Comparative Study of Electro discharge Machining, Electro chemical Machining and Ultrasound Machining - Covering principle of operation, areas

of application and practical limitations.

OUTLINE
1. Ultrasound Machining a. principle of operation b. areas of application c. practical limitations 2. Electro chemical Machining a. principle of operation b. areas of application c. practical limitations 3. Electro discharge Machining a. principle of operation b. areas of application c. practical limitations

1. Ultrasound Machining
Definition: A type of abrasive machining that uses a tool vibrating at ultrasonic
frequencies to cause grit-loaded slurry to impinge on and remove surface material.

a. Principle of operation
A liquid slurry around the drill bit contains loose hard particles which are smashed into the surface by the vibrations, eroding material away and creating more loose hard particles. The designation ultrasonic" refers to a metal cutting process supported by ultrasonic technology in which a milling, boring, or grinding tool, studded with industrial diamonds, is pounded" into a workpiece at a frequency of 20 kHz, or 20,000 times per second. As a result, even the hardest materials can be machined with low contact forces, yet with high feed rate. The ultrasonic process begins with a high-frequency electrical signal that is converted to mechanical movement. Subsequently, a booster raises the oscillation amplitude. At the highest point of the amplitude or expansion, the diamond kernels attached to the tool collide with the surface of the workpiece. The material is thus broken up into minuscule particles. The simultaneous rotation of the tool, at speeds between 3,000 and 40,000 rpm, facilitates achieving the desired size of the workpiece and also removes excess workpiece particles, which are eventually removed from the work area with water. In USM process, the tool, made of softer material than that of the workpiece, is oscillated by the booster and sonatrode at a frequency of about 20 kHz with an amplitude of about 25.4 um (0.001 in). It forces the abrasive grits, in the gap between the tool and the workpiece, to impact normally and successively on the work surface, thereby machining the work surface. During one strike, the tool moves down from its most upper remote position (point A) with a starting speed at zero. It speeds up in this period and finally reaches the maximum at the mean position (O). Afterwards, it slows down its speed and eventually reaches zero again at the lowest position (B). When the grit size is close to the mean position, the tool hits the grit with its full speed. The smaller the grit size, the lesser the momentum it receives from the tool. Therefore, there is an effective speed zone for the tool and, correspondingly there is an effective size range for the grits. In the machining process, the tool, at some point, impacts on the largest grits, which are forced into the tool and workpiece. As the tool continues to move downwards, the force acting on these grits increases rapidly, therefore some of the grits may be fractured. As the tool moves further down, more grits with smaller sizes come in contact with the tool; the force acting on each grit becomes less. Eventually, the tool comes to the end of its strike; the number of grits under impact force from both the tool and the workpiece becomes maximum. Grits with size larger than the minimum

gap will penetrate into the tool and work surface to different extents according to their diameters and the hardness of both surfaces. The mechanism of material removal in USM is impact indentation and fracture. The impact both from the grits and the tool head causes crack initiation and development in the brittle work material.

b. Areas of application
Ultrasonics have been used in several ways for machining metals. Lathe tools may benefit from deliberately-induced vibrations to prevent "chatter" which compromises the surface finish of the finished component. Ultrasonic drills, used on very hard ceramics, work by grinding or eroding material away. Brittle materials such as ceramics, glass, stellite, silicon, graphite, composite materials, or precious stones offer their own special challenges to machining. The demands on these components are growing steadily, particularly in applications in the medical technology and optical industries, as well as in the automotive and other industries. Silicon wafer is ultrasonically machined with holes 0.02" diameter and 0.39" depth at Ra of less than 0.2 in channel.

c. Practical limitations
The critical factors for the continuing success of ultrasonic technology are process safety and reproducibility.

2. Electro Chemical Machining

Definition: A process for the removal of metal by dissolution using an

electrochemical reaction, which is the reverse of electroplating.

a. Principle of operation
Electrochemical machining (ECM) is based on a controlled anodic electrochemical dissolution process of the work piece (anode) with the tool (cathode) in an electrolytic cell, during an electrolysis process.

