Skip to main content
Log in

Effect of various dielectric fluids on electric discharge machining (EDM): a review

  • Review
  • Published:
Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the past decades, a lot of experiments have been performed on non-conventional electric discharge machining and also on how different dielectrics influence the machining process, the rate of removal of the metal, and the fineness of the surface. EDM is a metal machining process in which desired shape is obtained by spark generation along with better-finished surface and highly précised work. Dielectrics have a vital role to play in the EDM process as they work as an insulator, helping in spark generation by ionizing. They flush out the material removed which cools the workpiece and provides a better surface finish and higher material removal rate (MRR). It was also observed that selecting different dielectrics, i.e. (hydrocarbon oils, water, and gaseous) and their combination, adding the powder to them gave different results and had a great scope of experiments. This paper presents the literature and research work of various researchers on how the machining parameters and workpiece material gets affected by different dielectrics.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Ghosh A, Mallik AK (2009) Manufacturing science, vol 47. Ellis Horwood. ISBN 9780745800738

  2. Jain VK (2009) Advanced machining processes. Allied Publishers Pvt Limited, Bengaluru

    Google Scholar 

  3. Banu A, Ali MY (2016) Electrical discharge machining (EDM): a review. Int J Eng Mater Manuf 1:3–10

    Google Scholar 

  4. Han F, Kunieda M (2004) Development of parallel spark electrical discharge machining. Precis Eng 28:65–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Singh NK, Pandey PM, Singh KK, Sharma MK (2016) Steps towards Green manufacturing through EDM process: a review. Cogent Eng 3:1272662

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Koenig W, Joerres L (1987) Aqueous solutions of organic compounds as dielectrics for EDM sinking. CIRP Ann 36(1):105–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Singh AK, Mahajan R, Tiwari A, Kumar D, Ghadai RK (2018) Effect of dielectric on electrical discharge machining: a review. IOP Conf Ser Mater Sci Eng 377:012184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Marashi H, Sarhan AAD, Maher I, Sayuti M (2017) Techniques to improve EDM capabilities: a review. Compr Mater Finish 1–3:171–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Pandey PC, Shan HS (1980) Modern machining processes. Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company; Tata McGraw-Hill Education, New York

    Google Scholar 

  10. Singh N (2016) Optimization of process parameters in die sinking EDM—a review. Int J Sci Technol Eng 2:808–813

    Google Scholar 

  11. Meshram DB, Puri YM (2017) Review of research work in die sinking EDM for machining curved hole. J Braz Soc Mech Sci Eng 39:2593–2605

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Kuriakose S, Shunmugam MS (2004) Characteristics of wire-electro discharge machined Ti6Al4V surface. Mater Lett 58:2231–2237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Mahapatra SS, Patnaik A (2006) Determination of optimal parameters setting in wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) process using Taguchi method. J Inst Eng (India) 87:16–25

    Google Scholar 

  14. Cheke PR (2012) Investigation of dry and near-dry electrical discharge milling processes for process performance: review, vol 5. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

    Google Scholar 

  15. Rao PN (2013) Manufacturing technology. Tata McGraw-Hill Education, New York

    Google Scholar 

  16. Kunieda M, Yoshida M, Taniguchi N (1997) Electrical discharge machining in gas. CIRP Ann 46(1):143–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Schumacher BM (2004) After 60 years of EDM the discharge process remains still disputed. J Mater Process Technol 149(1–3):376–381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Leão FN, Pashby IR (2004) A review on the use of environmentally-friendly dielectric fluids in electrical discharge machining. J Mater Process Technol 149(1–3):341–346

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Jeswani ML (1981) Electrical discharge machining in distilled water. Wear 72(1):81–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Beşliu I, Schulze HP, Coteaţǎ M, Amarandei D (2010) Study on the dry electrical discharge machining. Int J Mater Forming 3(1):1107–1110

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Dhakar K, Chaudhary K, Dvivedi A, Bembalge O (2019) An environment-friendly and sustainable machining method: near-dry EDM. Mater Manuf Process 34:1307–1315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Goh CL, Ho SF (1993) Contact dermatitis from dielectric fluids in electrodischarge machining. Contact Dermat 28:134–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. El-Hofy H, Youssef H (2009) Environmental hazards of nontraditional machining. In: Proceedings of the IASME/WSEAS international conference on ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT (EE’09), pp 140–145

