The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-019-04209-9

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Vibration-assisted electrochemical machining: a review

Hassan El-Hofy 1

Received: 5 February 2019 / Accepted: 30 July 2019

# Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2019

Abstract
Electrochemical machining (ECM) uses a direct current (DC) at high density of 0.5–5 A/mm2 which is passed through the
electrolytic solution that fills the gap between an anodic workpiece and a pre-shaped cathodic tool. At the anodic surface, metal is
dissolved into metallic ions and thus as the tool moves towards the workpiece at a constant feed proportional to the dissolution
rate of the anodic surface, then its shape is copied into the workpiece. During ECM, the electrolyte is forced to flow through a
narrow interelectrode gap at high velocity of more than 5 m/s to intensify the mass/charge transfer through the sublayer near the
anodic surface. The electrolyte removes the dissolution by-products, e.g., hydroxide of metal, heat, and gas bubbles generated in
the interelectrode gap. These machining by-products affect the process accuracy, efficiency, stability, and productivity. Ensuring
the continuous flushing of these products is, therefore, essential. One of these methods is through the use of pulsed voltage.
Introducing vibrational motion, at low or ultrasonic frequency, to the tool/workpiece or the machining medium became a viable
alternative for the evacuation of the machining products during the vibration-assisted ECM (VA-ECM). Other attempts to further
enhance VA-ECM performance include the proper tool design, addition of abrasive particles to the electrolyte medium, and use of
magnetic flux assistance. This paper reviews the principles of VA-ECM, main research directions, process parameters, and
performance indicators. Numerous fields of VA-ECM which include micro-slotting, micro-drilling, macro-drilling, electrochem-
ical wire cutting (ECWC), polishing and finishing, and micro-tool fabrication have been covered. Several mathematical and
statistical modeling and optimization techniques have been also examined. The current paper also outlines possible trends for
future research work.

Keywords Vibration-assisted ECM . Material removal . Stability . Ultrasonic . Frequency . Amplitude . Current density

1 Introduction rates (MRR). The process is adopted in forging dies, aero-

space, automobile, electronics, and computer industries [1].
The material removal in ECM is based on the principle of Controlling the part size and the machining stability, in
anodic dissolution according to Faraday’s laws of electrolysis. ECM, is a difficult task because of the complex flow field in
ECM is used to machine complex shapes in conductive mate- the interelectrode gap (IEG) which causes irregular anodic
rials, which are difficult-to-machine by other conventional dissolution and lack of dimensional accuracy. The narrow
methods. The process is independent of the material hardness machining gap accommodates a mixture of electrolyte, gas
and toughness; it is burr and stress free with the advantages of bubbles, and sludge which adversely affects the distribution
achieving good surface quality and high material removal of the current density, MRR, surface quality, and product ac-
curacy. During normal ECM, the formation of a passive oxide
layer on the workpiece surface stops the current flow through
Hassan El-Hofy is on leave from Alexandria University, Faculty of the IEG and negatively affects MRR, accuracy, and the pro-
Engineering, Alexandria 21544, Egypt. cess productivity. Proper evacuation of these products and the
removal of the passive oxide layer are, therefore, necessary for
* Hassan El-Hofy ensuring improved process stability, accuracy, and efficiency.
hassan.elhofy@ejust.edu.eg In order to achieve such goals, pulsed voltage and the vibra-
1
tion of the cathode/anode/electrolyte are applied in VA-ECM
Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Department (IME),
School of Innovative Design Engineering (IDE), Egypt-Japan
by many researchers. One of the most effective ways of in-
University of Science and Technology (E-JUST), Alexandria 21934, creasing the accuracy of ECM is to use pulsed voltage of short
Egypt durations. In order to improve the process performance,
 Int J Adv Manuf Technol

Rajkumar et al. [2] introduced the abrasive-assisted ECM for Vibrang part Vibraon
Tool Low frequency
machining aluminum-boron carbide nanocomposite. Workpiece Ultrasonic frequency
For increasing the process accuracy by reducing the IEG Tool + workpiece Amplitude
Electrolyte Direcon
size, Davydov et al. [3] selected a proper electrolyte, used a
gas-liquid mixture as an electrolyte, provided tool insulation, Electrolyte Applied voltage
and applied a pulsed voltage. Using voltage pulses greater Type Pulsed/straight
Concentraon Quality of parts by On-me
than 1 ms made it possible to machine with small IEG. Addives VA-ECM Off-me
Under such condition, the machining accuracy resulted from Temperature Duty cycle
Hydrodynamics Frequency
the reduction of the change of the electrolyte conductivity
along that small gap which reduced the changes on shape
Electrode tool
errors. Moreover, a decrease of pulse time in the range of 1– Shape
100 μs enhanced these effects which caused further accuracy Size
Insulaon
improvement. Due to the smaller gap thickness associated Interelectrode gap
with short pulses, the electrolyte temperature rise became Feed rate