Principal Scheme of

electrochemical machining (ECM) Electrochemical Machining (ECM) is similar to electropolishing in that it also is an electrochemical anodic dissolution process in which a direct current with high density and low voltage is passed between a workpiece and a pre-shaped tool (the cathode). At the anodic workpiece surface, metal is dissolved into metallic ions by the de-plating reaction, and thus the tool shape is copied into the work piece. The electrolyte is forced to flow through the inter electrode gap with high velocity, usually more than 5 m/s, to intensify the mass/charge transfer through the sub layer near anode and to remove the sludge (dissolution products e.g. hydroxide of metal), heat and gas bubbles generated in the gap. In typical manufacturing operations, the tool is fed toward the workpiece while maintaining a small gap. When a potential difference is applied across the electrodes, several possible reactions can occur at the anode and cathode.

Figure 1.3. Diagram of electrochemical reactions during ECM of iron in sodium chloride (NaCl) electrolyte Electrochemical Machining (ECM) is a relatively new and important method of removing metal by anodic dissolution and offers a number of advantages over other machining methods. Metal removal is effected by a suitably shaped tool electrode, and the parts thus produced have the specified shape, dimensions, and surface finish. ECM forming is carried out so that the shape of the tool electrode is transferred onto, or duplicated in, the workpiece. Dissolved material, gas, and heat are removed from the narrow machining gap by the flow of electrolyte pumped through the gap at a high velocity.

ECM of rotating workpiece

A typical Electrochemical machining system has four major subsystems:

The machine itself The power supply The electrolyte circulation system The control system

ECM die sinking machine tool

b. Areas of application
Being a non-mechanical metal removal process, ECM is capable of machining any electrically-conductive material with high stock removal rates regardless of their mechanical properties. The use of ECM is most warranted in the manufacture of complex-shaped parts from materials that lend themselves poorly to machining by other, above all mechanical, methods. Among other things, diamond EC grinding makes it possible to handle cemented-carbide plates, blade flanges and locks, outer and inner surfaces of parts made of magnetic alloys, and to grind cutting tools.

Examples of machined parts by ECM

Since there is no contact between the tool and the work, ECM is the machining method of choice in the case of thin-walled, easily deformable components and also brittle materials likely to develop cracks in the surface layer. Complex-shaped parts can be produced by simply moving the tool translationally. In the cases when the tool electrode need not be rotated, ECM offers an opportunity to drill a complex-shaped hole or several such holes in a single run and also holes with an offset from the centerline.

Schemes of ECM drilling

Electrochemical broaching as a method of making splines, gear sizing, reducing the wall thickness of shaped parts from high-temperature and titanium alloys, and preliminary generation of screw threads.

Schemes of ECM broaching

Examples of machine parts after deburring Electrochemical deburring of gears, hydraulic and fuel-system parts, small electronic components, engine parts, etc.

c. Practical limitations
The energy consumption of ECM is relatively high. It is not at all easy to duplicate the shape of the tool electrode in the workpiece to a high degree of accuracy because there is some difficulty in confining the ECM process precisely within the areas that must be machined. For manufacturing results of ECM, the distribution of current density on the anode surface and the distribution of gap size between the electrodes are very important. The value of current used in ECM is dependent on the following parameters: Working voltage between the tool electrode (cathode) and work piece (anode) Dimensions of the machining surface Machining feed rate Inlet and outlet pressure of electrolyte (or flow rate) Inlet temperature of electrolyte The application of ECM in industry might cause environmental problems as chemicals are released into the environment. The accuracy of ECM is dependant on the shape and dimensions of machining work piece. The rate of material machining does not depend on the mechanical properties of the metal and approximately depend on work piece material For high accuracy in shape duplication and high rates of metal removal, the process is effected at very high current densities of the order 10 100 A/cm2, at relative low voltage usually from 8 to 30 V. ECM machines are often equally, if not more, expensive than conventional metalcutting machines and need more floor area for their installation. The electrolytes used in ECM attack the equipment.

3. Electro Discharge Machining

Definition: Electro-discharge machining is the machining method in which removal
of metal is done by applying voltage.

a.

