Electrochemical machining (ECM) is a non-traditional, electrochemical-category material removal process based on controlled anodic dissolution: the workpiece (anode) and tool (cathode) are immersed in a flowing electrolyte, and a low-voltage, high-current DC potential drives atomic-level dissolution of the workpiece surface governed by Faraday's laws of electrolysis. Material removal rate is modeled as proportional to current and to the electrochemical equivalent (atomic weight divided by valency, generalized for multi-element alloys by weight-fraction summation), and the tool-workpiece gap dynamics under a given feed rate approach a steady-state equilibrium gap independent of the initial gap. This belongs to the domain of manufacturing/production engineering, specifically the non-traditional (unconventional) machining processes taxonomy, situated within the electrochemical process subgroup alongside electrochemical grinding and electrojet drilling.
Electrochemical machining (ECM) is a non-traditional, electrochemical-category material removal process based on controlled anodic dissolution: the workpiece (anode) and tool (cathode) are immersed i…