Experimental Optimization of WEDM for Post Processing of Wire Arc Additive Manufactured Alloys

Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) is widely adopted for producing large-scale metal components due to its high deposition rates and material efficiency. However, WAAM-fabricated parts often exhibit poor surface finish and dimensional inaccuracies, necessitating precision post-processing. Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM) offers a suitable solution for finishing such components, especially those made from hard-to-machine alloys. This study presents an experimental investigation into the optimization of WEDM process parameters such as pulse-on time, pulse-off time, peak current, and wire feed for post-processing WAAM-fabricated alloys. Using a Taguchi design of experiments and statistical analysis, the influence of each parameter on surface roughness, material removal rate (MRR), and dimensional accuracy was evaluated. The optimized parameters yielded improved surface integrity and machining efficiency, making WEDM a reliable post-processing technique for enhancing the functional performance of WAAM-produced parts in critical engineering applications.