Investigation of the relationship between the white layer thickness and 3D surface texture parameters in the die sinking EDM process

It is a well known fact that the EDM process results in the formation of a hard, brittle recast layer on the component's surface. Several investigations have been carried out in order to assess the nature of the recast layer in terms of its phase structure, the microhardness, presence and the density of cracks, and other surface features. Some researchers [Barash, Delpretti] have reported mathematical relationships between the thickness of the white layer and 2D amplitude surface roughness parameters (such as R-a and R-t). But so far no investigation has been reported which correlates the thickness of the white layer with 3D surface roughness parameters, especially those related to spatial parameters. This paper presents an experimental investigation of the effect of the EDM process factors (current and pulse on-time) on the thickness of the white layer. Empirical equations relating the thickness of the white layer with 3D surface texture amplitude, spatial and volume parameters are presented and their physical basis is discussed. The results of this study show that a better correlation can be obtained between the average thickness of the white layer (AWLT) and the spatial parameter, S-ds as compared to other 3D surface texture parameters. This is believed to be mainly due to the similar effect of the current and pulse on-time on both AWLT and S-ds. The possible effect of surface tension between the solid and liquid phases on the thickness of the white layer during erosion is also discussed. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.