Surface Integrity of Wire Electrochemical Machined Inconel 718

Wire electrochemical machining (wire ECM) combines the advantages of wire electrical discharge machining (wire EDM) and electrochemical machining (ECM). The advantages of flexible 2.5 dimensional machining without the need for an application-specific fixture are combined with the excellent surface integrity properties of the ECM. These properties make the process particularly suitable for highly critical components, like fir tree slots in turbine discs. Knowledge of the resulting surface integrity in terms of microstructure formation, oxide layers, etc. is essential for such components. Therefore, in this paper modified rim zones are investigated by wire ECM e.g. with energy filtered transmission electron microscopy.