INTRODUCTION TO ECM

 Electrochemical Machining (ECM) is a non-

conventional machining process belonging to
Electrochemical category.
 ECM is opposite of electrochemical or galvanic
coating or deposition process.
 ECM can be thought of a controlled anodic
dissolution at atomic level of the work piece that is
electrically conductive by a shaped tool due to flow
of high current at relatively low potential difference
through an electrolyte which is quite often water
based neutral salt solution.
ELECTROLYSIS
Electrolysis is a chemical process, which occurs
when an electric current is passed between two
conductors (electrodes having different
potentials) dipped into a liquid solution
(electrolyte). The system of electrodes( anode and
cathode) and electrolyte is referred as electrolytic
cell, whilst the chemical reactions, which occur at
the electrodes, are called as the anodic or
cathodic reactions.

Electrolytes are different than metallic conductors

of electricity, in that the current is carried not by
electrons but by atoms (ions) or group of atoms.
 ECM PRINCIPLE

• The principle is exactly the same as electroplating,

where anode goes into the solution except the cathode
deposition.
• In ECM, electrolyte is so chosen that there is no
deposition( plating) on the cathode, so tool shape
remain unchanged. And if a close gap(0.1 mm-0.2 mm)
is maintained between tool and work piece , the
machined surface takes the replica of the tool shape.
ECM PROCESS
 During ECM, reactions occur at anode( ie work
piece) and at cathode( ie tool) along with within
the electrolyte.
 Take an example of machining low carbon steel(
primarily a ferrous alloy). For steels, usually a
neutral salt solution of sodium chloride( NaCl)
taken as electrolyte.
 When potential difference applied, electrolyte
and water undergoes ionic dissociation.
NaCl Na+ + Cl-
H 2O H+ + (OH)-
ECM PROCESS CONTD…
 As potential difference applied between work piece (anode)
and tool (cathode), the positive ions move towards the tool and
negative ions move towards the workpiece.
Cathode reactions:
Na+ + e- = Na
Na + H2O = NaOH + H+
Now, the hydrogen ions will take away electrons from the
cathode (tool) and form hydrogen gas as:
2H+ + 2e- = H2↑ at cathode.
It shows that there is no deposition on tool and only gas is
formed.
Anode reactions:
The iron atoms will come out of the anode (work piece) as:
Fe Fe+ + + 2e-
Within the electrolyte, Fe ions combine with chloride ions to
form iron chloride
ECM PROCESS CONTD…
Fe++ + 2Cl- FeCl2
Fe++ + 2(OH)- Fe(OH)2
FeCl2 + 2(OH)- Fe(OH)2 + 2Cl-

In practice, FeCl2 and Fe(OH)2 form and get precipitated

as sludge. Hence work piece gets gradually machined.
Interesting to note that as the material removal takes
place atom by atom, the machined surface is of
excellent surface finish , crack and stress free, also
independent of hardness of the material.
SCHEMATIC REPRESENTATION OF
ELECTRO-CHEMICAL REACTIONS
 ECM EQUIPMENT
 Electrochemical machining

2/10/2024
(ECM) is an electrolytic
material removal process
 It involves a negatively
charged shaped electrode
(cathode), a conductive fluid
(electrolyte), and a
conductive workpiece
(anode).
 ECM is characterized as
"reverse electroplating." The
tool must be properly
shaped, and provision for
waste removal must be Simple ECM illustration schema
made.
ECM EQUIPMENT
ECM EQUIPMENT CONTD…
The electrochemical machining system has the
following modules:
❑ Machining unit with suitable fixture

