Investigation of active surface area of tool electrode and peak current on discharge energy during ECDM process

Abstract

The Electrochemical Discharge Machining (ECDM) process is a hybrid non-conventional machining process. It is usedfor machinings hard and brittle materials such as borosilicate glass and ceramic materials. In the ECDM process, activesurface area ( dipped tool ) and peak current affect the discharge energy, which further influences the quality of the microholes. The present article is aimed to investigate the effect of active surface area and peak current on the performancecharacteristics during the ECDM process. Experiments were conducted to investigate the affect of active surface area andpeak currenton Depth Of Penetration (DOP), the Hole Over Cut (HOC), and Material Removal Rate (MRR) based on thereaction rate during ECDM of borosilicate glass. The experimental results reveal that both the MRR and HOC increase inincreasing the peak current and decreasing the active surface area. The maximum DOP and MRR were obtained at 5A peakcurrent with 2 mm tool immersion depth and 7A peak current with 1 mm tool immersion depth, respectively. The minimumHOC was obtained at 2A peak current with a 3 mm tool immersion depth.