Design and implementation of an electrode feed rate control system in the electrochemical drilling process

Abstract

The interelectrode gap distance control is essential for preventing short circuit and spark discharge occurrences in the machining gap and ensuring a constant distance between the tool electrode (shortly electrode) and the workpiece throughout the electrochemical drilling (ECD) process. In this study, a gap distance control system was designed and implemented in the constructed ECD machine tool. The gap distance control strategy was based on the machining current's discrete measurement (in microsecond intervals) and changing the gap distance according to a set current value by feeding the electrode towards the workpiece or retracting it during the ECD process. The small diameter deep hole ECD experiments were conducted using 0.5 mm diameter side insulated tubular rotational electrodes with through-hole electrolyte flushing to drill Hadfield and AISI 1040 steels. The experimental results demonstrated the success of the developed control system in ECD operations yielding uniform hole geometries and smooth hole surfaces. The use of the control system eliminated the undesirable formations of spark discharges and short circuit pulses.