Powder mixed electrochemical discharge process for micro machining of C103 niobium alloy.

This work demonstrates the viability of the powder-mixed micro-electrochemical discharge machining (PMECDM) process to fabricate micro-holes on C103 niobium-based alloy for high temperature applications. Three processes are involved simultaneously i.e. spark erosion, chemical etching, and abrasive grinding for removal of material while the classical electrochemical discharge machining process involves double actions i.e. spark erosion, and chemical etching. The powder-mixed electrolyte process resulted in rapid material removal along with a better surface finish as compared to the classical microelectrochemical discharge machining (MECDM). Further, the results are optimized through a multiobjective optimization approach and study of the surface topography of the hole wall surface obtained at optimized parameters. In the selected range of experimental parameters, PMECDM shows a higher material removal rate (MRR) and lower surface roughness (Ra) (MRR: 2.8 mg/min and Ra of 0.61 mm) as compared to the MECDM process (MRR: 2.01 mg/min and corresponding Ra of 1.11 µm). A detailed analysis of the results is presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]