more intensive which increased the electrolyte conductivity

Fig. 1 Parameters affecting the quality of VA-ECM machined parts
and machining at high current density became possible [4, 5].
The principles of ECM using ultrashort voltage pulses and
the associated anodic dissolution localization issues were the current review covers several ECM aspects such as surface
discussed by Skoczypiec [6] and Kumar et al. [7]. Ultrashort roughness, product accuracy in terms of cut geometry, hole
(nanosecond range) voltage pulses gave the possibility to conicity, and overcut. Enhancing the process efficiency in
achieve high localization of electrochemical dissolution terms of MRR, machining stability, machinability, and in-
(ECD) action. Under these conditions, the current density is creasing feed rate is also covered. Statistical, mathematical,
determined by the activation overpotential and the dissolution finite element method (FEM), and the computational fluid
process is driven by the periodic electric double-layer charg- dynamic (CFD) models are also reviewed. Figure 3 shows
ing and discharging process. Moreover, the time of the the percentage of reviewer’s coverage to the different VA-
double-layer charging to the activation overpotential depends ECM performance indicators. Accordingly, 21% were con-
on the gap thickness; therefore, the voltage pulse length can cerned with enhancing MRR and 13% covered surface rough-
define the spatial resolution of machining. According to the ness or overcut. The current density or hole conicity was cov-
Bulter-Volmer equation (valid for active state of dissolution), ered by 8% while each of the other issues related to accuracy,
the current density is exponentially related to the feed rate, and machining stability was covered by 6% of the
overpotential; therefore, a small change of the electrode po- researchers.
tential leads to a large change of the current density; thus, Figure 4 shows the percentage coverage of researchers
additional effect of dissolution localization occurs [8]. Using to the frequency of vibration, type of voltage used, and
ultrashort voltage pulses allowed machining of micro parts the vibrating element during VA-ECM. It is evidently
with an accuracy of less than 0.01 mm. Moreover, microstruc- clear that 52% of work was conducted at low frequency
tures were also machined to 10-μm depth, thus demonstrating of vibration while 48% of work was conducted using ul-
the potential for the fabrication of high aspect ratio features trasonic (US) frequency of vibration. The importance of
using pulsed voltage [9]. using pulsed voltage is evident since it was implemented
VA-ECM is another alternative which has been adopted to by 67% of researchers while 33% used the straight DC
improve the evacuation of the machining products from the voltage. The majority of work was conducted using the
IEG. Moreover, the ultrasonic (US) assistance can remove the cathodic tool vibration (67%), while workpiece vibration,
passive oxide layer from the anodic surface. Consequently, the combined workpiece and tool vibration, and the electro-
MRR, accuracy, and surface quality are improved. Figure 1 lyte vibration were implemented by 14%, 14%, and 5% of
shows the main parameters that affect the quality of machined researchers respectively.
parts by the VA-ECM. These include factors related to elec- In this paper, the principles of VA-ECM are covered in
trode tool, vibrating element, electrolyte properties, applied Section 2. Micromachining applications including micro-
voltage, and the vibration characteristics. slotting and micro-drilling are dealt with in Section 3.
A large body of research has reported investigations re- Drilling and wire cutting applications are covered in
garding VA-ECM for understanding the process behavior Sections 4 and 5 respectively. Polishing, finishing, and
and improving performance characteristics. Most of this work micro-tool fabrication are discussed in Section 6 while the
dealt with improving the process accuracy, surface quality, process modeling and optimization techniques are presented
and process efficiency using experimental, mathematical in Section 7. A summary and outlook are dealt with in
modeling and optimization techniques. As shown in Fig. 2, Sections 8 and 9 respectively.
Int J Adv Manuf Technol

Fig. 2 Review directions

Accuracy Surface quality Process efficiency Modeling Opmizaon

Slot
Roughness Removal rate Mathemacal ANOVA
geometry

Hole
Stability Finite element RSM
conicity

Overcut Machinability CFD

Feed rate

2 Principles of VA-ECM Generally, the US vibration enhanced the removal of heat

and reaction products out of the machining zone. It supported
As manifested in Fig. 5, the oscillation movement of the work- the diffusion process, decreased the rate of passivation,
piece is superimposed by its downward movement of the tool changed the coefficient of electrochemical machinability (cur-
electrode. In the VA-ECM process, high amount of time is rent efficiency × conductivity) and created optimal hydrody-
used for gap flushing; therefore, MRR is increased in compar- namic conditions from the surface layer point of view [12].
ison to normal ECM. Due to the high localization of the elec- During USECM, the US waves created cavitation
trolytic dissolution action [4, 5, 8], vibration-assisted pulse microbubbles near the workpiece surface. Moreover, in the
electrochemical micromachining (VA-PECMM) is applied area adjacent to the electrode surface, micro-jets with high
for machining complex microstructures or precise machining velocity (102 m/s) were also created which gave the possibility
of cutting tools or structured metal parts [10]. Figure 6 shows of intensification of mass, electric charge, and heat transfer,
the effect of vibration amplitude on the gap size for a given leading to the increase in the electrochemical dissolution rate.
frequency and minimum gap size [11]. These phenomena were useful when the passivation layer was
Skoczypiec [12] analyzed the electrolyte flow through the created during ECM. Such a layer was removed by using the
gap in the US-assisted ECM (USECM) at 20-kHz frequency high pulse pressure (102 MPa) created by the US vibration
and less than 10-μm amplitude. He proved that the US vibra- [13, 14]. In this regard, Ruszaj et al. [15, 16] conducted pri-
tion changed the dissolution process in IEG such that the mary investigation of EC micromachining supported by US
machined allowance and the MRR were increased. vibration at 22 kHz and amplitude 16 μm and concluded that

Fig. 3 Performance indicators 30.0

covered by researchers
25.0
21.3
Percent of coverage

20.0

15.0 13.1 13.1

10.0 8.2 8.2

6.6 6.6 6.6 6.6 6.6
5.0 3.3

0.0

Performance indicator
 Int J Adv Manuf Technol

Fig. 4 Parameters covered by 100.0

Frequency Voltage Vibrang element
researchers 90.0
80.0

Percent of coverage
66.7 66.7
70.0
60.0 52.4
47.6
50.0
40.0 33.3
30.0
20.0 14.3 14.3
10.0 4.8
0.0

