Evaluating machining performance of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) based electrical discharge machining (EDM) electrodes fabricated by fused deposition modelling (FDM) followed by a novel metallization method

In the present study machining performance of a novel ABS P400 based EDM electrode is experimentally investigated. Three EDM parameters that is, current (I), pulse on time (T-on) and pulse off time (T-off), each at three levels, are considered, and mild steel is machined using these electrodes according to the response surface methodology (RSM) based face-centred central composite design (FCCCD). Machining performances such as material removal rate (MRR), tool wear rate (TWR) and surface roughness (SR) are measured. Experimental results are analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), response graphs and 3D surface plots. Current is found to be the dominating parameter for MRR, TWR and SR. The optimal combination of EDM parameter for multi-performance is determined using teaching-learning based optimization (TLBO) algorithm. The effectiveness of the new electrodes is established by comparing their machining performances with the already developed electrode at the same machining parameter setting. MRR resulting from the new electrode and also its TWR are found to be in good agreement with those of already produced electrodes. However, SR of the machined surface using new electrodes is found to be relatively higher.