Experimental study of the effect of electrical discharge machining parameters on surface roughness and Material removal rate of boron carbide ceramic

Advanced ceramics have special applications in the manufacture of special and strategic parts due to their characteristics such as high strength, stability at high temperatures, high corrosion resistance and unique magnetic and electrical properties. Boron carbide is a dark crystalline material that is the hardest known material after diamond and cubic boron nitride. Due to the high characteristics and hardness of boron carbide and the special ability of the electrical discharge machining process in machining hard materials and creating complex shapes, in this study, the effect of peak current parameters and pulse -on time on surface roughness and material removal rate of samples prepared from boron carbide has been investigated experimentally and statistically. The results of the experiments showed that the peak current had the greatest effect on the surface roughness and material removal rate of the samples and also the comparison of microscopic images of the surface of the machined samples showed that the peak current has increased the cracks and the size of the cavities. Thus, with the increase of peak current from 16 ampere to 24 ampere, the average size of the cavities has increased by about 30% and the continuation of the process of increasing the current intensity to 32 ampere has increased the average size of the cavities by about 8 %. Also, during the factorial optimization, the optimal values for the sampling material removal rate and surface roughness of the samples were 2.45 mm3 / min and 4.30 μm, respectively.