Influence of electrolyte flow mode on characteristics of electrochemical machining with electrolyte suction tool

Electrochemical machining (ECM) is a promising nontraditional machining method for shape generation, which has many advantages such as capable of processing difficult-to-cut metallic materials without residual stress, good surface quality, high efficiency, no tool wear, etc. However, in many cases, problems of relatively poor machining accuracy and possible environmental risks hinder further application of this process. Hence an electrolyte suction tool has been proposed for ECM, which is expected to give a solution to these problems by restraining the electrolyte flow within the suction tool. In this paper, the effects of different electrolyte flow modes in suction tool on characteristics of ECM process were investigated both theoretically and experimentally. A multi-physics model coupling with a turbulent two-phase flow field and an electrical field was established for the ECM with the suction tool. A set of observational experiments and machining experiments were designed and conducted to clarify the characteristics of the electrolyte flow field and verify the results of simulation. The results show that under the inward flow mode (IFM), much surrounding air is sucked into the machining area and a relatively stable gas-liquid zone is formed, leading to poor machining characteristics. Meanwhile, the electrolyte is confined to a small area under the outward flow mode (OFM), which effectively improves both surface quality and machining accuracy of the ECM process.