Parameter

the US vibration decreases the surface roughness parameter, In a further work by Skoczypiec [17], it was reported that
Ra, compared with the classical ECM process. They summa- the use of combination of synchronized low-frequency pulsed
rized the effect of US in ECM as follows: voltage and an oscillating and feeding electrode enabled ma-
chining with small IEG in the range of 10–50 μm and signif-
& Supports diffusion and decreases the rate of passivation. icantly higher current densities. At minimum gap thickness,
& Decreases the potential drop in the layers adjacent to the voltage was switched on for 500–5000 μs leading to the
electrodes. material removal process. Under such conditions, low amount
& Increases the coefficient of electrochemical machinability. of electrolyte was transported through the IEG. When the gap
& Creates optimal hydrodynamic conditions for good sur- was maximized, a large amount of electrolyte was supplied to
face layer quality. the IEG, thus flushing away the machining products. Rajurkar

Fig. 5 Variation of gap size in one

period of time [10]
Int J Adv Manuf Technol

Fig. 6 Variation of interelectrode

gap with vibration amplitude at
fixed initial gap [11]

and Zhu [1] developed a precision ECM process using an Numerous fields of VA-ECM have been covered by many
eccentric orbital workpiece movement with traditional ECM. researchers. These areas include micro-slotting [11, 23, 24],
Their theoretical and experimental analyses indicated that micro-drilling [10, 25–32], macro-drilling [33–39], electro-
adding the orbital motion to ECM distributed the electrolyte chemical wire cutting (ECWC) [40–45], polishing and
flow more uniformly and, hence, caused a significant reduc- finishing [46, 47], and micro-tool fabrication [48] as shown
tion in the flow field disrupting phenomena that adversely in Fig. 8. Modeling and optimization were covered by many
affected machining accuracy. The proposed method offered researchers [11, 12, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26, 35–43, 45, 49–54]. The
substantial gains in the process accuracy and the uniformity summary of the vibration-assisted ECM (VA-ECM) condi-
of the machined components. In a further work, Hewidy et al. tions, machining variables, and performance indicators are
[18] proposed the cathodic tool orbital motion technique to shown in Table 1.
enhance the ECM accuracy and eliminate the presence of the
central spikes. On the other hand, Sadollah and El-Hofy [19]
used the orbital ECM technique to remove the protrusions
formed in EDM machined surfaces. Paczkowski et al. [20]
3 Micromachining
machined curvilinear slots using shaped tool electrodes, vi-
Electrochemical micromachining (EMM) is gaining impor-
brating at frequency of 30 Hz and amplitude of 0.1 mm in
tance in slotting and drilling of holes due to its advantages
the longitudinal direction and 0.05 mm in the traverse
that include no tool wear, high MRR, absence of burrs, and
direction.
its ability to produce complex shapes irrespective of work-
The distribution of gas, sludge, and temperature in the IEG
piece hardness.
affects the electrolyte conductivity and determines the ma-
chining accuracy in ECM. In order to improve the heat trans-
Micro-slotting When fabricating micro-slots, high flow resis-
fer, MRR, and surface profile, Fang et al. [21] and Zeng et al.
tance occurs with the increase of the slot length. Material
[22] adopted the technique of the pulsating electrolyte supply
hydroxide and other machining products accumulate in the
as shown in Fig. 7. Their experimental results showed that the
outlet of the electrolyte which limits the maximum possible
MRR and surface profile were enhanced using such a tech-
feed rate of the cathodic tool electrode. In order to solve such a
nique [21].
problem, Xiaochen et al. [23] and Jia et al. [54] proposed the
idea of flow channel contraction using a cathodic tool with
variable cross section to machine micro-slots of 300 ± 30 μm
depth and 60 mm length in stainless steel. Such a contraction
increased the electrolyte flow velocity along the IEG and
flushed away the machining by-products. Moreover, the addi-
tion of the cathodic tool vibration, at low frequency of 10 Hz
and 0.3-mm amplitude, enhanced the electrolyte flushing pro-
cess, doubled the feed rate, and ensured the uniformity of the
machined slots. Furthermore, Feng et al. [11] fabricated
microslot arrays of complex shapes, using the traditional
ECM, which suffered from poor stability and low machining
Fig. 7 Pulsating electrolyte configuration [21] accuracy. However, the addition of low-frequency vibration to
 Int J Adv Manuf Technol

