Jet Electrochemical Micromachining of Micro-Grooves with Conductive-Masked Porous Cathode

Abstract

Surface structures with micro-grooves have been reported to be an effective way for improving the performance of metallic components. Through-mask electrochemical micromachining (TMEMM) is a promising process for fabricating micro-grooves. Due to the isotropic nature of metal dissolution, the dissolution of a workpiece occurs both along the width and depth. Overcut is generated inevitably with increasing depth, which makes it difficult to enhance machining localization. In this paper, a method of electrochemical machining using a conductive masked porous cathode and jet electrolyte supply is proposed to generate micro-grooves with high machining localization. In this configuration, the conductive mask is directly attached to the workpiece, thereby replacing the traditional insulated mask. This helps in achieving a reduction in overcut and an improvement in machining localization. Moreover, a metallic nozzle is introduced to supply a jetted electrolyte in the machining region with enhanced mass transfer via a porous cathode. The simulation and experimental results indicate that as compared with an insulated mask, the use of a conductive mask weakens the electric field intensity on both sides of machining region, which is helpful to reduce overcut and enhance machining localization. The effect of electrolyte pressure is investigated for this process configuration, and it has been observed that high electrolyte pressure enhances the mass transfer and improves the machining quality. In addition, as the pulse duty cycle is decreased, the dimensional standard deviation and roughness of the fabricated micro-groove are improved. The results suggest the feasibility and reliability of the proposed method.

Simulation Analysis and Process Evaluation of Cooling Hole Forming Precision in Mask Assisted Electrochemical Machining Based on GH4169

“…According to the basic principle of electrochemical machining, under the action of voltage, the electrolyte is sprayed on the workpiece from the inside of the tubular electrode, forming an electric field. Since the mask is insulated, the range of action of the electric field between the electrode and the workpiece is effectively limited [33][34][35]. Therefore, the size and shape of the inlet section can be improved, and the taper of the inlet section due to electrochemical corrosion can be reduced.…”

Multi-ion Based Modelling and Experimental Investigations on Consistent and High-throughput Generation of Micro Cavity Array by Mask Electrolyte Jet Machining

“…Subsequent electrochemical micromachining dissolves the exposed area to create the surface texture. With this method, several kinds of surface texture can be prepared, such as micro cavity arrays and micro groove arrays [16]. Wang et al [17] reported fabrication of a micro cavity array with a diameter of 40 µm diameter on a metallic cylindrical surface by using TMEMM.…”

Influence of Non-Structural Parameters on Dual Parallel Jet Characteristics of Porous Nozzles

“…The dual parallel jet is widely used in fluid energy transmission [ 1 ], atomic energy conversion [ 2 ], dynamics [ 3 ], chemical industry [ 4 ], aviation [ 5 ], and other fields. And as an important actuator of the dual parallel jet, the nozzle has a great influence on electrostatic distribution [ 6 ], three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting [ 7 ], electro-osmotic fluid flow [ 8 ], jetting performance [ 9 ], metal microcomponents picking [ 10 ], energy transport, chemical combustion and pollutant generation [ 11 ]. Thus, it is of great significance to verify the parallel jet characteristics and microfluidic state in the nozzle by means of numerical simulation and experiments.…”