Influence of workpiece materials on aerosol emission from die sinking electrical discharge machining process

•In die sinking EDM process aerosol emission rate was found to be closely related to the material removal rate.•Majority of aerosol constituents were evolved from workpiece materials.•Constituents with low melting points were having high relative concentration in the aerosol emitted.•Relative emission rate was introduced as a parameter for comparing the emission and machining performance. Simultaneous investigation of environmental emissions and machining aspects of electrical discharge machining process is essential for achieving hygienic and efficient machining. The main objective of the present work is to experimentally investigate and analyze the aerosol emission rate and the material removal rate from a die sinking electrical discharge machining process for three commonly used work piece materials viz., tool steel, mild steel and aluminum using Taguchi methodology of Experimental Design in order to suggest suitable process conditions for green manufacturing. The aerosol emission profile of all workpiece materials was found to be closely related to the material removal profile. A significant variation in emission and material removal rate was observed for workpiece materials which may be accorded to the variation in melting and vaporization temperatures. It was also observed that majority of aerosol constituents evolved from workpiece materials and that the constituents with low melting points were having high relative concentration in the aerosol emitted. The study introduced a parameter, the relative emission rate for comparing the emission for various process parameters and workpiece–tool material combinations. The favorable machining parameters for each material were then identified by employing signal to noise ratio analysis of the relative emission rate.