Influence of mechanical mold vibration on EDM parameters of aluminum-alumina composite

Application of mechanical vibration during solidification of melt is one of the techniques of enhancement the properties of composite. Mechanical mold vibration was applied in amplitude and frequency range of (0-1mm) and (8-25Hz) respectively to pure aluminum reinforced with 5wt% Al
₂
O
₃
particles. The composite was prepared by two-step stir casting method. Electro-discharge machining (EDM) was used in this study. Most of mechanical and physical properties were significantly enhanced with vibration. Brinell hardness was increased by (38%) while porosity and grain size were reduced by (83%) and (43%) respectively. Results indicate that by using vibration material removal rate and electrode wear rate were increased by 18% and 20% respectively, while surface roughness was decreased by 23%. Response surface methodology approach was used to determine an optimum combination of machining parameters to get maximum material removal rate with minimum electrode wear rate and minimum surface roughness.