❑ Power supply

❑ Electrolyte filtration and delivery system

❑ Tool feed system

❑ Working tank

 Tool mounted on the tool holder. The tool holder is

given a feed drive.
 Work is mounted on a fixture insulated from the
main body of the machine
ECM EQUIPMENT CONTD…
 A suitable electrolyte like aqueous sodium chloride
solution is chosen so that the cathode shape remains
unchanged during electrolysis.
 The electrolyte is pumped at a rate 3 to 30 m/sec
through the gap between electrodes to remove the
products of machining and to diminish unwanted
effects like cathodic gas generation and electric
heating.
 The rate at which metal is then removed from the
anode is approximately in inverse proportion to the
distance between the electrodes.
 As machining proceeds, and with the simultaneous
movement of the cathode at a typical rate, for example,
0.02 mm/sec towards the anode, the gap width along
the electrode length gradually tend to a steady-state
value. Under these conditions, a shape, roughly
complementary to that of cathode, will be produced on
the anode. A typical gap width should be about 0.4
mm.
ECM EQUIPMENT CONTD…

 Electrolyte flows into the system at a high

pressure and reaction product with electrolyte
flow into the tank. Reaction products separated
from electrolyte by a micro filter.
 A DC voltage of 2 to 30 voltage is applied
between the tool and the work for machining
operation.
 Fan is provided to constantly remove gas formed
in the working gap at the cathode.
 Since process involves electrical energy, the
power supply is very crucial in the complete
system.
APPLIED POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE
 The potential difference of around 2 to 30 V is
applied for the electrochemical reaction to proceed at
a steady state.
 The applied potential difference should also
overcome the following resistances or potential
drops:
• The electrode potential
• The activation over potential
• Ohmic potential drop
• Concentration over potential
• Ohmic resistance of electrolyte
APPLIED POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE

Fig: Total potential drop in ECM cell

 APPLIED POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE
 As current flows, several processes occur at the
electrodes. The resultant corrosion potential is a
compromise between the various equilibrium
potentials of all anodic and cathodic reactions. The
difference between the resultant potential (E) and each
individual equilibrium potential (Eeq) is called as
polarization and quantified as over potential (η).

The polarization is said to be either anodic, when the anodic

processes on the electrode are accelerated or cathodic when
the cathodic processes are accelerated by moving the
potential in the negative direction. There are three distinct
types of polarization, and these are additive, as expressed in
equation:
When no current flows, electrochemical reactions at an
electrode are in equilibrium, however, to make the
dissolution proceed, one should apply a voltage in excess of
polarization potentials.
APPLIED POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE

Where:
ηact is the activation over potential, a complex function
describing the charge transfer kinetics of an electrochemical
reaction. It is always present and mostly dominant at small
polarization currents/voltages;
η conc is the concentration over potential, a function describing
the mass transport limitations associated with electrochemical
processes. It is predominant at larger polarization currents or
voltages;
iR is the ohmic drop. This function takes into account the
electrolytic resistivity of an environment when the anodic and
cathodic elements of a corrosion reaction are separated by this
environment while still electrically coupled.
MODELLING OF MATERIAL REMOVAL RATE
 Material removal rate (MRR) - an important
characteristic to evaluate efficiency of a non-
traditional machining process.
 In ECM, material removal takes place due to atomic
dissolution of work material. Electrochemical
dissolution is governed by Faraday’s laws.
 The first law states that the amount of
electrochemical dissolution/deposition is proportional
to amount of charge passed through the
electrochemical cell, which may be expressed as:
m ∝ Q,
where m = mass of material dissolved or deposited
Q = amount of charge passed
MODELLING OF MATERIAL REMOVAL RATE CONTD…
 The second law states that the amount of material
deposited or dissolved further depends on
Electrochemical Equivalence (ECE) of the material that
is again the ratio of atomic weight(A) and valency (v).
Thus
MODELLING OF MATERIAL REMOVAL RATE
CONTD…
 The above equation gives idea about rate of
dissolution of a single element. Since most of the
materials machined by this process are difficult-to-
machine alloys, the equation needs modifications.
 Let us assume there are ‘n’ elements in an alloy.
The atomic weights are given as A1, A2, …………..,
An with valency during electrochemical dissolution
as ν1, ν2, …………, νn. The weight percentages of
different elements are α1, α2, ………….., αn (in
decimal fraction) . ρ is the density of the alloy.
 Now for passing a current of I for a time t, the mass
of material dissolved for an element ‘i’ in the alloy is
given by
MODELLING OF MATERIAL REMOVAL RATE CONTD…

