In this article, the effect of abrasive types on the abrasive flow machining process was investigated. Four groups of abrasive media were prepared with different types of abrasives: SiC, AL₂O₃, B₄C and Garnet. An experimental study was performed on DIN 1.2379 tool steel. The specimens were cut using wire electrical discharge machining and finished with the abrasive flow machining process. The results show that the white layer that formed during wire electrical discharge machining was successfully removed by abrasive flow machining in a few cycles. Although the surface roughness improves with similar trends for all media groups, the results show that the media prepared with B₄C and SiC have more surface improvement than the Al₂O₃ and Garnet ones. The resulting average surface roughness (R_a) values are comparable to the surface quality of those obtained from lapping and super-finishing. The material removal is directly related to the hardness of the abrasive.

This study investigates the effects of electro-discharge parameters on the surface integrity in small-hole drilling. Discharge current, pulse on-time and pulse off-time were chosen as variable parameters. The gap voltage, dielectric flushing pressure, electrode rotation, electrode polarity and capacitance were taken as constant. Material removal rate, surface roughness, average white layer thickness, overcut and taper were taken as outputs for this study. Experiments were performed on DIN 1.2080 (X210Cr12) cold working tool steel, and ∅2 mm single-hole brass electrodes were used. The experimental results indicate that a compromise solution is required in selection of the electrical discharge machining parameters (i.e. discharge current, pulse on-time and pulse off-time) to maintain machining stability (melting–evaporation and removal of debris). As the stability is maintained during the process, dimensional accuracy increases and a better finish can be obtained with a reasonable machining time.