Experimental investigations of magnetic field-assisted high-speed electrochemical discharge drilling

Abstract

ABSTRACT Owing to its promising physical, chemical, and optical properties, glass is the most widely used material in sophisticated micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) devices. These devices are finding large number of applications in the fields of medical electronics, biotechnology, energy, automobiles, aerospace, etc. While manufacturing MEMS devices, micro-holes are needed to be produced in glass with high levels of accuracy. Micro-drilling in glass using the electrochemical discharge drilling (ECDD) method is an emerging technique. Enhancing the material removal rate (MRR) and lowering the entrance hole overcut in ECDD are the major challenges during this process. To address this problem, significant attention is focused on blending two or more techniques known as hybridized methods to improve the quality of the ECDD process. In the present study, a combination of magnetic flux density (MFD) and high-speed tool rotation was employed during the ECDD process for the glass. Additionally, the effect of the process variable viz. the voltage, tool rotation speed, and feed rate of the MFD around the workpiece was analyzed. Finite element analysis was employed to obtain the optimal MFD over the workpiece. For different voltages, tool rotation speeds, and feed rates; the performance analysis of MRR and entrance hole overcut were compared in the absence and presence of magnetic field-assisted high-speed ECDD.