Fabrication of Metal Microtool Applying Wire Electrochemical Machining

Abstract

Metal microtools with various shapes can be used for micromachining technologies due to their specific characteristics. Wire electrochemical machining (wire ECM) shows high potential to produce complex microstructures with repetitive usage of wire electrode and absence of thermal effects. This study presented an investigation of feasibility on fabricating metal microtool with various shapes using microwire ECM process. The experiments were conducted under a condition of ø300 μm tungsten rod as anodic specimen, ø20 μm tungsten wire as cathode, KOH as electrolytic solution, and ultrashort pulsed current as power supply. Effects of pulse-on time, applied voltage, wire feeding rate, and solution concentration on overcut and machining stability were evaluated in order to obtain optimal process parameters. Microtools with various shapes were fabricated thereafter with the optimal condition. The results reveal that the presented approach is capable of producing microtools with complex shapes effectively.