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R. Thanigaivelan ¹, R. M. Arunachalam ²

Affiliations
1 Dept. of Mechanical Engg., Muthayammal Engg. College, Rasipuram, IN
2 Dept. of Mechanical Engg., Sona College of Technology, Salem, IN

Abstract

Electrochemical Micromachining (EMM) is a promising technology for machining the microstructures and components. EMM appears to offer several advantages including better precision, wide range of materials could be machined and no stress on the machined workpiece. This paper is focused on development of an EMM system in which the micro structure and components are fabricated. Influences of tool electrode design (flat, conical with rounded and wedged electrode) on machining rate and overcut by varying the electrolyte concentration are discussed in detail. The wedged electrode produces higher machining rate and conical with rounded electrode improves the micro-hole accuracy by 2.2 times compared to flat electrode. Finally, applications of electrochemical micromachining are also discussed.

Keywords

Electrode, Tool Design, Electrochemical Micromachining, Applications, Machining Set-Up.

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R. Thanigaivelan ¹, R. M. Arunachalam ²

Affiliations
1 Dept. of Mechanical Engg., Muthayammal Engg. College, Rasipuram, IN
2 Dept. of Mechanical Engg., Sona College of Technology, Salem, IN

Abstract

The requirements for micro components in all emerging areas are rapidly increasing. To meet this demand, micro machining is considered as one of the key technologies for the production of micro parts and components. Among the various capable processes, electrochemical micro machining is considered due its advantages of accuracy, no electrode wear and various ranges of materials that can be machined. An experimental set-up for Electrochemical Micro machining (EMM) is developed, which consists of various elements. This paper focuses on experimental study of dominant variables like pulse on-time, current, voltage, and electrolyte concentration on machining speed and overcut when machining 304 stainless steel. From the experimental results, it is evident that the machining speed reaches maximum at a pulse on-time of 30 ms. The most effective range of pulse on-time and electrolyte concentration can be considered as 25-30 ms and 0.23-0.29 mole/l, which gives moderate machining speed and lower overcut.

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R. Thanigaivelan ¹, R. Arunachalam ², N. Natarajan ³, Abdu Rahoof ¹, Jishnu Sanjay ¹, Manish Kumar ¹

Affiliations
1 Mahendra Engineering College (Autonomous), Mallasamudrum, Namakkal Dist, IN
2 Dept. of Mech and Industrial Engg., Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman, OM
3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Muthayammal Engineering College (Autonomous), Rasipuram, Namakkal Dist, IN

Abstract

The application of Ti–6Al-4V alloy in the fields of biomedical and aerospace industries attracts the manufacturing engineers to understand the behavior of alloy during machining. Ti–6Al-4V alloy posses high specific strength and corrosion resistance and besides its advantages they poses challenges in machining due its low thermal conductivity nature. The heat generated during machining is dissipated through cooling medium and cutting tool. Considering the situation detailed experiments are planned for turning of Ti–6Al-4V alloy with varies cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut. The cutting tool is cooled with the process of evaporative cooling technique by using the water soaked banana fiber pad along with fan and flooded coolant. This method dissipates 39.51% of heat generated during cutting operation at parameter combination of 1200 rpm cutting speed, 1.5mm/rev feed rate and 0.6 mm depth of cut. The lowest average surface roughness (R_a) is recorded at parametric combination of 1200 rpm cutting speed, 0.25mm/rev feed rate and 0.6 mm depth of cut for banana fiber cooled tool. The use of banana fiber resulted in lesser R_a of 0.42μm. Further studies with multi-pad evaporative cooling facilitate for increased tool heat dissipation.

Keywords

Banana Fiber, Evaporative Cooling, Ti-6Al-4V Alloy, Surface Roughness, Cutting Temperature.

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R. Thanigaivelan ¹, N. Rajan ², M. Soundarrajan ¹, R. Priya ¹

Affiliations
1 Muthayammal Engineering College, Rasipuram, IN
2 Vinayaka Missions Kirupananda Variyar Engineering College, Salem, IN

Abstract

The Electrochemical Micromachining (EMM) is an micromachining techniques for machining electrically conducting, tough and difficult to machine materials with suitable machining parameter combinations. In EMM, an electrolyte characteristic shows significant effect on output characteristics namely Material Removal Rate (MRR), Overcut (OC) and Taper OC. Hence in this research mixed electrolyte along with varying concentration, machine voltage and duty cycle are taken as key input parameters. Sodium nitrate and oxalic acid used as an electrolyte between tool and work piece. The MRR, OC and taper overcut are significantly influenced by the electrolyte type. Optimization of multiple performance characteristics were analyzed by CRiteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) and Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) methods. The mixed electrolyte shows higher MRR, lesser OC and lesser taper OC and the optimal parameter combination is mixed electrolyte with 20g/l, 8V and 85% duty cycle and micro hole circumference is analysed using the SEM pictures.

Keywords

Oxalic Electrolyte, Sodium Nitrate, CRITIC Method, SAW Method, Taper Overcut.

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