State of the art in powder mixed dielectric for EDM applications

Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is a non-conventional machining technique for removing material based on the thermal impact of a series of repetitive sparks occurring between the tool and workpiece in the presence of dielectric fluid. Since the machining characteristics are highly dependent on the dielectric’s performance, significant attention has been directed to modifying the hydrocarbon oil properties or introducing alternative dielectrics to achieve higher productivity. This article provides a review of dielectric modifications through adding powder to dielectric. Utilizing powder mixed dielectric in the process is called powder mixed EDM (PMEDM). In order to select an appropriate host dielectric for enhancing machining characteristics by adding powder, a brief background is initially provided on the performance of pure dielectrics and their selection criteria for PMEDM application follow by powder mixed dielectric thoroughly review. Research shows that PMEDM facilitates producing parts with predominantly high surface quality. Additionally, some studies indicate that appropriate powder selection increases machining efficiency in terms of material removal rate. Therefore, the role of powder addition in the discharge characteristics and its influence on machining output parameters are explained in detail. Furthermore, by considering the influence of the main thermo-physical properties and concentration of powder particles, the performance of various powder materials is discussed extensively. Since suitable powder selection depends on many factors, such as variations in EDM, machining scale and electrical and non-electrical parameter settings, a thorough comparative review of powder materials is presented to facilitate a deeper insight into powder selection parameters for future studies. Finally, PMEDM research trends, findings, gaps and industrialization difficulties are discussed extensively.