Characterization and Parametric Optimization of Aluminum Alloy Using Short Electric Arc Milling

The objective of this present work is to find out the optimum level and influence of short electric arc milling (SEAM) process on material removal rate (MRR), relative tool wear ratio (RTWR) and deformation layer thickness (DLT). The mathematical model of the interaction of influencing factors was established by using the design expert software. The optimal level of input parameters such as voltage, pulse frequency, duty cycle, pressure of working medium is calculated by response surface center composite method to achieve maximum MRR and minimum RTWR and DLT. It is found that the effective discharge energy matches the hydrodynamic arc breaking mechanism, which can better control the MRR and RTWR. Similarly, the experimental results show that under the conditions of 32 V voltage, 70% duty cycle, 0.6 kHz pulse frequency and 0.4 MPa working medium pressure, the MRR of aviation aluminum alloy reaches 16,733 mm(3)/min and RTWR is limited to 1.549%. The obtained data can be utilized for the SEAM industry during the high efficiency machining of aluminum alloy.