The total charge(current) passed

PROCESS VARIABLES AFFECTING THE
RESULTS OF THE ECM PROCESS.

 tool feed rate

 current density
 electrolyte-type, composition, temperature, flow
rate
 tool and fixture-material, construction and finish
 work piece material condition
 cutting gap
Current efficiency is the ratio of the observed
amount of metal dissolved to the theoretical
amount predicted fron Faraday’s law, for the
same specified conditions of ECE, current etc.
Current efficiency = m˙/(A/zF)I
ECM ADVANTAGES

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 Components are not subject to either thermal or
mechanical stress.
 There is no tool wear in ECM.
 Non-rigid and open work pieces and complex
geometrical shapes can be machined easily as
there is no contact between the tool and
workpiece.
 During drilling, deep holes can be made or
several holes at once.
 ECM deburring can debur difficult to access
areas of parts.
 Fragile parts which cannot take more loads and
also brittle material which tend to develop cracks
during machining can be machined easily in
ECM
ECM DISADVANTAGES
 Heavy initial investment
 Requirement of skilled labour

 Difficulty in designing a proper tooling

system
 Electrolyte handling system

 Hydrogen liberation at the tool surface

may cause hydrogen embrittlement of the
surface
ECM ADVANTAGES CONTD…
 The machining process is carried out ion by ion
hence possible to machine intricate shapes and
sizes. And excellent Surface finishes of 25 µ in
can be achieved in ECM
 The machining can be carried out for any
material irrespective of its hardness.
 As there is no tool contact with work piece the
important post process defects such as thermal
damage, stresses, tool wear does not exist and
smooth surface is obtained.
APPLICATIONS
 Highly versatile to process extremely difficult-to-
machine metals and its alloys. (hardness > 420
BHN)
 Material removal by atomic level dissolution by
electrochemical action. Thus, the MRR/machining is
not dependent on the mechanical or physical
properties of the work material.
 It only depends on the atomic weight and valency of
the work material and the condition that it should
be electrically conductive.
 ECM can machine any electrically conductive work
material irrespective of their hardness, strength or
even thermal properties. Moreover, as ECM leads to
atomic level dissolution, the surface finish is
excellent with almost stress-free machined surface
and without any thermal damage. So no post
processing required
APPLICATIONS CONTD…
ECM is used for
 Die sinking
 Profiling and contouring
 Honing
 Grinding
 Drilling
 Micro-machining
 Trepanning
APPLICATIONS CONTD…

Typical applications include:

 Electrochemical sinking of the Disc for Turbine Rotor
Blades
 Difficult to machine hollow shafts, chain pinions, gear
wheels
DYNAMICS OF ELECTROCHEMICAL MACHINING
 We might think how much material will be removed
in a given time for a given current flowing through
electrolyte between tool and work piece.
 ECM can be undertaken without any feed to the tool
or with a feed to the tool so that a steady machining
gap is maintained.
 Let us first analyse the dynamics with NO FEED to
the tool.
 Let us consider an electrolyte flowing through a
parallel gap h between the tool and workpiece. Aim is
to find out gap changes taking place, if a constant
voltage V is applied across the electrodes.
DYNAMICS OF ELECTROCHEMICAL MACHINING CONTD…

Now over a small time period ‘dt’ a current of I is passed

through the electrolyte leading to an electrochemical
dissolution of the material of amounting to change in gap
‘dh’ over an area of s (area of cross ssection of tool ie
reation area.
DYNAMICS OF ELECTROCHEMICAL MACHINING
CONTD…