Fig. 8 Research fields of VA- 30.00

ECM 26.47

25.00

Percent of coverage
20.59
20.00
14.71 14.71
15.00

10.00 8.82
5.88 5.88
5.00 2.94

0.00

Research field

ECM improved the process stability while the average slot tool provided an easy electrolyte supply to the narrow
width and slope were decreased by increasing the vibration micromachining zone, thereby improving both the shape con-
amplitude and frequency. In a further work, Goshal et al. [24] trol and surface quality [26]. An attempt was also made for
generated various cross-sectional profiles using different evacuating the electrolyte from the IEG through the use of the
micro-tool shapes. Their results showed that vibrating the proper tool design by Yang et al. [27] who drilled micro-holes
micro-tool with 0.3 μm and low frequency of 85 Hz improved in 300-μm SS 304 using cylindrical and semi-cylindrical ro-
the surface finish. Such an observation was related to the tran- tating tools, vibrating at frequency of 40 kHz, and 4-μm am-
sient bubble collapse and, moreover, the impact of energetic plitude. Consequently, the use of semi-cylindrical tools in-
micro-jets on the anodic surface which caused the effective creased the flow space and permitted drilling holes to a depth
flushing of the machining products from the IEG [13, 14]. of 300 μm which was difficult to achieve using cylindrical
tools without US vibration. Moreover, the use of US vibration
Micro-drilling Micro-hole drilling at high aspect ratio is a chal- improved electrolyte diffusion and convection as well as the
lenge in EMM due to the difficulty of removal of the machin- gas bubbles dispersion which, in turn, saved a considerable
ing products from the IEG. In this regard, Goshal et al. [25] machining time, increased MRR and improved the machining
studied the effect of vibration (82 Hz and 3 μm amplitude) of accuracy. During micro-hole drilling, at different feed rates,
micro-tool, using pulsed voltage (3 MHz), micro-tool shape, Feng et al. [28] concluded that the combination of high vibra-
and workpiece thickness on the aspect ratio of micro features tion frequency of 50 Hz and low amplitude of 5 μm achieved
in EMM of SS 304. They found that the use of low-frequency higher MRR than that at low frequency of 10 Hz and high
vibration made the electrolyte flow easier and, slightly, in- amplitude of 25 μm.
creased the overcut due to the higher current density. The Moreover, Wang et al. [32] used cylindrical and disk-
same authors [26] investigated the effect of gap voltage (3–6 shaped cathodic tools for micro-hole drilling with and without
V), pulse frequency up to 10 MHz, vibration amplitude 0.3–3 tool vibration. Accordingly, the disk micro-tool electrode fo-
μm, and frequency 200–963 Hz of tool vibration on the over- cused the electric field on the anode and improved the disso-
cut of drilled micro boreholes in SS 304 workpiece. Their lution localization. When the US vibration was added to the
results showed the increase of the average current with the disk tool, the machining speed as well as the maximum depth
increase of vibration amplitude caused the collapse of the of the micro-holes were increased and the taper and hole di-
gas bubbles and enhanced mass transfer and coefficient of ameter decreased while the surface quality was improved
diffusivity which, in turn, increased the current density. The compared with that of micro-hole drilling without US tool
average current showed an increase with frequency up to vibration.
500 Hz beyond which stable microbubbles were formed During normal ECM, a passivation problem arises which
which reduced the electrolyte conductivity and the current stops the flow of the electrolyzing current and negatively af-
density. They reported the increase of overcut with increasing fects MRR and the process productivity. The introduction of
both the vibration amplitude and frequency. Low vibration US vibration to the electrolytic cell, immersed in US bath, was
amplitude and medium frequency of vibration of the micro- used for controlling passivation problem. In this regard,
 Int J Adv Manuf Technol
Table 1 Summary of V-ECM operations, conditions, and performance indicators

Reference Process Vibration Voltage Variables Performance indicators

Vibrating Amplitude LF (Hz) US Straight Pulsed

element (μm) (kHz) (V) (V)

Feng et al. [11] Micro-slotting W 0–500 0–50 – 8–10 Frequency-amplitude-initial gap Stability-slot shape
Xiaochen et al. [23] T 300 10 20 – Flow field-cathode shape Feed rate-slot shape
Goshal et al. [24] T 300 85 – 3 Electrolyte concentration Roughness-overcut
Tool shape
Liu, et al. [10] Micro-drilling W 3–14 0–200 – – 6 Amplitude-frequency MRR-side gap
Goshal et al. [25] T 3 82 – – 3 Tool shape-workpiece thickness Stability-overcut
Voltage frequency Aspect ratio-taper
Goshal et al. [26] T 0.3–3 200–963 – – 3–6 Pulsed voltage-tool amplitude Current density-overcut
Vibration frequency
Yang et al. [27] T 4 40 – 7.12 Tool shape-US vibration MRR-precision
Feng et al. [28] T 5–25 10–50 20–40 Vibration frequency-amplitude MRR
A Feed rate-WP composition--peak current
Kurogi et al. [29] T 4 – 63 – 10 Electrolyte concentration Accuracy
Wang et al. [30] W 0–5 28 7–16 Electrolyte concentration-amplitude-gap voltage Accuracy-overcut-stability
Wang, et al. [32] T 0–15 – 28 – 9 Feed rate-vibration amplitude Taper-roughness-overcut
Wang et al. [45] T 6–12 10–200 – – – B4C concentration-time-frequency Roughness
Goel and Pandey [50] Jet drilling M On-time 20 0–600 – Voltage-interelectrode gap-electrolyte MRR-taper
0–1.2 s concentration-electrolyte pressure-pulse on-time
Mitchell-Smith and W – 40 – – Current density-original surface condition Kerf width-aspect
Clare [55] ratio-roughness
Patel et al. [33] Drilling M 0,15, 36 – 40 – 22, 26 US amplitude-pulse frequency-peak current-time Surface roughness-hole
A taper
Natsu et al. [34] T 4x20 z – 32x,45z – 10 Feed rate-complex vibration Speed-accuracy
Ebeid et al. [35] T 20–100 50 12–24 – Vibration amplitude-feed rate-back pressure-gap voltage Overcut-hole conicity
Jadhav et al. [36] T 16–20 – US – 16–20 Ultrasonic on-time/off-time-voltage-pulse on-time MRR
Overcut
Ayyappan et al. [37] T 50 – – 15–25 – Electrolyte concentration-gap voltage-frontal gap MRR-roughness
Hewidy et al. [38] T 0–200 50 – 12 – Vibration amplitude MRR-current
density-electrolyte
pressure
Zou et al. [40] ECWC T 10 0.5–2.5 – – 18 Vibration frequency-amplitude-feed rate Feed rate-slit
width-efficiency
Xu et al. [41] T+W 1 0–500 – – 5–10 Electrolyte concentration-vibration amplitude-feed rate-pulse Slit width/homogeneity
period/duration
Fang et al. [43] T 7500 1.5 – – 18 Ribbed wire-large amplitude MRR-efficiency
Jiang et al. [44] T 1–15 – 20–90 – 25–39 Frequency-amplitude-B4C concentration-voltage Max feed rate
Surface quality
 Int J Adv Manuf Technol

Nicoara et al. [51] studied the evolution of current, voltage,

Stability-overcut-accuracy
Performance indicators and electrolyte temperature during US-assisted ECM at fre-
quencies of 20 kHz and 50 kHz. Their results showed the
increase of anode potential and the current density which, in

