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Improving performance of laser and shaped tube electrochemical machining by using retracted hybrid tubular tool electrode

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Abstract

The coaxial laser has been introduced to shaped tube electrochemical machining (STEM), referred to as laser-STEM, to enhance the materials removal rate and precision. To address the issue of central residual formation during the laser-STEM process, which limited the machining stability and feeding rate, the retracted hybrid tubular electrode was applied. The formation mechanisms and effects of the W-shaped central residual were analyzed. Simulation and experiments were conducted to study the impact of the retracted length of the tubular electrode. Simulation results showed that a retracted length of 1–1.5 mm of the inner low-refractive layer could improve the electric current density distribution homogeneity to remove the W-shaped central residual in the machining area. The electric current density distribution homogeneity in the machining zone has been decreased by 38% by utilizing the hybrid tubular electrode with a retracted length of 2.0 mm. With a proper retracted length, the laser coupling efficiency exceeded 74.5%. Hence, the retracted hybrid tubular electrode could act as both the tool electrode and optical waveguide in the laser-STEM process. Experimental results proved that the machining efficiency and precision of laser-STEM could be enhanced by utilizing the retracted hybrid tubular electrode. With the retracted length deg rising from 0 to 1.5 mm, the maximum feeding speed increased by 373%, and the machining precision was improved by 42.2%. The maximum feeding rate of 4.1 mm/min has been achieved using the retracted hybrid tubular electrode in the laser-STEM process, which has been improved by 105%, compared with the available maximum feeding rate of the tubular electrode in the STEM process. Finally, the small holes with a diameter of 1.4 mm and an aspect ratio of 15 have been processed by laser-STEM with the retracted hybrid tubular electrode.

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The datasets used or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51905525), the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang (LQ19E050003), the key research and development program of Zhejiang (2020C01036), and the Natural Science Foundation of Ningbo (2019A610152).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, 315201, China

    Yong Yang, Yufeng Wang, Yujie Gui, Fuhui Shao, Yulei Li & Wenwu Zhang

  2. Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Aero Engine Extreme Manufacturing Technology, Ningbo, 315201, China

    Yong Yang, Yufeng Wang, Yujie Gui, Fuhui Shao, Yulei Li & Wenwu Zhang

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Yufeng Wang & Wenwu Zhang

Authors
  1. Yong Yang
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  2. Yufeng Wang
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  3. Yujie Gui
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  4. Fuhui Shao
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  5. Yulei Li
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  6. Wenwu Zhang
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Contributions

Yufeng Wang contributed to the conception of the study, and guided experiments and conclusions; Yong Yang performed the experiment, analyzed the data, and completed the manuscript; Yujie Gui, Fuhui Shao, and Yulei Li assisted to experiment; Wenwu Zhang funded the study.

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Correspondence to Yufeng Wang.

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Yang, Y., Wang, Y., Gui, Y. et al. Improving performance of laser and shaped tube electrochemical machining by using retracted hybrid tubular tool electrode. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 118, 1779–1791 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-021-08097-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-021-08097-w

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