Table 9 A comparative summary of the findings/approach of the study

Fabrication of hybrid composite (Al6061/SiC + TiB₂)

Reported clustering of TiB₂ particles when it is kept at 5%, resulting in lower mechanical properties (i.e., tensile strength of 97.9 MPa)

In the present study, agglomeration of TiB₂ particles is observed when its concentration is increased to 10%; however, for the composite having 5% TiB₂, better mechanical properties have been obtained (i.e., tensile strength of 102 MPa). Two-step melting technique used in the present study resulted in better distribution of reinforcement particles

Selection of factors for trim operation for future study

Factors for trim cut WEDM operation have been selected based on the literature survey

A screening experimentation has been designed and performed to estimate the effect of WEDM parameters using fold over fractional factorial design

Improvement in surface quality and reduction in recast layer thickness

Not reported

Surface roughness is reduced to a value of 2.2 µm (from 3.93 µm), and recast layer has been limited to a value of 4.76 µm after performing trim cut operation

Selection of the levels/range for wire offset parameter

Value of wire offset in trim operation has been selected randomly

In the present study, value of spark gap is evaluated for trim cut operation at different parametric settings, so as to set the wire offset value judiciously to remove the required depth of material during trim cutting

Significant factors

Not reported

Peak current (Ip), pulse on time (Ton), wire offset (WO), and servo voltage (SV) have been found to be the most significant factors for spark gap while peak current (Ip), pulse on time (Ton), and pulse off time (Toff) were found to be significant for surface roughness