MRR-diameter
turn, reduced the deteriorating effect of passivation layer and

Roughness
Frequency-power-tool design-rotational speed-work material Roughness
increased the MRR by 1.6%.
One way of removing the insulating passivating layer
formed during machining WC and SS 304 by ECM is to apply
the US vibration to the tool electrode. Such a layer is known to
Frequency-amplitude-wire diameter-WP thickness-applied

disturb the current flow between the cathodic tool and the
anodic workpiece electrodes and, moreover, affects the ma-
chining accuracy. In this regard, Kurogi et al. [29] used US
Voltage-vibration amplitude-concentration-time

tool vibration at 43 kHz and 4–7-μm amplitude at low elec-

trolyte concentration (10% NaNO3) and pulsed current source
(10 V). They concluded that the replicating accuracy was im-
proved while the machining speed was decreased. Using such
voltage-pulse on-time/period

a technique, machining of WC became possible by applying

the US vibration to the electrode tool.
Liu et al. [10] drilled micro-holes in SS 321 using vibration
amplitude of 3–14 μm, a frequency of 0–200 Hz, a pulsed
voltage of 6 V with 50% duty cycle, and a frequency of 2
Temperature

kHz. Their results revealed that the amplitude of 3–14 μm

Variables

and low frequency of 50–200 Hz influenced MRR significant-

ly. The lower the frequency, the more was the improvement in
MRR that reached its maximum at 50 Hz and 12-μm ampli-
Straight Pulsed

tude. On the other hand, the smallest side gaps were achieved
(V)

–
–
–

at an amplitude range of 4–7 μm and frequency between 50

Voltage

and 200 Hz. Wang et al. [30] concluded that the increase in
2–10
(V)

workpiece vibration amplitude is beneficial for excluding the

–
–

reaction products from the IEG (Fig. 9). Consequently, the

(kHz)

machining was stable when the vibration amplitude was be-

LF (Hz) US

28
46

yond a certain value; henceforth, the machining accuracy

–

changed little with the increase in vibration amplitude.

0–100

The introduction of abrasive particles into the electro-

232
–
–

lyte was considered as an effective technique for enhanc-

Amplitude

ing the performance of VA micro-ECM by Jiang et al.

[44]. In this line, Wu et al. [31] combined VA micro-
1.5–6
(μm)

0–50

ECM with polishing for machining 3D microcavities by

–
–

using an electrolyte containing suspended B4C abrasive

Vibration

Vibrating

particles. Accordingly, the electrochemical reaction by-

element

products were effectively removed by the abrasion action

W
W

M
M

of the B4C particles which ensured efficient and stable

micro-ECM process.
fabrication

It is noteworthy to say that during micromachining, the use

Micro-tool
Polishing
Finishing
Process

of proper tool design together with the application of US vi-

bration increase MRR and the drilling speed and improves the
process accuracy while the application of low-frequency vi-
Bhattacharyya [48]

bration improves the surface quality of VA-ECM. The use of

Table 1 (continued)

Kim and Park [46]

US vibrations helps in flushing away the machining products

Wang et al. [45]

from the IEG and stops the formation of the passive layer on
Ghoshal and
Reference

the anodic surface which enhances the ECD action. Moreover,

Pa [47]

the addition of abrasive particles to the electrolyte medium

ensures efficient and stable drilling by VA-ECM.
Int J Adv Manuf Technol

4 Drilling vibrating tool assisted by a magnetic flux (Fig. 11) as an effi-

cient hybrid technique in ECM [37]. Their results indicated
Researchers have been investigating techniques of enhancing that the magnetic flux-assisted vibrating tool increased MRR
the ion transport in the IEG to improve the MRR and quality from 10% to 96%. Such an increase was related to the fact that
of machined parts by ECM. It is well known that the use of the magnetic flux facilitated and drove the sludge out of the
pulsed voltage improves the dimensional accuracy by reduc- IEG. Consequently, the current density was increased due to
ing the electrolyte temperature. It allows better opportunity to the movement of ions triggered by the magnetic flux, which
flush away the machining products from the IEG. Moreover, assured the increase of MRR. A slight increase in surface
the use of low-frequency vibration of the workpiece/tool en- roughness parameter, Ra, was also noted in comparison to
hances electrolyte flushing while the US vibration breaks the machining with the NaCl electrolyte alone [37].
agglomerated by-products on the anodic surface and, there- Embedding US waves in the fast-flowing electrolyte is more
fore, is adopted to enhance the removal of such products in practical than vibrating a large tool or workpiece electrode. In this
ECM. In this regard, Natsu et al. [34] investigated the effect of context, Patel et al. [33] combined the pulsed current and ultra-
the direction and amplitude of US vibration on the machining sonic wave with the flowing electrolyte through the tubular elec-
speed and the replicating accuracy of holes drilled by trode (shown in Fig. 12) to drill deep holes in 6061-T6 alumi-
USECM. They concluded that applying the US vibration im- num. Such a combination enhanced the part quality by reducing
proved the replicating accuracy and increased the drilling the surface roughness parameter Ra from 2.5 to 1 μm and the
speed. The complex vibration regime, shown in Fig. 10, had taper angle of the drilled holes from 11 to 1° at the expense of
more significant effect on both the accuracy and drilling speed MRR. At large US power, the high impacting velocity of micro-
compared with the individual lateral vibration regime. jets on the anodic surface reduced MRR, increased surface
Ebeid et al. [35] addressed the improvement of the machining roughness, and caused micro-pitting.
accuracy in ECM drilling by adding low-frequency (50 Hz) vi- Ultrasonic-assisted jet electrochemical micro-drilling (Jet-
bration to the tool electrode at an amplitude of 0–100 μm, ap- ECMD) is a variation of ECM used by Goel and Pandey [50]
plied voltage (12–24 V), feed rate (0.6–1.4 mm/min), and back who combined US vibrations with the electrolyte jet, as shown in
pressure. They concluded that the amplitude of tool vibration was Fig. 13. They concluded that the maximum increase in MRR of
the most significant parameter on the accuracy of VA-ECM. 83.50% was obtained at pulse on-time of 1.2 s while the mini-
However, this effect was diminished after reaching the amplitude mum hole taper was found to be 0.38°. Moreover, Mitchell-
of 80 μm. Moreover, the introduction of low frequency of vibra- Smith and Clare [55] added that the use of US assistance en-
tion improved the produced accuracy by 15% while the conicity hanced the aspect ratio of machined grooves by Jet-ECMD due
of holes was reduced by 23%. Furthermore, Jadhav et al. [36] to the reduction of the passivating layer formation by 23% (Fig.
investigated the effect of voltage pulse on-time, US vibration on- 14). Under such conditions, a larger area of the groove was
time and off-time, and amplitude on both MRR and overcut. affected by the high current density which was increased subse-
Accordingly, the maximum MRR was achieved at 16 V, pulse quently from 2% without US assistance to 22% with US vibra-
on-time 500 μs, US on-time 2 s, US off-time 8 s, and vibration tion, thus reducing Ra by 31%.
amplitude 18 μm. On the other hand, the minimum overcut was In summary, the use of complex US vibration improves the
obtained at 18 V, pulse on-time 150 μs, US on-time 4 s, US off- process accuracy and the drilling speed. Adding a magnetic
time 9 s, and vibration amplitude 20 μm field to VA-ECM increases current density, MRR, and surface
Researchers have attempted to enhance the performance of roughness. Adding US vibration to the flowing electrolyte
VA-ECM by introducing the concept of a low-frequency decreases the surface roughness parameter, Ra, and produced

