Experimental characterization of dry EDM performed in a pulsating magnetic field

This paper presents an investigation of the hybrid dry EDM process performed in a pulsating magnetic field for improving process performance. In this study, the pulsating magnetic field is applied tangential to the electric field, for increasing the movement of electrons and degree of ionization in the plasma. Experiments with parametric variations showed that this hybrid approach leads to productivity-improvement by 130% and zero tool wear as compared to the dry EDM process without the magnetic field. The improvement in surface quality is illustrated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). (C) 2011 CIRP.