Computer aided tool design for micro-ECM

This paper reports the development of a computer aided system for micro-ECM process to design tools to produce accurate internal features on workpiece.Mathematical model has been developed to compute the inter-electrode gap (IEG) for chosen shape of tool and process conditions.Axi-symmetric tools of different profiles such as cylindrical, conical, hemispherical have been analysed to predict the shapes of work cavities.Model is validated with the reported results and some experiments conducted by us on typical tool shapes.Parametric studies have been carried out to study influence of various process variables on the accuracy of cavity shapes.Based on these studies, guidelines for improving profile accuracy in micro-ECM have been suggested.