A study of electrolyte effect during machining of non-conducting material on WECDM process

Abstract

The demand of glass is increasing day by day due to their attractive properties such as transparency, heat resistance, and high corrosion resistance. Glass is used in many applications especially in micro electromechanical systems. Machining of glass material is a big challenge for manufacturers. It is difficult to achieve part of complicated shapes of these materials by conventional machining techniques. Electro Chemical Discharge Machining (ECDM) is found most appropriate technique for shaping these materials. The material removal process in ECDM depends on parameters like applied voltage, electrolyte nature, combination and concentration, Duty cycle, wire speed, and tension.In the present work, role of electrolyte has been examined by investigating the effect of electrolyte types, concentration, and the addition of abrasives in electrolytic solution. The quality of the machined surface was examined by an optical microscope, which shows the sallow and micro-cracks with the use of higher concentration of electrolytes. Results reveals that a better surface finish is obtained with abrasives mixed electrolyte which reflects the abrasives played important role for getting better surface finish. By comparing the performance of different electrolyte, the higher material removal rate (MRR) was obtained by using mixed solution of KOH (Potassium Hydroxide) and NaOH (Sodium Hydroxide).