Influence of vibration on micro-tool fabrication by electrochemical machining

Recent trend in societies is to have micro products in limited space. Efficient micromachining technologies are essential to fabricate micro products which in turn will be helpful in saving material. energy and enhancing functionality. For micromachining, micro tool is very much essential. This paper is aimed at finding the most suitable and quickest method of micro tool fabrication by electrochemical machining. Tungsten micro tools were fabricated at different machining conditions to know the influences of voltage, frequency of tool vibration, amplitude of vibration of tungsten tool, concentrations of electrolyte and dipping length of tool inside the electrolyte. Fabrication of uniform diameter of micro tool is possible at each applied voltage starting at 2 V to higher volt utilizing vibration with appropriate amplitude. Good quality micro tools with different shapes can be fabricated by controlling a proper diffusion layer thickness within a very short time introducing the vibrations of micro tool. Finally, the fabricated micro tools were applied for machining precise micro holes and micro channel using electrochemical micromachining (EMM). (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.