Vibration Electrochemical Micromachining Based on Coulostatic Analysis

One primary issue in pulse electrochemical micromachining is using pulses of electrical current to control precise machining resolution as well as the uniform electrolyte flow inside inter electrode gap between two electrodes. Periodical replacement of electrolyte flush away generated heat and gas bubbles which interrupt stable electrochemical reaction with uniform ionic charging in electrolyte. Though PECM require precise control of electrical parameters, such as pulse time, duty factor, applied current/voltage and total machining time, quantitative analysis of these parameter, especially pulse time, has not been introduced. This paper demonstrates rough prediction process of pulse time and machining resolution by analyzing high resolution pulse signals acquired from PECM operation. Additionally this research suggests vibration electrochemical polishing (VECP) assisted by ultrasonic vibration for enhancing electrochemical reaction and surface quality compared to the conventional ECP. The localized roughness of work material is measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM) for detailed information on surface. Besides roughness, overall surface quality and productivity etc. are compared with conventional ECP