Abstract
Electrochemical machining (ECM) has several advantages for processing difficult-to-cut materials such as no tool wear and high machining efficiency. Electrochemical milling integrates the capability of ECM and the flexibility of numerical control (NC) technology, which can mitigate substantially the difficulty of the complicated tool design in ECM. This paper proposes a flow channel structure for a rotating electrode with a dead-end tube used for electrochemical milling of nickel-based alloy GH4169/Inconel 718 in which some electrolyte outlets are located in the side wall of the electrode. The number of electrolyte outlets is determined reasonably well through flow field analysis with the aim of distributing the electrolyte flow more uniformly. Experiments show that the material removal rate, the surface quality, and the uniformity of the machining gap can all be significantly improved with an increased feed rate. When the machining depth is 3 mm in one pass, a feed rate of 2.1 mm min−1 is achieved experimentally with a suitable combination of machining parameters. Finally, a sample with thin-walled structures is produced stably at a feed rate of 2.1 mm min−1 and a machining depth of 3 mm, in which the feed direction changes six times and the total processing distance is 94.6 mm. The inner-jet electrochemical milling with the proposed electrode has a good efficiency and stability for processing thin-walled components with a large removal depth.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hu DY, Mao JX, Song J, Meng FJ, Shan XM, Wang RQ (2016) Experimental investigation of grain size effect on fatigue crack growth rate in turbine disc superalloy GH4169 under different temperatures. Mater Sci Eng 669:318–331
Deng GJ, Tu ST, Zhang XC, Wang QQ, Qin CH (2015) Grain size effect on the small fatigue crack initiation and growth mechanisms of nickel-based superalloy GH4169. Eng Fract Mech 134:433–450
Akhtar W, Sun JF, Chen WY (2016) Effect of machining parameters on surface integrity in high speed milling of super alloy GH4169/Inconel 718. Mater Manuf Process 31(5):620–627
Yang XW, Li WY, Li JL, Xiao B, Ma TJ, Huang Z, Guo J (2015) Finite element modeling of the linear friction welding of GH4169 superalloy. Mater Des 87:215–230
Lin YC, Wu XY, Chen XM, Chen J, Wen DX, Zhang JL, Li LT (2015) EBSD study of a hot deformed nickel-based superalloy. J Alloy Compd 640:101–113
Yang XW, Li WY, Li J, Ma TJ, Guo J (2015) FEM analysis of temperature distribution and experimental study of microstructure evolution in friction interface of GH4169 super alloy. Mater Des 84:133–143
Chen XM, Lin YC, Wen DX, Zhang JL, He M (2014) Dynamic recrystallization behavior of a typical nickel-based superalloy during hot deformation. Mater Des 57:568–577
Liu WD, Ao SS, Li Y, Zhao CF, Luo Z, Li Q, Luo T (2016) Elimination of the over cut from a repaired turbine blade tip post-machined by electrochemical machining. J Mater Process Technol 231:27–37
Torres A, Puertas I, Luis CJ (2016) EDM machinability and surface roughness analysis of Inconel 600 using graphite electrodes. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 84(9):2671–2688
Venkatesan K, Ramanujam R, Kuppan P (2016) Parametric modeling and optimization of laser scanning parameters during laser assisted machining of Inconel 718. Opt Laser Technol 78:10–18
Nayak AA, Gangopadhyay S, Sahoo DK (2015) Modelling, simulation and experimental investigation for generating ‘I’ shaped contour on Inconel 825 using electro chemical machining. J Manuf Process 23:269–277
Zhu ZW, Wang DY, Bao J, Wang NF, Zhu D (2015) Cathode design and experimental study on the rotate-print electrochemical machining of revolving parts. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 80(9):1957–1963
Zhang Y, Xu ZY, Zhu Y, Zhu D (2016) Machining of a film-cooling hole in a single-crystal superalloy by high-speed electrochemical discharge drilling. Chin J Aeronaut 29(2):560–570
Qu NS, Xu ZY (2013) Improving machining accuracy of electrochemical machining blade by optimization of cathode feeding directions. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 68(5):1565–1572
Xu ZY, Xu Q, Zhu D, Gong T (2013) A high efficiency electrochemical machining method of blisk channels. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 62:187–190
Li HY, Zhang MQ, Cheng XY (2014) Research on ECM technology of high-efficient and integral one-process forming of thin-walled casing. Electromach Mould (in Chinese) 1:60–62
Rajurkar KP, Zhu D, McGeough JA, Kokaz J, De Silva A (1999) New development in electrochemical machining. CIRP Ann 48(2):567–579
Kozak J (1998) Mathematical models for computer simulation of electrochemical machining processes. J Mater Process Techol 76(1):170–175
Kozak J, Chuchro M, Ruszaj A, Karbowski K (2000) The computer aided simulation of electrochemical process with universal spherical electrodes when machining sculptured surfaces. J Mater Process Technol 107(1):283–287
Ruszaj A, Zybura-Skrabalak M (2001) The mathematical modelling of electrochemical machining with flat ended universal electrodes. J Mater Process Technol 109(3):333–338
Hinduja S, Pattavanitch J (2016) Experimental and numerical investigations in electro-chemical milling. CIRP J Manuf Sci Technol 12:79–89
Natsu W, Ikeda T, Kunieda M (2007) Generating complicated surface with electrolyte jet machining. Precis Eng 31(1):33–39
Vanderauwera W, Vanloffelt M, Perez R, Lauwers B (2013) Investigation on the performance of macro electrochemical milling. Procedia CIRP 6:356–361
Fu XQ, Kang M, Yang Y, Liu ZX (2013) Research on flow field simulation and experiment of NC-ECM with spherical cathode. China Mech Eng (in Chinese) 24(08):1038–1041
Liu GX, Luo HP, Zhang YJ, Qian J, Liu JW, Liu CH (2016) Pulse electrochemical machining of large lead ball nut raceway using a spherical cathode. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 85(1):191–200
Wang XD, Qu NS, Fang XL, Li HS (2016) Electrochemical drilling with constant electrolyte. J Mater Process Technol 238:1–7
Zhu D, Zeng YB, Xu ZY, Zhang XY (2011) Precision machining of small holes by the hybrid process of electrochemical removal and grinding. CIRP Ann Manuf Technol 60:247–250
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Niu, S., Qu, N., Fu, S. et al. Investigation of inner-jet electrochemical milling of nickel-based alloy GH4169/Inconel 718. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 93, 2123–2132 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-017-0680-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-017-0680-8