Article: Fabrication of Ti-6Al-4V thin sheet using wire-EDM and its characterisation Journal: International Journal of Machining and Machinability of Materials (IJMMM) 2021 Vol.23 No.5/6 pp.514 - 526 Abstract: An appreciable demand for thin titanium sheets is observed in recent years due to technological development in various sectors. The existing sawing methods are uneconomical to produce high aspect ratio sheets with good dimensional accuracy. The current work focuses on extracting thin sheet of 380 mm × 50 mm × 0.2 mm from Ti-6Al-4V using wire electric discharge machining and investigated the dimensional and surface variations. The preliminary study using usual wire EDM procedure resulted in poor dimensional accuracy for a thickness in the range of 500 µm due to the lateral movement of sheet free end. Hence, in this work, a support system is attached to workpiece to minimise sheet movement and to improve the flushing during extraction. This helped to reduce the thickness variation up to 6% for a 0.2 mm Ti-6Al-4V sheet. The root mean square roughness is found to be consistent up to a height of 240 mm from the top surface. Also, majority of the measured skewness are positive. Altogether, the results of the study can be applied to fabricate thin sheets for additive manufacturing process. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Fabrication of Ti-6Al-4V thin sheet using wire-EDM and its characterisation

Authors: M. Baburaj; K. Manoj Kumar; Nithin Tom Mathew; S. Ragu Nathan

Addresses: Micromachining Research Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sree Vidyanikethan Engineering College, Tirupati, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Muthoot Institute of Technology and Science, Kerala, India ' Work Integrated Learning Programmes Division, BITS Pilani, Rajasthan, India ' Micromachining Research Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sree Vidyanikethan Engineering College, Tirupati, India

Abstract: An appreciable demand for thin titanium sheets is observed in recent years due to technological development in various sectors. The existing sawing methods are uneconomical to produce high aspect ratio sheets with good dimensional accuracy. The current work focuses on extracting thin sheet of 380 mm × 50 mm × 0.2 mm from Ti-6Al-4V using wire electric discharge machining and investigated the dimensional and surface variations. The preliminary study using usual wire EDM procedure resulted in poor dimensional accuracy for a thickness in the range of 500 µm due to the lateral movement of sheet free end. Hence, in this work, a support system is attached to workpiece to minimise sheet movement and to improve the flushing during extraction. This helped to reduce the thickness variation up to 6% for a 0.2 mm Ti-6Al-4V sheet. The root mean square roughness is found to be consistent up to a height of 240 mm from the top surface. Also, majority of the measured skewness are positive. Altogether, the results of the study can be applied to fabricate thin sheets for additive manufacturing process.

Keywords: wire-EDM; Ti-6Al-4V; thickness; surface roughness.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMMM.2021.121193

International Journal of Machining and Machinability of Materials, 2021 Vol.23 No.5/6, pp.514 - 526

Received: 18 Feb 2021
Accepted: 28 May 2021
Published online: 28 Feb 2022 *

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Title: Fabrication of Ti-6Al-4V thin sheet using wire-EDM and its characterisation

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