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Introduction: Wire electrical discharge machining (W-EDM) has proven to be an appropriate choice for machining hard-to-cut materials for obtaining difficult and complex geometries with excellent surface characteristics. Method: The present work investigates the effect of different wires, viz. copper, brass, and Nbcoated brass, along with the investigations of W-EDM input factors, viz. pulse-on-duration (Ton), pulse-off-duration (Toff), and current on material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (SR). Taguchi’s L9 design has been employed to perform the trials. Result: The maximum MRR of 31.03 mm3/min has been obtained for Nb-coated brass as compared to copper and brass. SR was observed to be least using the brass with a value of 3.19 μm. However, the optimum SR value obtained using a Nb-coated brass was 4.87 μm. Finally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for various wire materials revealed the machined surface topography. Conclusion: The surface machined with Nb-coated wire shows fewer microcracks, pores, and globule sizes. As per this study, the current work can significantly benefit commercial applications.
Malik et al. (Wed,) studied this question.