Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of Sustainable Simultaneous Electrochemical and Electrodischarge Machining Process: A Step Towards Green Manufacturing

Present research highlights theoretical analysis, analytical modelling, and parametric investigation of simultaneous electrochemical and electrodischarge machining (SECEDM) process factors, focusing their influence on machined surface quality and material removal rate (MRR) during drilling operations. For this, a comparative analysis was conducted between SECEDM and traditional EDM, focusing on machined surface morphology, geometric attributes of the obtained holes, and tool wear. Advanced techniques were employed to comparatively assess the SECEDM process showing that SECEDM is an ECM-based frugal manufacturing process, wherein electrochemical discharges play a crucial role in increasing the current density by 7.06 times. Microholes fabricated using the SECEDM process with 15% electrolyte concentration and 70 V applied voltage exhibited a MRR that was 7.29 and 2.68 times higher than SEDCM and EDM processes, respectively. Furthermore, the SECEDMed holes demonstrated a significant improvement of 75.32% in surface roughness and exhibited superior characteristics, such as recast-free machined hole edges, compared to EDMed holes. These findings demonstrates SECEDM’s characteristics, including the formation of better-machined surface quality with low tool wear and high MRR in the presence of neutral electrolyte with a single machining operation, satisfy the four sustainability indicators, making it a green manufacturing process.