Pulsed Electrochemical Micromachining in Stainless Steel

Abstract

This chapter presents research on pulsed electrochemical micromachining of stainless steel. Suitable equipment to study the process is described as well as a fitting procedure to machine and measure the variables involved. The pulse on-time must be maintained in the order of ns to achieve a good current confinement since the tool is active. Some experiments were carried out to assess the most important variables of the process: current confinement, surface roughness, material removal rate and efficiency. The current confinement has been observed to worsen when the pulse on-time increases, as well as the surface roughness. The material removal rate and efficiency increase with the voltage amplitude and the pulse on-time. The voltage amplitude must be higher than 12 V so that the phenomenon of passivation does not affect the process. There is a compromise in the choice of the variables, so a suitable combination of parameters is determined in order to achieve a good material removal rate with an acceptable result.