Machinability and Surface Characteristics of Sintered Carbides in W-EDM

This work analyses the effects of electrical conductivities of dielectric and cobalt amount on output parameters such as metal removal rate and the surface roughness value of cemented carbides cut by wire electrical discharge machining(W-EDM). Especially, the cracking behaviour of W-EDM machined surface and optimal machining condition of three kinds of cemented carbides, which have different chemical composition of tungsten carbide and cobalt are also tested. Experimental result shows that increases in cobalt content and electrical conductivity of the dielectric affect the metal removal rate and substantially worsen the final surface quality as a greater quantity of solidified metal deposits on the eroded surface.