Investigations on tool electrode wear during ultrasonic assisted ECDM process

• Published in: Machining science and technology Vol. 29; no. 1; pp. 93 - 117
• Main Authors: Rathore, Ranjeet Singh, Santarao, Korada, Botcha, Appalanaidu, Dvivedi, Akshay
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 02.01.2025
• Subjects: ECSM; electrolysis; electrolyte concentration; modeling; NaOH; vibration
• ISSN: 1091-0344; 1532-2483
• DOI: 10.1080/10910344.2025.2465287

The electrochemical discharge machining (ECDM) process is one of the emerging methods to fabricate microfeatures on glass, which is widely accepted in the pharmaceutical industry for microfluidic applications. A slight deviation in geometry may significantly affect the microfluidic device's functioning. As the machined dimension of the feature depends on tool geometry, understanding the tool electrode wear (TEW) and its effect on machined geometry is necessary. In the present investigation, ultrasonic energy is coupled to the ECDM process, and a mathematical model has been developed for TEW. The dependency of the tool wear on machining time was examined, and a mathematical model was developed for tool wear. Further, a parametric investigation was performed to identify TEW and geometrical characteristics of the machined features. Post-machining, tool and machined features were examined under FE-SEM for geometrical alterations, depositions and inclusions. Further, multi-objective optimization was used to find the optimal parameters to achieve minimum TEW, minimal thermal damages and maximum material removal rate (MRR) during the ECDM process. Applying ultrasonic energy assistance (at 15% power rating) to the tool during the process has reduced the TEW by 73.17% and increased the MRR by 11.08% compared to the conventional without ultrasonic assistance.