Electrochemical Machining (ECM) is a metalworking process that removes material from a workpiece by electrochemical erosion. A high current charge passes from the workpiece to the cathode, eroding the workpiece at a molecular level to form a cut that follows the shape of the cathode. ECM offers benefits such as cutting complex internal contours and minimal stress transfer to the part, but has high initial installation costs and poses a risk of corrosion to tools and workpieces.
Electrochemical Machining (ECM) is a metalworking process that involves the removal of material from a workpiece by electrochemical erosion. This process is accomplished by passing a high current electrical charge from the positively charged workpiece through an electrolyte solution to the negatively charged “cutting tool”. This causes the molecules in the workpiece to move in the electrolyte in a profile that mimics the shape of the cutting tool. In this way, a “cut” is made in the workpiece of the same shape as the cutting tool. While limited to use on electrically conductive materials, electrochemical machining offers many benefits including cutting complex internal contours and minimal stress transfer to the part.
The potential uses of electrochemical processing had already been the subject of interest and experimentation since the 1930s and have been a commercial reality since 1959. The principle underlying the process is the same as electrolysis for electroplating. In ECM applications, however, the process is reversed; the material is removed and not deposited on the piece. This is achieved by placing a specially shaped cathode close to the workpiece, but not touching it. A pressurized electrolyte solution is pumped between the two and acts as a conductor for a high-current charge that passes from the workpiece to the cathode.
This current flow causes the workpiece to erode at a molecular level to form a cut that follows the shape of the cathode. This means that the cathode effectively becomes the cutting tool of the process. The material that detaches from the workpiece is removed with the electrolyte, thus subjecting the cutting tool to minimal wear during machining. The distance between the workpiece and the cutting tool during machining is maintained between 0.003 and 0.03 inch (0.08 mm and 0.8 mm).
This lack of physical contact between the cutting tool and the workpiece is one of the major advantages of the electrochemical machining method, as no stress or heat is transferred to the workpiece during machining. It is also possible to machine very hard materials without the associated costs of expensive, ultra-hard tooling. Electrochemical machining is therefore an appropriate way to produce very hard and precision parts such as turbine blades. With the procedure it is also possible to machine a wide range of complex profiles, both internal and external. The only real drawbacks of ECM techniques are the high initial installation costs and the risk of corrosion to tools and workpieces posed by the electrolytic solution.
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