Electrochemical Grinding-2

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ECG

• Electrochemical grinding (ECG) is an


electrolytic material-removal process
involving a negatively charged
abrasive grinding wheel, a conductive
fluid (electrolyte), and a positively
charged work piece.
• Work piece material corrodes into the
electrolyte solution. ECG is similar to
electrochemical machining except
that the cathode is a specially
constructed grinding wheel instead of
a tool shaped like the contour to be
machined.

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Electrochemical Grinding (ECG)

• Combines electrochemical machining with conventional


grinding.
• The equipment used is similar to conventional grinder except
that the wheel is a rotating cathode with abrasive particles.
The wheel is metal bonded with diamond or Al oxide
abrasives.
• Abrasives serve as insulator between wheel and work piece. A
flow of electrolyte (sodium nitrate) is provided for
electrochemical machining.
• Suitable in grinding very hard materials where wheel wear can
be very high in traditional grinding.
Electro-Chemical Grinding
Electro-chemical grinding (ECG) is a variant process of the basic ECM. It is a burr
free and stress free material removal process, wherein material removal of the
electrically conductive material takes place through mechanical grinding)
process and electro-chemical process.

• The abrasive laden grinding wheel is negatively charged and the workpiece is
positively charged. They are separated by an electrolyte fluid. The fine chips of
the material that is removed from the workpiece (debris) stays in the
electrolyte fluid, which is further filtered out.
• Electrochemical grinding and electrochemical machining are similar processes
with a difference that a wheel substitutes the tool used in ECM. The wheel
shape is similar to the desired work shape.
Process of Grinding in ECM
The main feature of electrochemical grinding (ECG) process is the use of a metallic
grinding wheel which is embedded with insulating abrasive particles such as diamond, set
in the conducting material. Copper, brass, and nickel are the most commonly used
materials while aluminum oxide is a typical abrasive used while grinding steels

The commutator is an electrolytic spindle having carbon brushes and holds the grinding
wheel it receives a negative charge from the DC power supply and work piece is
connected to the positive terminal in the ECG process. The grinding will slightly touches
the work piece and the electrolyte is supplied on to the grinding wheel near the work
piece. The wheel carries the electrolyte through the grinding process. It is there by
results in an electro chemical action a nozzle similar to the one which carries coolant in a
conventional grinding process is provided.
The nozzle enables the flow of the electrolytic fluid to the work tool contact area the
electrolyte along with wheel works simultaneously in the process of cutting. The electro
chemical cells, thus formed further oxidize the surface of the work piece. The wheel
carries away the formed oxidize there by exposing the fresh metal layers beneath the
oxide layer. In this process the major material removal activity takes place by the
electrolytic action which is around 90 percent the rest of the material removal around 10
Schematic of Electrochemical Grinding
Process characteristics
1. The wheels and work piece are electrically conductive.
2. Wheels used last for many grindings - typically 90% of the
metal is removed by electrolysis and 10% from the abrasive
grinding wheel.
3. Capable of producing smooth edges without the burrs caused
by mechanical grinding.
4. Does not produce appreciable heat that would distort work
piece.
5. Decomposes the work piece and deposits them into the
electrolyte solution. The most common electrolytes are sodium
chloride and sodium nitrate
Electrolytes for ECG

• The most efficient electrolyte for ferrous, nickel, and cobalt alloys is
sodium chloride, but this salt solution is not necessarily the best
overall because corrosion problems can be quite severe and
tolerance control can be troublesome. For most alloys and for
tungsten carbide, the best electrolyte formulations contain sodium
nitrate as the active ingredient, with rust inhibitor and chelating-
agent additives. Sodium chloride formulations are recommend only
for titanium, zirconium, and columbium.
• Alkaline formulas, such as sodium carbonate-sodium hydroxide are
recommended for tungsten and molybdenum. Electrochemically
reactive metals, such as copper or silver, are best grounds with
weaker electrolytes such as sodium nitrite.
• Usually electrolytes are formulated at about 120-240 g/L.
Temperature of the electrolyte is usually maintained between 30-
45 ° C; pressure used to pump the fluid is about 35-70 KPa. Filtration
of the electrolyte is important; filtration to 50-100 m m is sufficien
Surface finish
• Surface finish produced by ECG on tungsten carbides can be
ranges from 0.2-0.5 microns.
• In case of steel and various alloys, surface finish up to 0.4-0.6
microns can be easily obtained

Accuracy

• Practical tolerances using ECG are of order of 0.01-0.125 mm. Better


accuracies that this can be achieved by making a full depth cut in one
pass. .
• A drawback of ECG is the loss of accuracy when inside corners are
ground. Because of the electric field effects, radii better than 0.25 �
0.375 millimeter can seldom be achieved
ECG

• Electrochemical grinding (ECG) is an


electrolytic material-removal process
involving a negatively charged
abrasive grinding wheel, a conductive
fluid (electrolyte), and a positively
charged work piece.
• Work piece material corrodes into the
electrolyte solution. ECG is similar to
electrochemical machining except
that the cathode is a specially
constructed grinding wheel instead of
a tool shaped like the contour to be
machined.

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ECG Parameters
• Power requirements: In ECG operations, d-c • Wheel speed: In ECG operations,
power is used, usually at a potential of 4-14 V; wheel speed is most often between
current ranges from 50-3000 A. 25-35 m/s. Wheel speed is important
• Current density: Generally, current densities in that the wheel serves as an
range from 77 A/cm2 when tungsten carbide is electrolyte pump and helps
ground to 230 A/cm2 when steels are ground. maintain an even flow of fluid
• Metal removal rates: Faraday’s laws closely between the wheel and work.
apply to ECG in that metal removal rate is
almost directly proportional to current density. • Tolerances: With careful control of
• A rule of thumb for estimating metal removal electrolyte temperature, specific
rate for most materials is 0.16 cm3/min for gravity, and conductivity, it is possible
each 100 A of applied current. Usually, on to produce parts to within 0.005 mm.
materials harder than Rc 45, metal removal
rates for ECG are up to 10 times faster than
rates possible with conventional grinding.

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Advantages

• Improved wheel life


• Burr free
• No work hardening
• Stress free
• Better finish
• No cracking
• Less frequent wheel dressing
• No metallurgical damage from
heat
• Faster for tough materials
• No wheel loading or glazing
• More precise tolerances

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Applications
The applications of ECG process include the following:
• In production of tungsten carbide cutting tools.
• In burr-free sharpening of hypodermic needles.
• In grinding of super-alloy turbine blades.
• In form grinding of aerospace honeycomb metals.
• In removal of fatigue cracks from steel structures that have been used for
underwater applications.

The ECG process can be applied to the following common


methods of grinding.
1. Face Wheel Grinding.
2. Cone Wheel grinding.
3. Peripheral or Surface grinding.
4. Form Wheel or Square grinding.

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