Development and investigation of an inexpensive low frequency vibration platform for enhancing the performance of electrical discharge machining process

Difficulty in debris removal and the transport of fresh dielectric into discharge gap hinders the process performance of electrical discharge machining (EDM) process. Therefore, in this work, an economical low frequency vibration platform was developed to improve the performance of EDM through vibration assistance. The developed vibratory platform functions on an eccentric weight principle and generates a low frequency vibration in the range of 0–100 Hz. The performance of EDM was evaluated in terms of the average surface roughness (Ra), material removal rate (MRR), and tool wear rate (TWR) whilst varying the input machining parameters viz. the pulse-on-time (Ton), peak current (Ip), vibration frequency (VF), and tool rotational speed (TRS). The peak current was found to be the most significant parameter and contributed by 78.16%, 65.86%, and 59.52% to the Ra, MRR, and TWR, respectively. The low frequency work piece vibration contributed to an enhanced surface finish owing to an improved flushing at the discharge gap and debris removal. However, VF range below 100 Hz was not found to be suitable for the satisfactory improvement of the MRR and reduction of the TWR in an electrical discharge drilling operation at selected machining conditions.