Modelling and parametric optimisation of deposited layer thickness in electric discharge coating process

Electric discharge coating (EDC) process is used for producing coating of hard carbides on worksurface through chemical reaction of transferred tool electrode material and the carbon decomposed from the dielectric at high temperature. This paper presents the modelling of deposited layer thickness in EDC using response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN). Four factors, three levels Box-Behnken design of RSM has been designed to carry out the experimentation. The experimental outcomes are used to train the ANN model. A comparative study has been carried out to evaluate the performance of both the modelling techniques. Parametric optimisation of the process has been carried out using genetic algorithm (GA). Confirmation experiment has also been carried out to validate the analytical study.