Mass dw dissolved in time dt

dw = ρ s dh = (1/F) (Ax/vx) I dt
Then dh/dt = (1/F) (Ax / ρvx) (I/s)-----------------(1)
i.e. rate of change of gap proportional to current
density(I/s)
ECM requires high current densities typically 50 to
150 A/cm2
The means by which high current densities are
obtained can be understood by studying the
electrolyte conductivity and inter-electrode gap width.
These parameters are related to the current through
Ohm’s law, which states that the current I flowing in
a conductor is directly proportional to the applied
voltage V.
V= IR----------(2)
R is the resistance of the conductor.
DYNAMICS OF ELECTROCHEMICAL MACHINING
CONTD…

 In electrolysis process, electrolytes are conductors of

electricity. Hence Ohm’s law can be applied to them,
although the resistance of electrolytes may amount to
hundreds of ohms.
Now, the resistance R of a uniform conductor is
directly proportional to its length h, and inversely
proportional to its cross sectional area s. Thus
 R= rh/s--------- (3)
 Where r is the constant of proportionality. If the
conductor is a cube of side 1m, then R = r; ie
resistance of this element in ohms is numerically
equal to the resistivity of the material it is made of in
ohm-meters. r is termed as specific resistivity of the
conductor. The reciprocal of specific resistivity is
known as specific conductivity ke= 1/r. Resistivity is a
measure of the material's ability to oppose electric
current.
DYNAMICS OF ELECTROCHEMICAL MACHINING
CONTD…

 Eq. 2 and Eq.3 can be combined to get

J = I/s = V/rh = (ke V) / h---------(4)
where J= current density, I= current, s= surface area to be
machined, V= applied potential difference, h= gap width, Ke=
electrolyte conductivity
Practically J=50 A/cm2. Cell should be made with high ke and high V
and low h. However, even for strong electrolytes, Ke is small. For
higher current requirements restricts the use of high voltages, so in
practice voltage is only about 10-20V. If ke=0.2 ohm-1 cm-1, and
V=10 V, then gap h must be 0.4 mm. This gap maintained by cathode
at feed rate of .02 mm/s.
 The accumulation of metallic and gaseous products in gap
undesirable, may also lead to short circuit.
 Put value of I from eq. (4) into eq.(1), we get

➔ ➔ = c/h
DYNAMICS OF ELECTROCHEMICAL MACHINING
CONTD…

i.e.. The tool work piece gap under zero feed condition grows
gradually following a parabolic curve, hence under no feed
condition, the dissolution rate falls. Therefore necessary to give
feed to the tool.
DYNAMICS OF ELECTROCHEMICAL MACHINING
CONTD…

Fig: Variation of tool workpiece gap under zero feed condition

DYNAMICS UNDER FEED CONDITION
Generally in ECM a feed f is given to the tool

 Now if the feed rate is high compared to rate of

dissolution, then after sometime the gap would diminish
and may even lead to short circuiting. Under steady
state condition the gap is uniform i.e. the approach of
the tool is compensated by dissolution of the work
material.

We can’t set exactly the value of h* as the initial gap.

Therefore necessary to know how and when the steady
state is reached.
DYNAMICS UNDER FEED CONDITION CONTD…
Considering steady state gap h* for conversion of gap(h)
and time units
DYNAMICS UNDER FEED CONDITION CONTD…

For different values of ho’, h1’ seems to approach 1 as

shown in fig. below. It shows that whatever the initial gap
is given, it tends to a unit gap, ie equilibrium is reached.
It seems from above equation that ECM is self regulating
as MRR is equal to feed rate.
DYNAMICS UNDER FEED CONDITION CONTD…

Fig: Variation in steady state gap with time for different

initial gap
NUMERICAL PROBLEMS

1) In electrochemical machining of pure iron a

material removal rate of 600 mm3/min is required.
Estimate current requirement .
Given AFe = 56
νFe = 2
F = 96500 coulomb
ρ = 7.8 gm/cc
NUMERICAL PROBLEMS CONTD…
SOLUTION TO PROBLEMS
SOLUTION TO PROBLEMS CONTD…
SOLUTION TO PROBLEMS CONTD…