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CHAPTER 4
INTRODUCTION
What????
o is a process in which material removed through contact with a strong chemical etchant (typically acids or alkalies).
How???
o The metal is dissolved atom by atom and converted into a soluble compound over the entire exposed surface.
Why???
o widely used in the electronics and aerospace industries including integrated circuit lead frames, surface mount paste screens, optical attenuators, encoder disks, jewelry and meshes/filters.
HISTORY
Organic acids first used for corrosive purposes in 400 B.C. 15th Century: salt, charcoal, and vinegar as etchants, linseed oil paint as maskant Used extensively in armor 18th and 19th century discoveries propelled chemical milling.
TYPES OF CHM
Types of Chemical Machining
PROCEDURES OF CHM
CLEANING
STEPS
MASKING
ETCHING
DEMASKING
CLEANING
The purpose of cleaning is to ensure that the material will be removed uniformly from the surfaces to be etched.
MASKING
A protective coating called a maskant is applied to certain portions of the part surface.
Made from material that is chemically resistant to the etchant. Materials: neoprene, polyvinylchloride, polyethylene, and other polymers
Masking accomplished by any of three methods: Cut and peel Photographic resist Screen resist
MASKANT
Masking material which is called maskant is used to protect workpiece surface from chemical etchant. Polymer or rubber based materials are generally used for masking procedure. The selected maskant material should have following properties:
Tough enough to withstand handling Well adhering to the workpiece surface Easy scribing Inert to the chemical reagent used Able to withstand the heat used during chemical machining Easy and inexpensive removal after chemical machining etching
ETCHING
The part is immersed in an etchant which chemically attacks those portions of the part surfaces that are not masked. Convert the work material into a salt that dissolves in the etchant and thereby removed the surfaces. Factors in selection of etchant: Work material Depth and rate of material removal Surface finish requirements Etchant must also be matched with the type of maskant to insure that maskant material is not chemically attacked
ETCHANT
Etchants are the most influential factor in the chemical machining of any material. Various etchant are available due to workpiece material. The best possible etchant should have properties as follow:High etch rate
Good surface finish Minimum undercut Compatibility with commonly used maskants, High dissolved-material capacity Economic regeneration Etched material recovery Easy control of process Personal safety maintenance
DEMASKING
The maskant is removed from the part. Sequence of processing steps in chemical milling: (1) clean raw part, (2) apply maskant, (3) scribe, cut, and peel the maskant from areas to be etched, (4) etch, and (5) remove maskant and clean to yield finished part.
Photoresist removed
PCM
Advantages
Low cost tooling Tooling such as computer not limited to one part Used on a variety of materials No burrs created No residual stress introduced Disadvantages Cannot create very thin parts Emphasizes surface defects Uses hazardous chemicals
CHM (IMMERSION)
Similar to PCM Maskant attached to areas not desired to be machined Entire part immersed in etchant chemical Can be repeated until correct part created
ECM
ECM is a process that relies on the principle of electrolysis for material removal, invented by Michel Faraday (1833). When a direct current (DC) power supply is applied to two electrically conductive materials that are submerged in an electrolyte, a plating action result (electroplating). The plating action deposits material from the positive pole (anode) to the negative pole (cathode)
Principle of electrolysis
ECM
ECM is a reverse application
of electroplating process. Introduced by Gusseff (1929), & development in the 1950s. A deplating action between a conductive workpiece and a shaped tool produces a predictable erosion of the workpiece. This deplating action in a controlled manner to produce complex shapes in diffult-tomachine alloys. A high-current, low-voltage DC power supply is connected between an electrically conductive tool and workpiece.
ECM
The shaped tool is connected to the negative polarity and the workpiece is connected to the positive. A conductive electrolyte flows through a small gap that is maintained between the tool and the workpiece in a reverse image of the tool. During this time, the electrolyte flows through the gap at a high velocity removing the deplated workpiece material before it has a change to plate onto the tool.
machined with a sodium chloride electrolyte, the resulting chemical reaction is:
2Fe + 4H2O + O2 = 2Fe (OH)3 +H2
The tool may also be connected to a CNC machine to produce even more complex shapes with a single tool.
2. Electrolyte
Material NaCl and NaNO3 Temperature 20OC 500C Flow rate 20 lpm per 100 A current Pressure 0.5 to 20 bar Dilution 100 g/l to 500 g/l
3.Working gap 0.1 mm to 2 mm 4.Overcut 0.2 mm to 3 mm 5.Feed rate 0.5 mm/min to 15 mm/min 6.Electrode material Copper, brass, bronze 7.Surface roughness, Ra 0.2 to 1.5 m
ECM APPLICATION
The most common application of ECM is in high accuracy duplication.
It is also used to make cavities and holes in various products. Sinking operations (ECM) are also used as an alternative to EDM. It is commonly used on thin walled, easily deformable and brittle material because they would probably develop cracks with conventional machining. The two most common products of ECM are turbine/compressor blades and rifle barrels. Each of those parts require machining of extremely hard metals with certain mechanical specifications that would be really difficult to perform on conventional machines.
ELECTROCHEMICAL GRINDING
Uses a rotating cathode embedded with abrasive particles for applications comparable to milling, grinding and sawing
Most of the metal removal is done by the electrolyte, resulting in very low tool wear
ADVANTAGES OF ECM
ECM is simple, fast and versatile method. Surface finish can be extremely good. Fairly good tolerance can be obtained. There is no cutting forces therefore clamping is not required except for controlled motion of the work piece. There is no heat affected zone. Very accurate. Can machine harder metals than the tool.
DISADVANTAGES/LIMITATION OF ECM
Large power consumption and the related problems. Maintenances of higher tolerances require complicated. The cost of the equipment is very high. Need more area for installation. Electrolytes may destroy the equipment. The tool is more difficult to make since it must be insulated to maintain correct conductive paths to the work piece.
WORKPIECE MATERIAL
Virtually any material can be used as long as an etchant and maskant are available:
- Aluminum - Titanium - Steel - Brass - many more!
COMING NEXT..
THE BASIC CALCULATION ON ECM
The first law states that the amount of electrochemical dissolution or deposition is proportional to amount of charge passed through the electrochemical cell, which may be expressed as:
m Q
where m = mass of material dissolved or deposited Q = amount of charge passed
I. t. A m F.
m I.A MRR t. F..
where I = current = density of the material
m i a . . i
Q i .A i mi F. i F.m i . i Qi Ai F.a .. i . i Qi Ai
END OF CHAPTER 4