Drilling of Al₂O₃ ceramic using ultrasonic assisted electrochemical discharge machining process

Abstract

Alumina is one of the most important ceramic materials in the industry due to its advantageous properties, such as electrical resistivity and high hardness. The machining of this material encounters several difficulties, and it is usually machined using non-traditional machining processes. Among these processes, ultrasonic-assisted electrochemical discharge machining has been widely used for glass machining. However, this machining process is expected to be accompanied by acceptable results in the case of alumina. Therefore, in this study, the effects of process parameters such as ultrasonic vibration amplitude, voltage, pulse-on time, and pulse-off time on material removal rate, depth, overcut, and taper angle have been experimentally studied in the machining of alumina. The results revealed that hole depth increased up to 52% using ultrasonic vibrations with an amplitude of 34 µm.