Effect of ultrasonic vibration on the single discharge of electrochemical discharge machining

Electrochemical discharge machining (ECDM) is one of the non-traditional processes which employs physical and chemical phenomena to remove the material from the non-conductive workpiece. Moreover, some technical augmentations have been added to the mentioned process to achieve a more efficient machining method. Typically, ECDM includes numerous electric discharges, but study on a single discharge, with/without application of external augmentation, leads to understanding the complicated nature of the ECDM process and the effect of technical augmentation. In this research, the ECDM process is studied in the mode of single discharge. Also, ultrasonic vibration, as a technical augmentation, is added to the process (UAECDM) and related effects are studied. For this purpose, special configuration and equipment are used to apply ultrasonic vibration and generate only single discharge. Material removal and tool wear are two important characteristics of drilling process which can be considered to determine the machining efficiency. The current signal is used to determine the current variation and discharge(s) condition. Results showed that the application of ultrasonic vibration changed the current signal pattern to increase discharge numbers in constant condition. Also, ultrasonic vibration increased the material removal up to 35%, while tool wear reduced between 3% and 14%.