Experimental Investigation for Quality of Micro-holes Machined Using Electrochemical Discharge Machining Process

The electrochemical discharge machining (ECDM) process is a fabulous machining process for micro-manufacturing of difficult to cut materials. In this work, sincere efforts have been made to the machining of micro-holes on carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite. The experimentation study has been conducted using Taguchi’s L9 orthogonal array with process parameters such as applied voltage, electrolyte concentration and duty cycle. The thickness of the surface damaged zone (TSDZ) has been observed as output response characteristics. The analysis of results revealed that TSDZ of the machined hole is significantly affected by the applied voltage and duty cycle of the ECDM process. The optical images of the machined hole revealed the presence of uneven burn, surface damages and HAZs around the periphery of the hole.