Micro electrochemical milling of complex structures by using in situ fabricated cylindrical electrode

Abstract

A micro electrochemical milling by layer process is presented in this paper. Because of no tool wear in electrochemical micromachining, a very thin tungsten electrode is used as the tool cathode. By applying ultrashort pulses, dissolution of a workpiece can be restricted to the region very close to the electrode. First, the mathematical model of micro electrochemical milling by layer is established to ensure a good shape precision. Second, the micrometer scale cylindrical electrode is fabricated in situ by electrochemical etching for the production of micro structures. And then, effects of machining parameters on the side gap variation in electrochemical milling process have been studied experimentally. Finally, some 2D micro shapes and 3D complex micro structures with physical dimension of several 10 μm have been obtained.

Fabrication of micro spherical electrode by one pulse EDM and their application in electrochemical micromachining

“…Also in 2005, Kim et al fabricated some 3D micro structures by using dilute sulfuric acid in electrochemical milling process [12,13] microsecond pulses in 2010 [23]. Liu et al fabricated some 3D complex micro structures with physical dimension of several 10 m on superalloy by using micro electrochemical milling by layer method [24]. It is proven that electrochemical micromachining is an effectual method to meet the needs of micro parts fabrication.…”

Ultrasonically driven molten resin bulge for the formation of metal micro-structures in laminated die cavity

“…Guo et al developed a plastic micro-forming system for manufacturing good-quality micro-gears [13,14]. Liu et al performed systematic studies on micro-electrochemical milling by layer process, and they successfully fabricated complex 2D microshapes and 3D complex micro-structures with a physical dimension of several 10 μm [15].…”

Design of a pulse power supply unit for micro-ECM

“…In µECM drilling and milling operations, the tool-electrode can be fabricated online by electrochemical etching [4,[10][11][12][13][14] or in a manner similar to the Wire Electro-Discharge Grinding devices which allows to achieve very small sizes [15,16]. Figure 2 shows an example of a micro tool electrode being machined using electrochemical etching (with a DC voltage) followed by the machining of the workpiece (with a pulsed voltage).…”