Technological Considerations in WEDM of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Silicon Carbide Composites (Cf-SiC)

Wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) was employed to process thin-walled, multidirectional carbon fiber-reinforced silicon carbide (Cf-SiC) composites. This study investigates the effects of key WEDM parameters, including gap voltage (Vg), pulse on-time (Ton), pulse off-time (Toff), and wire electrode type on material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (SR). All experimental planning, data analysis, optimization, and result visualization were conducted using MATLAB software. Results indicate that using CuZn50-coated wire electrodes increases MRR by 11% compared to CuZn37 bare brass wire. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed the inverse thermal expansion-based material removal mechanism, revealing surface defects such as fiber fractures, interfacial detachment, craters, and micro-cracks. Surface roughness, as indicated by 3D topographic measurements was found acceptable with an average Ra between 2 and 3 μm. Overall, WEDM proves effective for machining Cf-SiC, especially for complex geometries such as holes, grooves, keyways, and splines when appropriate electrodes and parameters are applied.