Micro electrochemical sinking and milling method for generation of micro features

Abstract

Micro features are generated on SS-304 stainless steel by electrochemical micromachining. This research aims at the development of best method of micro profile generation for micro components based on electrochemical micromachining in terms of reduced taper angle, overcut, edge deviation and time of machining using cylindrical micro tool. Sinking and milling method is a new approach to microchannel generation, where a micro tool moves vertically to final depth or required depth of machined feature followed by milling along the path of the micro features. The experimental study of process parameters such as pulse frequency of applied voltage, electrolyte concentration, pulse width, micro tool feed rate, machining time and depth of sinking by micro tool is conducted for the investigation and comparative analysis of their effects on material dissolution during micro profile generation utilizing scanning layer-by-layer method as well as sinking and milling method. Machining zone has been simulated in two positions of micro tool, and it has been established that taper less through microchannels can be generated by the scanning method and the sinking and milling method. Complex taper less micro features such as channel net, “U” shape and “S” shape were machined. Micro profile of narrow entry width of 32 µm was machined on 50-µm-thick SS-304 sheet. Very narrow micro profile of 23 µm was also machined on 35-µm-thick SS-304 sheet by the fabricated micro tool of ϕ = 8 µm utilizing the new approach of sinking and milling in electrochemical micromachining.