Research on electrochemical discharge-assisted diamond wire cutting of insulating ceramics

Insulating ceramics are difficult to cut because of their high hardness and brittleness properties. This research proposes an electrochemical discharge-assisted diamond wire method for cutting insulating ceramics. The high temperature generated from electrochemical discharge facilitates the spalling of ceramics by the moving diamond wire. Experimental results showed that the material removal rate (MRR) of the new cutting method increased compared with the conventional diamond wire cutting process. Besides, electrochemical discharge had limited influence on the surface roughness and the wear of diamond wire. Additionally, the influence of the process parameters (DC voltage, wire speed, and counterweight mass) on the MRR and surface roughness was analyzed through experiments. The results showed that the MRR and surface roughness initially increased and then decreased with the increasing DC voltage; however, the variation was little. The higher wire speed resulted in an increased MRR and had little influence on the surface roughness. The MRR and surface roughness increased with the increasing counterweight mass.