Review of research work in sinking EDM and WEDM on metal matrix composite materials

• DOI: 10.1007/s00170-010-2534-5
• Publication Date: 2010-02-19T17:43:42Z
• Authors: R. K. Garg; K. K. Singh; Anish Sachdeva; Vishal S. Sharma; Kuldeep Ojha; Sharanjit Singh
• Keywords: Electrical Discharge Machining; Metal matrix composite; Specific strength; Machine tool

Metal matrix composites (MMCs) are newly advanced materials having the properties of light weight, high specific strength, good wear resistance and a low thermal expansion coefficient. These materials are extensively used in industry. Greater hardness and reinforcement makes it difficult to machine using traditional techniques, which has impeded the development of MMCs. The use of traditional machinery to machine hard composite materials causes serious tool wear due to the abrasive nature of reinforcement. These materials can be machined by many non-traditional methods like water jet and laser cutting but these processes are limited to linear cutting only. Electrical discharge machining (EDM) shows higher capability for cutting complex shapes with high precision for these materials. The paper presents a review of EDM process and year wise research work done in EDM on MMCs. The paper also discusses the future trend of research work in the same area.