Fig. 9 Effect of workpiece

vibration on the hydrogen
bubbles and sludge evacuation. a
Without vibration and b with
vibration [30]
 Int J Adv Manuf Technol

For further enhancement of the electrolyte renewal during

wire ECM, Fang et al. [43] applied low vibration frequency of
1.5 Hz and large amplitude of 7.5 mm to the ribbed wire (Fig.
16). The use of large amplitude intensified the bubble removal
process in both upward and downward durations.
Consequently, the MRR and the machining efficiency were
enhanced by 25% and 22% respectively compared with the
vibrating smooth wire. Furthermore, Xu et al. [41] concluded
that the large amplitude (0.5 mm) and the high speed of wire
vibration and the large amplitude and high frequency of work-
piece vibration reduced the edge radius and improved the
homogeneity of the slit width (Fig. 17).
Fig. 10 Complex tool vibrations [34] Using a wire electrode with micro-diameter was adopted to
reduce the overcut and improve the machining accuracy of
microwire ECM by Wang et al. [45] who developed a wire
hole conicity. The use of US jet drilling increases MRR and electrochemical micromachining system with micro-tool vibra-
the process accuracy and improves the surface quality. tion unit. They concluded that the low frequency and small am-
plitude of vibration significantly improved the process stability,
overcut, machining accuracy, and precision of micromachined
parts. Furthermore, Jiang et al. [44] added B4C particles to the
5 Wire ECM NaNO3 electrolyte during machining microgrooves in VA-
ECWC. They concluded that adding B4C particles significantly
The diffusion of electrolytic dissolution products such as gas reduced the electrolytic products deposited on the wire electrode
bubbles was difficult in normal wire EMM which, in turn, caused surface, prevented bubbles from accumulating in the IEG, and,
poor homogeneity of slit width and large edge radius. These consequently, improved the surface quality of the microgrooves.
bubbles were driven out of the machining gap by using the In brief, high MRR and improved process efficiency can be
low-frequency vibration during VA-WECM. In this context, achieved by using a smooth or ribbed wire vibrating at low
Zou et al. [40] used an axial vibrating wire electrode (1.5 Hz frequency. Adding abrasive powder to the electrolyte during
and 10 μm amplitude) to improve the mass transfer in VA- VA-WECM improves the surface quality.
WECM. The particle tracing simulation showed that the
recycling of the electrolyte and the removal of dissolution prod-
ucts were promoted as shown in Fig. 15b, compared with the
smooth nonvibrating wire electrode (Fig. 15a). However, the use 6 Polishing, finishing, and micro-tool
of ribbed wire structure (Fi. 15c) created a pulsed current from fabrication
the straight DC voltage. The results showed the reduction of the
slit width and the increase of feed rate in the case of the ribbed Kim and Park [46] introduced the US vibration to study its effect
wire compared with the smooth vibrating wire. Moreover, the on the surface roughness, MRR, and the productivity during
high vibration amplitude increased the slit width while the fre- vibration-assisted electrochemical polishing (VECP). They re-
quency showed a minor effect. Que et al. [42] integrated pulsed ported the enhancement of the surface smoothing effect and the
ECM and a reciprocal travelling wire electrode to improve the process ability which limited the occurrence of surface pitting
process accuracy and stability. and reduced surface roughness. Pa [47] conducted

Fig. 11 Interaction of magnetic

flux lines with tool and workpiece
[37]
Int J Adv Manuf Technol

Fig. 14 Effect of US vibration on the cut profile. a With UA and b

without UA [55]

Fig. 12 VA-ECM using US waves to the flowing electrolyte [33] 7 Modeling and simulation

