Performance of SiC and Al2O3 Loose Abrasives in the Electrochemical Discharge Machining Process

Abstract

Electrochemical Discharge Machining (ECDM) has combined characteristics of ECM and EDM which is effectively been used for machining electrically nonconductive, hard, and brittle materials like glass, quartz, and ceramics. However, the industrial application of this process is limited due to difficulty in machining micro holes with higher machined depth. To improve the machining performance of the ECDM process, loose abrasive particles have been mixed in an electrolyte while machining blind holes on soda–lime glass. This study is mainly focused on investigating the effect of process parameters (voltage and electrolyte concentration) on the responses (volume of material removed, machined depth and overcut) using CCRD. The significance of process parameters on the responses has been evaluated using ANOVA. A second-order regression equation has been developed for predicting the relation between input process parameters and quality characteristics (i.e. volume of material removed, diameter overcut, and machined depth). It is observed that the addition of Al2O3 abrasives has improved the volume of material removed and machined depth. On the other hand, the addition of SiC abrasives into the electrolyte has reduced the diametric overcut due to their specific characteristic.