Jesus M. Orona-Hinojos

By Jesus M. Orona-Hinojos

Electrical discharge machining is a machining method generally used for machining hard metals, those that would be high cost or have poor performance to machine with other techniques using, e.g., lathes, drills, or conventional machining. Therefore, also known as thermal processes like EDM, Plasma or Laser cutting can be used in drilling operations with poor metallurgical quality on cutting edge and will be necessary complement with other processes such as electrochemical machining (ECM). Both ECM and EDM processes use electrical current under direct-current (DC) voltage to electrically power the material removal rate (MRR) from the workpiece. However in ECM, an electrically conductive liquid or electrolyte is circulated between the electrode(s) and the workpiece for permitting electrochemical dissolution of the workpiece material. While the EDM process, a nonconductive liquid or dielectric is circulated between the cathode and workpiece to permit electrical discharges in the gap there between for removing the workpiece material. Both are principle too different, EC using an electrical conductive and ED using a dielectric medium. But exist a way that can to do a combination of Pulsed EC + ED Simultaneous and allowing the coexist both process, in a semidielectric medium, where both condition exist in the same time, therefore in this hybrid is possible create a tooling device dual cathode for drilling process with promissory advantages fast hole for this innovative hybrid ECDM Simultaneous, this hybrid it’s knew as blue arc drilling technology.

Part of the book: Drilling Technology