INTRODUCTION TO

MANUFACTURING PROCESSES
AND MATERIALS

NAMA

: FERDYAN PRASETYA

RAMADHAN
NPM

: 1332010158

PARALEL

:D

Program Studi Teknik Industri

Fakultas Teknologi Industri
Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jawa Timur

Tahun Pelajaran 2013/2014

~ RESUME JURNAL
Surface modification of die steel materials by EDM method using
tungsten powder-mixed dielectric

~ BACKGROUND
Most of the research works using powder-mixed dielectric focus on
improving the process parameters such as material removal rate (MRR), tool
wear rate (TWR) and surface roughness. The study of the impact of such
machining on surface modification began only about a decade ago [7]. Furutani
et al. [8] used titanium powder in kerosene dielectric and obtained titanium
carbide layer of hardness 1600 HV on carbon steel with a negatively polarized
copper electrode, 3 A peak current and 2 _s pulse duration. A deposition method
for solid lubricant layer of molybdenum disulphide by suspending its powder in
the dielectric to produce parts for ultra high vacuum applications (such as space
environment) has been proposed by Furutani and Shimizu [9]. Using High
Speed Framing Camera (HSFC) technique, Klocke et al. [10] found a larger
plasma channel with aluminum powder-mixed dielectric in contrast to the
standard dielectric. It was concluded that in such cases, the discharge energy got
distributed on a bigger workpiece surface. By adding urea to distilled water as
the dielectric medium for machining titanium, Yan et al. [11] obtained TiN on
the work surface which exhibited improved friction and wear characteristics. In
order to address the problem of powder settling, Wu et al. [12] added a
surfactant along with aluminum powder in the dielectric and observed a more
apparent discharge distribution effect which resulted in a surface roughness Ra
value of less than 0.2 _m.
Dielectric flow rate also had an important influence on the process
capability [13]. Powders suspended in the dielectric medium may get deposited
on the machined surface either in free form or as carbides by combining with
carbon from the breakdown of the hydrocarbon dielectric [14]. Conductive
powders enlarge the gap distance and improve the surface finish by reducing
spark energy and dispersing the discharges more randomly throughout the
surface [15]. Thickness of the recast layer is smaller and micro-cracks are
reduced. Consequently, corrosion resistance of the machined surface is
substantially improved. The type and concentration of the powder mixed in the
dielectric has a direct bearing on the machining performance outputs [16]. The
available literature establishes that low peak current, shorter pulse on-time and
negative polarity of the tool electrode favour the phenomenon of material
transfer from powders mixed in the dielectric medium. However, the impact of
variation in pulse offtime as an independent parameter has not been investigated
till date.

~ DIRECTION
Surface modification by material transfer during electrical discharge
machining (EDM) has emerged as a key research area in the last decade.
Material may be provided to the machined surface of the workpiece by the
eroding tool electrode or by using powder-mixed dielectric. Breakdown of the
hydrocarbon dielectric contributes carbon to the plasma channel which may also
cause surface modification. The present work has investigated the response of
three die steel materials to surface modification by EDM method with tungsten
powder mixed in the dielectric medium. Taguchi experimental design technique
was used to conduct the experiments on each work material independently. Peak
current, pulse on-time and pulse offtime were taken as variable factors and
micro-hardness of the machined surface was taken as the response parameter.
X-ray diffraction (XRD) and spectrometric analysis show substantial transfer of
tungsten and carbon to the workpiece surface and an improvement of more than
100% in micro-hardness for all the three die steels. Presence of tungsten carbide
(WC and W2C) indicates that its formation is taking place in the plasma
channel. Machining parameters for the best value of micro-hardness for each
work material were found to be the same.

~ METODOLOGY
Experiments to investigate the migration of tungsten to the workpiece
surface were conducted on three die steel materials by suspending tungsten
powder in the dielectric medium. Tungsten forms hard, abrasion-resistant
particles in tool steels and promotes hardness and strength at elevated
temperatures. It can exist in different forms in die steels. It may dissolve in the
ferrite or cementite phases of the ironcarbon system or it may be present as
independent carbide in the form of WC, W2C, etc. or form intermetallic
compounds with iron such as Fe3W2 or Fe2W [17].

~ STEP
(a) consists of spheroidal cementite phase in the matrix of tempered martensite.
In the micrograph of D2 high-carbon high-chromium die steel
(b) large undissolved carbides can be seen in a tempered martensite matrix. The
microstructure of H13 hot die steel
(c) consists of spheroidal cementite, which are smaller in size and higher in
number as compared to that of OHNS die steel, embedded in tempered
martensite.

~ RESULT

All the machined surfaces thus obtained were subjected to microhardness testing using a load of 9.807 N for a duration time of 20 s. This data
was analyzed to find out the desirable combination of levels of the three input
process parameters, their significance and relative contribution. Original microhardness and the best achieved micro-hardness after machining for each work
material are given in Table 3. More than 100% increase in micro-hardness is
observed for all the three work materials.

~ CONCLUSION
Experiments were conducted on three die steel materials by electrical
discharge machining using machining conditions favouring material transfer
from tungsten powder suspended in the dielectric medium. The following
conclusions can be drawn from this experimental work:
A. Under appropriate machining conditions, significant amount of material
transfer can take place from the powder suspended in the dielectric medium
to the work material. For example, from a negligible percentage of tungsten
in the base material, it was possible to achieve a maximum amount of 3.25%
tungsten in the machined surface of H13 die steel. It can be concluded that
surface modification is possible by the EDM method.
B. The presence of tungsten carbide and increase in the percentage of carbon on
the machined surface indicate that suspended powder particles can react
with carbon (from the breakdown of the hydrocarbon dielectric) at high
temperatures of the plasma channel to form carbides.
C. Favourable machining conditions for material transfer by EDM are found to
be low discharge current (less than 5 A), shorter pulse on-time (less than 10
_s), longer pulse off-time (more than 50 _s) and negative polarity of the tool
electrode. Peak current is found to be the most significant factor for the
phenomenon of surface modification.
D. Surface alloying with tungsten and carbon has a significant effect on its
properties as observed from the increase in microhardness by more than 100%
for all the three work materials. Since surface hardness has a direct bearing on
abrasion resistance, the life of dies and other press tools can be substantially
improved by this method.

~ SOURCE
www.elsevier.com/locate/manpro