Several attempts have been made to model the electrolyte flow

electrochemical finishing of cylindrical turned surfaces for die and material removal mechanism and to optimize the process
materials using a specially designed tool shape. When the small conditions towards minimizing overcut, slot width and taper,
end radius cylindrical tool was replaced by a plate-shaped tool, maximizing the MRR and enhancing the machining productivity
the electrolytic machining products and heat were removed more and surface quality. Ghoshal et al. [26] introduced an electrical
rapidly and produced higher surface quality. Additionally, by circuit mathematical model of EMM and investigated the effects
adding the US vibration to the plate-shaped tool, the discharging of pulsed voltage (3–6 V) and 10 MHz, tool vibration amplitude
of dregs, from the IEG, was further enhanced which improved (0.3–3 μm), and vibration frequency of 200–963 Hz on the cur-
the surface quality of the final products. VA-ECM was further rent density and overcut. Results showed that the experimental
adopted for the fabrication of tungsten micro-tools, vibrating at MRR was in good agreement with the theoretical analysis.
low frequency of 232 Hz and small amplitude of 1.5–6 μm [48]. Hewidy et al. [38] established a mathematical model to assess
Accordingly, uniform diameters of tungsten micro-tools were the mechanism of metal removal for EC drilling assisted by a
produced by controlling the diffusion layer thickness within a low-frequency vibration of 59 Hz and 0–200-μm amplitude.
very short time by introducing the low-frequency vibration of They reported that the variation of the gap pressure removed
the micro-tool. the machining products and allowed the renewal of the electro-
lyte in IEG. Moreover, the reciprocal motion between the tool
and the workpiece surface enhanced the circulation of the elec-
trolyte through the interface thus permitting higher current den-
sities which improved the quality of the machined surface. Their
analytical model revealed that there was a complexity in relating
the tool vibration amplitude and the equilibrium gap size, be-
cause it caused tool damage. Wang et al. [45] developed a math-
ematical model for overcut in wire electrochemical
micromachining with micro-tool vibration unit. The influence
of micro-tool vibration on the processing stability, overcut, and
machining accuracy of microwire electrode electrochemical cut-
ting was investigated. For the purpose of improving the precision
and stability of ECM of curvilinear surfaces using a vibrating
tool, a mathematical model with regard to electrolyte flow hy-
drodynamics was developed by Paczkowski et al. [20]. They
presented a system for controlling and monitoring ECM in a
way that it allowed a suitable modification of parameters related
to the frequency of tool vibrations and tool design stage verifi-
cation as well as optimization of machining behavior. An equa-
tion relating the dynamic voltage caused by a vibrating tool
electrode and performance variables was deduced. Using this
equation, the dynamic voltage and its variables, along with sys-
tem parameters, were investigated by Lizhong et al. [52]. Their
results showed that this technique significantly increased the ma-
Fig. 13 Ultrasonic assisted jet electrochemical micro-drilling [50] chining localization of the electrochemical micromachining.
 Int J Adv Manuf Technol

Fig. 15 Distribution of
machining products in ECWC. a
Smooth wire without vibration, b
smooth wire with vibrations, and
c ribbed wire with vibrations [40]

Ghoshal et al. [24] presented simulation models for the current using ribbed wire compared with the smooth wire electrode.
density distribution along the side wall and top and bottom sur-
faces during blind microchannel generation in SS304 using dif- Skoczypiec [49] applied the CFD and FEM for the analyses
ferent tool shapes and H2SO4 electrolyte concentrations of 0.5– of electrolyte flow through the gap in USECM using a vibrat-
0.3 M. A pulsed voltage of 3 V, and 5 MHz and vibrating tool at ing tool electrode (20 kHz and 2–8-μm amplitude) normal to
low frequency of 85 Hz and 0.3-μm amplitude were employed in the electrolyte velocity component. The work analyzed the
order to predict the shape of cross section of the machined pro- multiphase, turbulent, and unsteady flow between anode and
files. Fang et al. [21] presented a multi-physics model coupling cathode, under the assumption that the cavitation phenomenon
of electric, heat, transport of diluted species, and a pulsating fluid occurred. Presented results proved that the US application
flow. Their simulation results indicated that the pulsating flow changed the condition of dissolution process in IEG such that
(Fig. 6) had a significant impact on the distributions of velocity, the machined allowance and MRR were increased by 75%
gas fraction, and temperature near the workpiece surface along and 80% respectively at interelectrode gap voltage of 20 V.
the flow direction which improved the surface quality. Xu et al. On the other hand, Skoczypiec [12] analyzed the electrolyte
[41] presented another simulation study of the electric field for flow through the gap in USECM using the CFD method at 20-
the wire and workpiece vibration conditions, electrolyte proper- kHz frequency and amplitude less than 10 μm in order to
ties, and feed rate on the standard deviation of the slit width and predict the distribution of cavitation bubbles along the gap.
edge radius. The flow field simulation of Fang et al. [43] revealed Numerical investigation revealed that the intensity of cavita-
that the gas bubbles were expelled effectively from the IEG as the tion affected the conditions of the dissolution process which
wire electrode moves upward in a large amplitude of 7.5 mm and depends on the amplitude of US vibration. He reported im-
low frequency of 1.5 Hz. Zou et al. [40] used the particle tracing provement of current density, MRR, machining allowance,
simulation which showed that the recycling of the electrolyte and and machinability. In the same line, Feng et al. [11] studied
the removal of dissolution products were promoted in case of the effect of flow pattern and pressure on the flow field stabil-
ity using the CFD simulation. They concluded that the low-
frequency oscillation-assisted ECM by improving the machin-
ing stability.
Based on the FEM, Wang et al. [32] compared the cylindrical
and disk-shaped cathode tools during micro-hole drilling at dif-
ferent feed rates with and without tool vibration. Their results
revealed that the disk micro-tool electrode focused the electric
field on the anode and improved the dissolution localization.
Accordingly, the US vibration increased the feed rate and pene-
tration depth, decreased the taper and diameter, and improved the
surface quality of the machined holes. Xiaochen et al. [23] used
the same method for numerical simulation of the flow field in
ECM. Accordingly, the addition of the cathodic tool vibration, at
low frequency of 10 Hz and 0.3-mm amplitude, enhanced the
electrolyte flushing process, doubled the feed rate, and ensured
the uniformity of the machined slots. Liu et al. [39] developed a
Fig. 16 VA-ECWC with large amplitudes [43] three-dimensional model of flow field in ANSYS CFX software
Int J Adv Manuf Technol

