Optimization of Parameters in Electrochemical Machining by Applying Vikor

Electrochemical Machining (ECM) is a unique and non-traditional machining process used in the machining of extremely hard materials that are difficult to machine flawlessly by use of conventional approaches and it finds its use in advanced machining in aerospace, automobile, gas turbine, and semiconductor manufacturing industries. By this method, only an electrically conductive workpiece can be worked upon by a shaped tool due to the flow of high current at relatively low potential difference through an electrolyte. The present work using VIKOR (VIseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje) methodology finds the optimum parameter from the given set of alternatives where there exists a conflicting criterion. The method uses a normalized decision matrix and ranking of utility measure, regret measure, and VIKOR index to find the best solution or a set of compromised solutions. Experiment 5 with 95 g/l conc. of electrolyte, 10 V voltage, 0.6 mm/min feed rate, and experiment 8 with 111.11 g/l conc. of electrolyte, 10 V voltage, and 0.2 mm/min feed rate were the two sets of optimum parameter combinations obtained. The VIKOR method was found to be efficacious in optimizing the process parameters which will soon find its place along with other MCDM techniques in industrial application in the near future.