Design and Fabrication of Electrochemical MicroMachining (ECMM) Experimental Setup for Micro-hole Drilling

Abstract

In electrochemical micromachining (ECMM) process, anodic dissolution is used to remove the material in the micron range. With the help of ECMM process, complex contours on the workpiece surface and difficult to cut materials can be machined without any stress on workpiece surface and without any tool wear. This study aims to design and fabricate an ECMM experimental setup and to control the process parameters for smooth machining of miniature components. In the present study, fabrication of microcomponents is carried out on stainless steel (SS-316L) workpiece with helical tungsten carbide micro-tool. The effect of machining voltage on output responses of the fabricated micro-holes is carried out with continuous and pulsed DC power supply. From preliminary experimental analysis, it is observed that as machining voltage increases, material removal rate, overcut and conicity also increase.