Effect of Different Electrolytes on Material Removal Rate, Diameter of Hole, and Spark in Electrochemical Discharge Machining

Advanced materials like glass, quartz, and composites have high potential for their applications in different fields of engineering due to their favorable properties like hardness, chemical inertness, electrical insulation, low thermal conductivity. The recent analytical and experimental work have opened the avenue of machining nonconductive materials like glass, alumina, etc., using an integrated process of electrochemical discharge machining (ECDM). ECDM is a nonconventional machining process which is an integrated process of electrochemical machining (ECM) and electro discharge machining (EDM). In this paper, ECDM has been investigated for drilling operation in glass. This study reports effect of different electrolytes on material removal rate, entrance and exit diameter of the hole, and sparking difference at the machining junction. Three different electrolytic solutions (NaOH, NaNO_3, and H₂SO₄) have been used for ECDM. The performance of three different electrolyte solutions is compared among themselves based on the process performance based on above parameters. The conditions for the maximum material removal rate, less difference in entrance and exit diameter with better sparking stability have been established from the experimental findings.