Comparative Studies on Performance of 3D-Printed Metal Electrode and Conventional Electrode in Electrical discharge Machining on Ti-alloy

The objective of the present study is to compare 3D-printed electrodes with Conventional electrodes employing the EDM process on Titanium alloys. Titanium and its alloys have high strength, excellent corrosion resistance and low thermal conductivity, making it difficult to machine. Electron Discharge machining is a non-conventional machining process used to machine titanium alloys. Additive manufacturing is a rapidly growing technology with a wide range of applications. One of these applications is the 3D printing of electrodes. 3D printing enables direct fabrication of electrodes and offers several advantages over conventional methods of fabrication. The experiment studies provide an overview of critical analysis of past research works on the EDM process using different electrodes. The few performance characteristics considered are MRR, TWR and Surface Roughness. It is observed from the experimental analysis that 3D-printed electrodes exhibit excellent surface characteristics over conventional electrodes but undergo significant wear. Keywords: Alsi10mg-3DP metal electrode, AA6061-Conventional electrode, Electrical discharge machining, Material removal rate, tool wear rate