Materials That Do Not Form Any Defects After WEDM

Wire Electric Discharge Machining (WEDM) is an unconventional machining technology that uses electrical impulses to generate very high temperatures to cut material. The WEDM process hence causes some unfortunate defects, such as cracks and burnt cavities, which can impact the correct functionality of the machined pieces and shorten their service life. This study was carried out to understand which materials remain defect-free after WEDM. The examined materials were the Ampcoloy 35 copper alloy, the high-entropy steels FeCoCrMnNi and FeCoCrMnNiC0.2, and the B1914 and Nimonic 263 nickel alloys. The influence of the machining parameters, namely the pulse off time, gap voltage, discharge current, pulse on time, and wire feed, on the cutting speed and the surface topography of the machined piece was investigated. The surface morphology, the state of the subsurface layer in a cross-section, and the number of diffused elements from the wire electrode were analysed. All the analysed materials were found completely suitable for WEDM machining as they do not form any surface or subsurface defects.