  24. Yunus Khan M, Sudhakar Rao P, Pabla BS (2019) Investigations on the feasibility of Jatropha curcas oil based biodiesel for sustainable dielectric fluid in EDM process. Mater Today Proc 26:335–340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Zhang Y, Liu Y, Shen Y, Ji R, Li Z, Zheng C (2014) Investigation on the influence of the dielectrics on the material removal characteristics of EDM. J Mater Process Technol 214:1052–1061

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Govindan P, Agrawal R, Joshi SS (2011) Experimental investigation on dry EDM using helium gas dielectric. Int J Manuf Technol Manag 24:40–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Valaki JB, Rathod PP, Sankhavara CD (2016) Investigations on technical feasibility of Jatropha curcas oil based bio dielectric fluid for sustainable electric discharge machining (EDM). J Manuf Process 22:151–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Yadav A, Singh Y, Singh S, Negi P (2021) Sustainability of vegetable oil based bio-diesel as dielectric fluid during EDM process—a review. Mater Today Proc 46:11155–11158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Dong H, Liu Y, Li M, Zhou Y, Liu T, Li D, Sun Q, Ji R (2019) Experimental investigation of water-in-oil nanoemulsion in sinking electrical discharge machining. Mater Manuf Process 34:1129–1135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Tönshoff HK, Egger R, Klocke F (1996) Environmental and safety aspects of electrophysical and electrochemical processes. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 45:553–568

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Zia MK, Pervaiz S, Anwar S, Samad WA (2019) Reviewing sustainability interpretation of electrical discharge machining process using triple bottom line approach. Int J Precis Eng Manuf Green Technol 6:931–945

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Sivapirakasam SP, Mathew J, Surianarayanan M (2011) Constituent analysis of aerosol generated from die sinking electrical discharge machining process. Process Saf Environ Prot 89:141–150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Chen SL, Yan BH, Huang FY (1999) Influence of kerosene and distilled water as dielectrics on the electric discharge machining characteristics of Ti–6A1–4V. J Mater Process Technol 87:107–111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Lamba R, Pabla BS, Kansal H (2018) Development of surface properties on Ti6Al4V by electric discharge machining. Int J Res Eng Innov 2:555–564

    Google Scholar 

  35. Niamat M, Sarfraz S, Aziz H, Jahanzaib M, Shehab E, Ahmad W, Hussain S (2017) Effect of different dielectrics on material removal rate, electrode wear rate and microstructures in EDM. Procedia CIRP 60:2–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Jeswani ML (1981) Effect of the addition of graphite powder to kerosene used as the dielectric fluid in electrical discharge machining. Wear 70:133–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Singaravel B, Shekar KC, Reddy GG, Prasad SD (2020) Experimental investigation of vegetable oil as dielectric fluid in electric discharge machining of Ti–6Al–4V. Ain Shams Eng J 11:143–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Sabur A (2014) Modelling of material removal rate in electro discharge machining of nonconductive ZrO2 ceramic with kerosene and EDM oil dielectric fluid. J Mech Eng (JMechE) 11:31–43

    Google Scholar 

  39. Talla G, Sahoo DK, Gangopadhyay S, Biswas CK (2015) Modeling and multi-objective optimization of powder mixed electric discharge machining process of aluminum/alumina metal matrix composite. Eng Sci Technol Int J 18:369–373

    Google Scholar 

  40. Prihandana GS, Mahardika M, Hamdi M, Wong YS, Mitsui K (2011) Accuracy improvement in nanographite powder-suspended dielectric fluid for micro-electrical discharge machining processes. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 56:143–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Zhang QH, Du R, Zhang JH, Zhang QB (2006) An Investigation of ultrasonic-assisted electrical discharge machining in gas. Int J Mach Tools Manuf 46:1582–1588

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Jilani ST, Pandey PC (1984) Experimetnal investigations into the performance of water as dielectric in EDM. Int J Mach Tool Des Res 24:31–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Konig W, Siebers FJ (1993) Influence of the working medium on the removal process in EDM sinking. Am Soc Mech Eng Prod Eng Div Publ PED 64:649–658

    Google Scholar 

  44. Tang L, Du YT (2014) Experimental study on Green electrical discharge machining in tap water of Ti–6Al–4V and parameters optimization. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 70:469–475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Yan BH, Tsai HC, Huang FY (2005) The effect in EDM of a dielectric of a urea solution in water on modifying the surface of titanium. Int J Mach Tools Manuf 45:194–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Liu Z, Ling J, Qiu M (2015) Aerosol medium’s influence on the machining by spark-induced combustion. Harbin Gongcheng Daxue Xuebao J Harbin Eng Univ 36:544–549