Principle of operation
Electro-discharge machining is the machining method in which voltage is applied through a dielectric medium between the tool electrode and the work piece, using electrodischarge generated when the electrode and work piece are positioned close to each other. The mechanism is that a section of the work piece is melted and removed by the exothermic reaction accompanying the electro-discharge. Machining is carried out by repeated melting and removal; therefore it is necessary to use a pulsating electrical discharge. The electrode can be made to accuracies which allow machining to tolerances of a few microns which makes this technique highly competitive with other, newer technologies such as laser ablation. This process is also well suited for machining hard materials which may not be feasible using conventional cutting equipment. The process can also produce very smooth surfaces by reducing the discharge to an infinitessimal amount whilst reducing the gap between electrode and component to sub-micron levels. EDM works by eroding material in the path of electrical discharges that form an arc between an electrode tool and the work piece. The EDM system consists of a shaped tool or wire electrode, and the part. The part is connected to a power supply. Sometimes to create a potential difference between the work piece and tool, the work piece is immersed in a dielectric (electrically nonconducting) fluid which is circulated to flush away debris. EDM works by using electricity rather than cutting. The electric spark actually vaporizes the metal. The sparks, produced by a spark generator at regular intervals, create a succession of craters in the work piece. Each spark produces a temperature between 8,000 and 12,000 C. The size of the crater depends on the energy turned out by the spark generator. The range of the sparks varies from a few microns to 1 mm Two parts, the mold blank and the electrode, are submerged in an insulating liquid which is called the dielectric fluid. Both are connected to a source of current which can be switched on and off at will. The electrode and mold will be hooked

up with opposite polarity (+ or -). When the current is switched on, an electric tension is created between the two metal parts. As the two parts are brought together the electrical tension becomes great enough to overcome the insulating capabilities of the dielectric fluid and a spark jumps between them. Where it strikes, the metal is heated to a very high temperature very rapidly causing vaporization. Innumerable such sparks spray, one after the other (never simultaneously), gradually shaping the desired form in the piece of metal according to the shape of the electrode. Several hundred thousand such sparks must fly per second before erosion takes place.

b. Areas of application
Electrical Discharge Machining, EDM is one of the most accurate manufacturing processes available for creating complex or simple shapes and geometries within parts and assemblies. EDM manufacturing is quite affordable and a very desirable manufacturing process when low counts or high accuracy is required. Turn around time can be fast and depends on manufacturer back log. The cutting pattern is usually CNC controlled. Many EDM machine electrodes can rotate about two-three axis allowing for cutting of internal cavities. This makes EDM a highly capable manufacturing process. Wire EDM is used primarily for shapes cut shapes through a selected part or assembly. Sinker (diesinking) EDMs are generally used for complex geometries where the EDM machine uses a machined graphite or copper electrode to erode the desired shape into the part or assembly. EDM is a method of removing metal in hard or difficult to machine or tough metals, or where rotating tools would not be able to produce the desired shape in a cost-effective manner. An excellent example is rectangular punch dies, where sharp internal corners are desired. Milling operations can not give sharp internal corners with finite diameter tools. A wire EDM machine can make internal corners with a radius only slightly larger than the wire's radius. A 'sinker' EDM cam make corners with a radius only slightly larger than the radius on the corner of the convex EDM electrode. Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) is a machining process used mainly for producing molds . The most common molds found in industry are those used in plastic injection molding.

EDM can also be used to produce finished parts, such as special shaped cutting tools, parts cut from solid pieces of metal, and other items of complex shapes.

c. Practical limitations
The dielectric fluid concentrates the discharge, carries away heat and workpiece particles, and keeps oxygen away from the work area. Light oils like kerosene make ideal EDM fluids, but the risk of fire is substantial. Therefore, less flammable fluids should be used. Tap water has too many ions to be useful, as electrolysis produces a lot of foaming and Hydrogen and Oxygen, which are another danger. The dielectric must be constantly filtered, cooled and re-circulated. A great deal of heat is generated during the EDM process and the dielectric absorbs the most of it. Additionally the process creates a lot of debris and this needs to be filtered out of the system. Of obvious concerns is the fact that EDM uses very high voltage electricity. The operator needs to make every effort to be constantly aware of the machine and its surroundings. Coming into contact with any part of the fluid or the electrode can cause severe injury or even death. A second concern is the dielectric fluid, which is an oil based liquid. As with any oil, the proper handling of parts, measuring tools, etc. should be taken into consideration.