Fabrication of an array of micro-fins using Wire-EDM and its parametric analysis

The fabrication of micro-fin is very critical due to its higher debility nature. In this paper, a simple methodology is proposed for fabricating an array of micro-fins using 2-Axis wire electric discharge machining process, which gives a faster production rate with good accuracy. Arrays of 625 (25 x 25) micro-fins have been fabricated on stainless steel and copper square rods. The average height of the fabricated fins is 850 mu m. The effects of process parameters such as pulse-on-time, pulse-off-time, current, and table feed on performance measures like material removal rate, overcut, and cutting rate have been studied. Taguchi L-16 orthogonal array has been employed to conduct the experimentation. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been applied to observe the significant process parameters and their contribution to the responses. Moreover, the overall evaluation criteria (OEC) have also been formulated to obtain the best parametric combination. The characterization of fabricated micro-pin-fins has been carried out using scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray techniques.