    Google Scholar 

  47. Muthuramalingam T (2019) Effect of diluted dielectric medium on spark energy in Green EDM process using TGRA approach. J Clean Prod 238:117894

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Muthuramalingam T, Mohan B (2014) A review on influence of electrical process parameters in EDM process. Arch Civ Mech Eng 15(1):87–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Azhiri B, Teimouri R, Ghasemi Baboly M, Leseman Z (2013) Application of Taguchi, ANFIS and grey relational analysis for studying, modeling and optimization of wire EDM process while using gaseous media. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 71(1):279–295

    Google Scholar 

  50. Mahendran S, Ramasamy D (2010) Micro-EDM: overview and recent developments. In: Proceedings of the national conference in mechanical engineering research and postgraduate students, vol 9501, pp 480–494

  51. Skrabalak G, Kozak J (2010) Study on dry electrical discharge machining. In: Proceedings of the WCE 2010—World Congress on engineering 2010, vol 3, pp 2070–2075

  52. Singh NK, Poras A (2018) Electrical discharge drilling of D3 die steel using air assisted rotary tubular electrode. Mater Today Proc 5:4392–4401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Shirguppikar SS, Dabade UA (2018) Experimental investigation of dry electric discharge machining (dry EDM) process on bright mild steel. Mater Today Proc 5:7595–7603

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Govindan P, Joshi SS (2010) Experimental characterization of material removal in dry electrical discharge drilling. Int J Mach Tools Manuf 50:431–443

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Liqing L, Yingjie S (2013) Study of dry EDM with oxygen-mixed and cryogenic cooling approaches. Procedia CIRP 6:344–350

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Lin YC, Hung JC, Chow HM, Wang AC, Chen JT (2016) Machining characteristics of a hybrid process of EDM in gas combined with ultrasonic vibration and AJM. Procedia CIRP 42:167–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Xu MG, Zhang JH, Li Y, Zhang QH, Ren SF (2009) Material removal mechanisms of cemented carbides machined by ultrasonic vibration assisted EDM in gas medium. J Mater Process Technol 209:1742–1746

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Tanimura T, Isuzugawa K, Fujita I, Iwamoto A, Kamitani T (1989) Development of EDM in the Mist. In: Proceedings of the ninth international symposium of electro machining (ISEM IX), pp 313–316

  59. Kao CC, Tao J, Lee S, Shih AJ (2006) Dry wire electrical discharge machining of thin workpiece. Trans N Am Manuf Res Inst SME 34:253–260

    Google Scholar 

  60. Dhakar K, Dvivedi A (2016) Parametric evaluation on near-dry electric discharge machining. Mater Manuf Process 31:413–421

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Ganachari VS, Chate UN, Waghmode LY, Mullya SA, Shirguppikar SS, Salgar MM, Kumbharg VT (2019) A comparative performance study of dry and near dry EDM processes in machining of spring steel material. Mater Today Proc 18:5247–5257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  62. Dhakar K, Pundir H, Dvivedi A, Kumar P (2015) Near-dry electrical discharge machining of stainless steel. Int J Mach Mach Mater 17:127–138

    Google Scholar 

  63. Yadav VK, Kumar P, Dvivedi A (2019) Performance enhancement of rotary tool near-dry EDM of HSS by supplying oxygen gas in the dielectric medium. Mater Manuf Process 34:1832–1846

    Article  Google Scholar 

  64. Yadav VK, Singh R, Kumar P, Dvivedi A (2021) Performance enhancement of rotary tool near-dry EDM process by modification in tool geometry. J Braz Soc Mech Sci Eng 43:72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  65. Yadav VK, Singh R, Kumar P, Dvivedi A (2022) Investigating the performance of the rotary tool near-dry electrical discharge machining process through debris analysis. J Mater Eng Perform 177:1–13

    Google Scholar 

  66. Yadav VK, Kumar P, Dvivedi A (2019) Effect of tool rotation in near-dry EDM process on machining characteristics of HSS. Mater Manuf Process 34(7):779–790