Fig. 17 VA-WECM using wire

and anode vibrations [41]

for a rotating and vibrating cathode. Their simulation results 2. For high accuracy in micromachining applications,
showed that the pressure and velocity of the electrolyte in the nanosecond pulsed voltage together vibration assistance
IEG were oscillated by additional motion of cathodic tool. is recommended. Short pulses cause a high localization
Additionally, the rotary combined US and ECM had better ability of the electrochemical dissolution action
of making small holes than that of rotary ECM. Jia et al. [54] 3. For high efficiency and better machining stability of VA-
used the FEM to calculate the flow field distribution in ordinary ECM, abrasives can be mixed with the electrolyte
ECM method of multiple slots with low-frequency tool 4. Using the magnetic flux assistance to VA-ECM in-
vibrations. creases the current density, MRR, and surface
Statistical methods have been adopted by many researchers roughness.
recently. In this respect, Goel and Pandey [50] conducted statis- 5. USECM is suitable for machining materials that form a
tical analysis for the MRR and hole taper using analysis of var- passivating layer over the anodic surface during normal
iance (ANOVA) and concluded that combining US vibrations to ECM. Such a layer is successfully removed by using the
the electrolyte jet, resulted in the improvement of MRR and the US vibration
reduction in the hole taper. Ebeid and coworkers [35] used the 6. VA-ECM is recommended for micromachining applica-
response surface methodology (RSM) for deriving mathematical tions at low frequency of vibration.
models to describe the effect of applied voltage (12–24 V), feed 7. Adding US vibration to the flowing electrolyte improves
rate (0.6–1.4 mm/min), back pressure, and vibration amplitude surface finish and decreases hole taper.
on the overcut and conicity of drilled holes. Jadhav et al. [36] 8. US jet drilling by ECM raises the MRR and process
used Taguchi technique to optimize the process parameters for accuracy and improves the surface quality.
maximum MRR and minimum overcut in US-assisted drilling of 9. The use of low-frequency vibration with ribbed wire and
Inconel 60 alloy. Ayyappan et al. [37] developed a mathematical adding abrasive powder to the electrolyte improve the
model correlating MRR and the surface roughness parameter Ra surface quality in VA-WECM.
with machining conditions such as the gap voltage and electro- 10. Due to the complex mixture in the interelectrode gap,
lyte concentration for low-frequency vibrating tool assisted by a CFD and FEM methods are adopted for understanding
magnetic flux as an efficient hybrid technique in ECM. the process behavior and quantifying the electrolyte flow
effects.

8 Summary

VA-ECM is an alternative machining method that replaces the 9 Outlook

traditional ECM. From the literature review, the following
points can be raised: There are many critical points, faced by researchers during the
application of VA-ECM. Further efforts are, therefore, to be
1. The use of vibration enhances the flushing of the ma- made in the following directions:
chining products from the IEG and stops the formation
of the passive oxide layer on the anodic surface. Hence 1. The effect of VA-ECM process variables on the machin-
MRR and the surface quality are improved. ability of materials that form a passivating layer.
 Int J Adv Manuf Technol

2. Investigating the percentage contribution of using vibra- 11. Feng W, Jianshe Z, Dingming L, Yantao F, Zongjun T (2018)
Experimental research on electrochemical machining of an arc-
tions and pulsed voltage on MRR, improvement of accu-
shaped slot array. Int J Electrochem Sci 13:9466–9480. https://
racy and reduction of surface roughness. doi.org/10.20964/2018.10.12
3. Using electrolyte mixtures that reduce the possibility of 12. Skoczypiec S (2011) Research on ultrasonically assisted electro-
forming passive oxide layer during ECM. chemical machining process. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 52:565–
574. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-010-2774-4
4. The effect of vibration assistance in the case of hybrid
13. Perusich SA, Alkire RC (1991) Ultrasonically inducted cavitation
ECM processes such as electrochemical grinding and studies of electrochemical passivity and transports mechanisms. I
electrochemical honing. Theoretical. J Electrochem Soc 138(3):700–707
5. Modeling, simulation, and experimental study for VA- 14. Perusich SA, Alkire RC (1991) Ultrasonically induced cavitation
studies of electrochemical passivity and transport mechanisms II.
ECM assisted by abrasive powder or a magnetic flux.
Experimental. J Electrochem Soc 138(3):708–713
6. Optimization of the process parameters using artificial 15. Ruszaj A, Zybura M, Żurek R, Skrabalak G (2003) Some aspects of
neural network (ANN), fuzzy logic (FL), genetic algo- the electrochemical machining process supported by electrode ul-
rithms (GA), grey relational analysis (GRA), artificial trasonic vibrations optimization. Proc Inst Mech Eng B J Eng
M a n u f 2 1 7 ( 1 0 ) : 1 3 6 5 – 1 3 7 1 . h t t p s : / / d o i . o rg / 1 0 . 1 2 4 3 /
bee colony (ABC), multi-objective optimization, and sim-
095440503322617135
ulation annealing (SA). 16. Ruszaj A, Skoczypiec S, Czekaj J, Miller T, Dziedzic J (2007)
Surface micro and nanofinishing using pulse electrochemical ma-
Compliance with ethical standards chining process assisted by electrode ultrasonic vibrations. 15th
International Symposium on Electromachining., Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, USA, 6p
Conflict of interests The author declares that there is no conflict of
17. Skoczypiec S (2018) Electrochemical methods of micropart’s
interest.
manufacturing. In: Gupta K (ed) Micro and precision manufactur-
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