SURFACE IMPROVEMENT OF AISI D3 STEEL EMPLOYING SiC BLENDED DIELECTRIC IN ELECTRIC DIE SINKING PROCESS

Abstract

AISI D3 die steel is extensively used in long-run dies for blanking, forming, deep drawing, and thread rolling. Among all the non-traditional machining processes, the Electric Die Sinking Process (EDSP) is mostly employed to manufacture these long-run dies. The EDSP method produces a surface of high quality, which impacts product performance significantly. The surface roughness of AISI D3 die steel is examined in relation to a number of parameters, including peak current, pulse-on duration, gap voltage, and powder concentration. Copper is selected as the tool. Orthogonal array concept coined by Taguchi has been deployed to execute the experiments. It is clearly understood from the results that powder concentration has a key impact on machined surface quality by lessening the generated cracks and enhancing the surface finish by 20%. Further, peak current has more impact on the performance characteristics than pulse-on time and the gap voltage.