Electrochemical Grinding Draft:

Advantages/Disadvantages

One of the key advantages of electrochemical grinding is the minimal wear that the grinding wheel tool experiences. This is because the majority of the material is removed by the electrochemical reaction that occurs between the cathode and anode. The only time that abrasive grinding actually occurs is in removing the film that develops on the surface of the workpiece. Another advantage of electrochemical grinding is that it can be used to machine hard materials. Hard materials pose a difficulty to other types of machining due to the tool wear that is associated with machining hard materials[1]. It may come as a bit of a surprise that electrochemical grinding can remove material from a hard surface and experience minimal wear.

Electrochemial grinding also has a few dissadvantages as well. The system is comprised of the anode workpiece and the cathode grinding wheel. In order to create those conditions both the workpiece and the grinding wheel must be conductive. This limits the types of workpiece materials that are suitable for electrochemical grinding. Another disadvantage of electrochemical grinding is that it is only applicable to surface grinding. It is not possible to apply electrochemical grinding to workpieces that have cavities, due to the grinding wheels inability to remove the film deposit with in the cavity[1]. Lastly, electrochemical grinding is more complicated than traditional machining methods. This will require more experienced personnel to operate the machinery, which will lead to higher production cost.

  1. ^ a b Kalpakjia, Schmid (2008). Manufacturing Processes for Engineering Materials. New Jersey: Pearson. pp. 560–561. ISBN 0-13-227271-7.