A Comparison of Generator Mode on the Performance of Finish EDM of AISI P20 Tool Steel
The AISI P20 steel is applied by the tooling industry as material for injection molding tools. It is known that the EDM process parameters technology installed at the majority of CNC EDM machines do not cover some of the necessities of the tooling industry. So, the customers are required to develop their own process parameters. In order to provide useful technical information to the industry an experimental investigation on the EDM of the AISI P20 tool steel under finish machining has been carried out. The material removal rate Vw, volumetric relative wear v and workpiece surface texture Ra, which are representative of EDM performance aspects, were analyzed against the variation of some of the most important EDM electrical variables using copper tool electrodes under positive and negative polarity. The EDM machine generator was also programmed to actuate under isoenergetic mode and relaxation mode. The results are discussed and some appropriate parameters for EDM of AISI P20 are suggested.