Effect of inter-electrode gap on surface characteristics in conventional electrochemical machining

Abstract

Conventional electrochemical machining (CECM) is an established toolroom process for the machining of conductive workpiece (W/P) substrates. In CECM, the material removal takes place through an electrochemical reaction between the cathode and anode. Significant studies have reported process parametric optimization of CECM with input parameters like voltage, feed rate, type of electrolyte and electrolyte concentration, etc., and their effect on the material removal rate (MRR), and surface roughness (Ra). But hitherto little has been reported on the effect of inter-electrode gap (IEG) and other CECM parameters in combination with a different tool and work materials. This study outlines the experimental investigations on CECM with a different tool and work materials based on Taguchi L18 orthogonal array (OA) on surface characteristics of machined surface for tool room applications in line with sustainable development goal (SDG) (with a special target on the industry, innovation, and infrastructure). The results suggest that for Ra, IEG is the most significant factor at a 95% confidence level. The results have been supported by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and Ra analysis (with amplitude distribution function (ADF), and peak count (PC).