Study on modeling of wire EDM process

Wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) technology has been used widely in production, aerospace/aircraft, medical and virtually all areas of conductive material machining. Its complexity and stochastic nature have stimulated numerous attempts to model it accurately. This paper presents an attempt at modeling the process through Response Surface Methodology and Artificial Neural Networks. A response surface model based on a central composite rotatable experimental design, and a 4-16-3 size back-propagation neural network have been developed. The pulse-width, the time between two pulses. the wire mechanical tension and the injection set-point are selected as the factors (input parameters), whilst the cutting speed, the surface roughness and the surface waviness are the responses (output parameters). The two models are compared for goodness of fit. Verification experiments have been carried out to check the validity of the developed models. It is concluded that both models provide accurate results for the process. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.