Evaluation of an Apparatus for Electrochemical Arc Wire-Machining

Electrochemical Arc Machining (ECAM) combines electrochemical dissolution and electro discharge in order to achieve metal removal rates, that can be about five and fifty times greater than those of electrochemical (ECM) and electrodischarge (EDM) machining, respectively. Since ECAM has already been successfully applied to hole-drilling, for this paper the prospects for wire-machining by this process have been explored. An apparatus for wire-ECAM is described, and the results of tests performed to assess the feasibility of the technique are presented. To that end, the effects of mode of electrolyte flushing, wire erosion and machining speed on metal removal rate and accuracy are discussed.