    Article  Google Scholar 

  67. Zhao FL, Lu ZZ, Wang H, Qian ZQ (2005) Research on effecting mechanism of particles in powder-mixed EDM. Dalian Ligong Daxue Xuebao J Dalian Univ Technol 45:668–671

    Google Scholar 

  68. Peças P, Henriques E (2003) Influence of silicon powder-mixed dielectric on conventional electrical discharge machining. Int J Mach Tools Manuf 43:1465–1471

    Article  Google Scholar 

  69. Kavade MV, Mohite SS, Unaune DR (2019) Application of metal powder to improve metal removal rate in electric discharge machining. Mater Today Proc 16:398–404

    Article  Google Scholar 

  70. Bai X, Zhang Q, Li T, Zhang J (2012) Powder mixed near dry electrical discharge machining. Adv Mater Res 500:253–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  71. Priadi D, Siradj ES, Winarto W (2013) Surface modification of SKD 61 by electrical discharge coating (EDM/EDC) with multilayer cylindrical electrode and Jatropha curcas as dielectric fluid. Appl Mech Mater 319:96–101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  72. Kao CC, Tao J, Shih AJ (2007) Near dry electrical discharge machining. Int J Mach Tools Manuf 47:2273–2281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  73. Zolotykh BN (1959) The mechanism of electrical erosion of metals in liquid dielectric media. J Sov Phys 4:1370–1383

    Google Scholar 

  74. Eckman PK, Williams EM (1960) Plasma dynamics in an arc formed by low-voltage sparkover of a liquid dielectric. Appl Sci Res Sect B 8:299–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  75. Hoh S (1963) Mechanism of EDM. JSPE 29:11

    Google Scholar 

  76. Erden A, Temel D (1982) Investigation on the use of water as a dielectric liquid in EDM. In: Proceedings of the international machine tool design and research conference, pp 437–440

  77. Ramani V, Cassidenti M (1985) Inert-gas electrical discharge machining. NASA Tech Briefs 1985, MFS-19778

  78. Kunieda M, Furuoya S, Taniguchi N (1991) Improvement of EDM efficiency by supplying oxygen gas into gap. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 40:215–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  79. Ming QY, He LY (1995) Powder-suspension dielectric fluid for EDM. J Mater Process Technol 52:44–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  80. Tao J, Shih AJ, Ni J (2008) Experimental study of the dry and near-dry electrical discharge milling processes. J Manuf Sci Eng Trans ASME 130:0110021–0110029

    Article  Google Scholar 

  81. Syed KH, Palaniyandi K (2012) Performance of electrical discharge machining using aluminium powder suspended distilled water. Turk J Eng Environ Sci 36:195–207

    Google Scholar 

  82. Zhang Y, Liu Y, Ji R, Cai B, Shen Y (2013) Sinking EDM in water-in-oil emulsion. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 65:705–716

    Article  Google Scholar 

  83. Paswan K, Pramanik A, Chattopadhyaya S (2020) Machining performance of Inconel 718 using graphene nanofluid in EDM. Mater Manuf Process 35:33–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  84. Mishra BP, Routara BC (2020) Evaluation of technical feasibility and environmental impact of Calophyllum inophyllum (Polanga) oil based bio-dielectric fluid for Green EDM. Meas J Int Meas Confed 159:107744

    Article  Google Scholar 

  85. Tanjilul M, Wee Keong DN, Senthil Kumar A (2021) Super dielectric based EDM process for drilling of Inconel 718. Mater Manuf Process 36:341–350

    Article  Google Scholar 

  86. Kiran P, Mohanty S, Das AK (2021) Surface modification through sustainable micro-EDM process using powder mixed bio-dielectrics. Mater Manuf Process 37:640–651

    Article  Google Scholar 

  87. Tripathy S, Tripathy DK (2016) Multi-attribute optimization of machining process parameters in powder mixed electro-discharge machining using TOPSIS and grey relational analysis. Eng Sci Technol Int J 19:62–70

    Google Scholar 

  88. Fattahi S, Baseri H (2017) Analysis of dry electrical discharge machining in different dielectric mediums. Proc Inst Mech Eng Part E J Process Mech Eng 231:497–512

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Krishnakant Dhakar.

Additional information

Technical editor: Izabel Fernanda Machado.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dhakar, K., Kumar, R., Katheria, A. et al. Effect of various dielectric fluids on electric discharge machining (EDM): a review. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 44, 487 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-022-03778-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-022-03778-3

Keywords

Navigation