Experimental Investigation on Wire Electric Discharge Machining of Biodegradable AZ91 Mg Alloy

Abstract

The AZ91 magnesium alloy, used commonly as a biodegradable material in biomedical applications, is generally formed by conventional casting method (CCM) and high-pressure die casting method (HPDCM). The AZ91 alloys exhibit poor machinability with conventional chip removal methods since they degrade at elevated temperatures. In this study, the wire electric discharge machining (WEDM) was presented as a candidate process to machine the AZ91 alloy since no cutting stresses and plastic deformations were applied by the cutting tool to the part causing elevated temperatures. In this context, the WEDM machinability of the AZ91 alloy samples produced by cold chamber HPDCM and CCM at different process parameters, was experimentally investigated. The machining performance outputs (the machining current (I), the machining rate (MR), the average surface roughness (R_a), and surface topography) were found for the varying process parameters [pulse time (t_s), pulse-off time (t_off), dielectric flushing pressure (P_d), and wire speed (V_w)]. The present study revealed that the I and the MR were significantly dependent on the density, the porosity, and the micro structure of the samples, and the HPDCM samples gave the higher MR and the smoother surface than that of the CCM.