Optimization of electrochemical micromachining microstructures on nickel-based superalloy with sinusoidal signal

Nickel-based superalloy serves as the principal component in fabricating turbines and engine combustion chambers, with numerous applications in aerospace and automotive manufacturing. Nonetheless, this metal presents significant cutting challenges, and traditional machining methods face various obstacles. Electrochemical micromachining is an unconventional technology in the machining field. Electrochemical micromachining has many advantages including outstanding surface quality, neglected cathode depletion, and high elimination rate. The ultrashort pulse power supply is used widely in electrochemical micro-machining to resolve the issue of excessive machining of the non-processing area. However, ultrashort pulse power is costly and restricts the development of other signals. In this study, electrochemical micromachining with sinusoidal voltage signals was employed to optimize input parameters for producing the most accurate hole, and the effects of MRR, conicity, and overcut on the workpiece were investigated. In addition, microstructures on hard-to-cut superalloy plates were successfully machined, further illustrating the proposed method’s potential.