| Abstract | Wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) is a manufacturing process whereby a desired shape is obtained using electrical discharges (sparks). WEDM demands high cutting rate and high quality to improve machining performance for manufacturing hard materials. The machining performance of computer-controlled WEDM is directly dependent on spark energy and pulse frequency parameters including discharge voltage, peak current, pulse duration, and charging time. In this paper, a new performance index to measure the effects of spark energy and pulse frequency on machining performance is proposed. Moreover, the effects of electric process parameters on performance measures including cutting speed, surface roughness, and white layer thickness are introduced. |