent mechanical prop- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2019.09.064 2214-7853/Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the First International Conference on Recent Advances in Materials and Manufacturing 2019. ⇑ Corresponding author. E-mail address: sckulkarni@git.edu (S.C. Kulkarni). Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Materials Today: Proceedings journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matpr Please cite this article as: S. C. Kulkarni, M. S. Patil, A. V. Kulkarni et al., Effect of manufacturing method of Cu-Al electrode on performance during electric discharge machining of siliconised silicon carbide (SiSiC), Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2019.09.064