Precision Finishing of External Cylindrical Surfaces of EN8 Steel by Electro Chemical Honing (ECH) Process using OFAT Technique

• Main Authors: Rao, P. Sudhakar, Jain, P.K., Dwivedi, D.K.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Electro Chemical Honing; EN8 steel; Process Parameters; Ra& MR and OFAT technique
• ISSN: 2214-7853; 2214-7853
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matpr.2015.07.117

Electro Chemical Honing (ECH) is a hybrid machining process combining the material removal capability of ECM process with Mechanical Honing (MH) operation. It provides the range of benefits to the machined surfaces which is not obtainable by either conventional or mechanical processes. ECH is a well known process for offering excellent work surface quality on material of any hardness as long as it is electrically conductive. This has made ECH an ideal choice for improving the surface integrity of critical components made of hard and tough materials like Inconel, Incolay, Titanium & Nickel alloys etc. The paper describes the design and fabrication of an indigenously developed tooling setup for ECH of an external cylindrical components. Titanium alloys (TI 6AL 4V) and EN8 Steel are used as the work piece material for carrying out the experimentation to describe the material removal and surface roughness characters. Theinfluenceofvarious parameters like finishing time, electrolyte composition, electrolyte concentration and electrolyte temperature is discussed to study surface finish (SF) Ra and material removal (MR) aspects of EN8 Steel work piece material by OFAT technique used in experimentation. It also compares and evaluates the percentage improvements in surface roughness values, with respect to processing time (PT) and other parameters like temperature, composition and concentration levels. And also distinguishes the surface characteristics of micro and macro level which highlights the key process parameters and their affect on ECH process.