Wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) has been, for many years, a precise and efficient non-conventional manufacturing solution in various industrial applications, mostly involving the use of hard-to-machine materials like, among others, the Inconel super alloys. The focus of the present study is on exploring the effect of selected control parameters, including pulse duration, pulse-off time and the dielectric flow pressure on the WEDM process performance characteristics of Inconel 617 material, such as: volumetric material removal rate (MRR), the dimensional accuracy of cutting (reflected by the kerf width) and surface roughness (SR). The research experiment has been designed and carried out using the response surface methodology (RSM) accordingly with the Box–Behnken design scheme. The results of experiments derived in the form of a fitted regression model have been subjected to the analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests. Thus, the variable process parameters and the relevant interactions between them, characterized by a significant influence on the values of the derived output responses, could be explicitly determined.

This article represents the results of testing the surface condition of shafts manufactured by the burnishing process. The shafts with a hardness of approximately 62 HRC (Rockwell C). were burnished with a ceramic ball (Si₃N₄), where the force range was controlled by the means of a hydraulic system. The machining process consisted of hard turning shafts with cubic boron nitride (CBN) inserts, followed by burnishing with the use of various machining parameters, such as feed and force. The research focused on the examination of burnished surfaces, which was conducted for various structures after hard turning, and with variable burnishing parameters. The results obtained for the decrease of roughness are presented as the relation between the parameters Rat/Rab, which is approximately 2, while for Rpkt/Rpkb, it is around 3.7, respectively. Sat/Sab is around 2, while Spkt/Spkb is around 3.5 (where an index denotes the t-surface after turning, and the index b-surface after burnishing). The structure of the surface after burnishing and turning is described with roughness parameters, as well as with the photographs of the specimen surface, and the bearing area curve.

Heavily loaded structural elements operating in a corrosive environment are usually quickly destroyed. An example of such an element is a ship propeller operating in a seawater environment. This research presents a fatigue resistance test performed on elements operating in seawater. Different processing parameters applied on the samples in particular were compared with the specimens whose surface had been burnished differently and they were compared to specimens with a grinded surface. The research shows that the structural elements whose surface has been burnished can have up to 30% higher fatigue strength in a seawater environment than the elements whose surface has been grinded. During burnishing, an important feature of the process is the degree of cold rolling of the material. The resistance of the component to fatigue loads increases only to a certain level with increasing the degree of the cold rolling. Further increasing the degree of cold rolling reduces the fatigue strength. Introducing additional stresses in the components (e.g., assembly stresses) reduces the fatigue strength of this component in operation and these additional stresses should be accounted for while planning the degree of the cold rolling value. A device that allows for simultaneous turning and shaft burnishing with high slenderness is presented in the appendix of this article. This device can be connected to the computerized numerical control system and executed automatic process according to the machining program; this solution reduces the number of operations and cost in the process.

During the low plasticity burnishing process of soft materials such as carbon steel with a hardness of up to 40 HRC (Rockwell grade) a raised structure of the material known as the Jumping Wave forms in front of the tool roll. This phenomenon significantly disturbs the burnishing process, but is very poorly described in the literature. This article presents studies of this phenomenon on the example of burnished 1.0562 steel. The research concerns the changes in the surface structure of the processed material as well as changes in the structure of the material during this process. The research shows changes in the geometric structure of the surface made in the 3D system and their parametric description. Moreover, the work presents an analysis of the metallographic structure in the tool zone. The research showed occurrence of material slippages in the wave in front of the tool, which creates an additional structure on the surface. These tests make it possible to better understand the process of changes that take place in the surface layer of the processed element in the low plasticity burnishing process.

Rapid prototyping (RP) can fabricate complex 3D physical models without geometric limitations. The surface of the RP processed components is excessively rough (called stair-step effect) and depends on several parameters such as thickness of layer, position on the platform, etc. This paper presents several surface roughness models and results of experimental research.