Machinability investigations through novel controlled flushing characteristics in wire electric discharge machining of M42 high-speed steel

The industry anticipates technological advancements for productivity improvement, and this can be accomplished by improving the machining performance in the areas where machinability challenges exist. The machinability and productivity of wire electric discharge machining (WEDM), which is a popular non-conventional cutting process, can be improved while having comparable surface integrity. Previously the non-conventional machining literature is focused on the machinability investigations of various industrial materials and process optimization. However, no extensive research on the study of flushing parameters optimization to improve machinability in non-conventional machining is known. In this research, WEDM of M42 HSS using controlled flushing is performed resulting in improved machinability in terms of material removal rate (MRR), surface roughness (Ra), and kerf width (KW). The findings indicate that the nozzle diameter (76.85%) has a substantial influence on total machining performance. Nozzle diameter, nozzle-workpiece distance, servo voltage, and flushing pressure all had a substantial influence on MRR, with percentage contributions of 34.50%, 26.02%, 22.94%, and 14.21%, respectively. Furthermore, multi-response optimization is also performed and depicts the possibility of achieving optimized values of MRR, Ra, and KW simultaneously. The flush-controlled machining improved work quality in terms of accurate production, increased productivity by lowering process time, and improved surface integrity of the machined piece thus can be a possible process advancement in the aerospace and automotive industries.