ELECTROCHEMICAL GRINDING (ECG)

Electrochemical grinding is a special from of electrochemical machining, which employs the combined
actions of electrochemical attack and abrasion to rapidly remove material from electrically conductive
workpieces, usually hard, tough materials.
The operating principles of ECG are the same as those of ECM expect that ECG employ a rotating
grinding wheel. Direct current is passed through an electrolyte, which is pumped in a small gap, about
0.03 mm, between the wheel (cathode) and workpiece (anode). In ECG, the majority (95-98%) of the
material is removed by electrochemical attack; significantly less (2-5%) of the workpiece material is
removed by the abrasive action of the wheel. The protruding abrasive particles in the wheel serve to
remove electrochemical oxidation on the workpiece surface (see Fig. 1).
ECG can be compared to electroplating, but with major differences, ECG deplates material from the
work and deposits it in the electrolyte; however, it does not plate material from the work onto the
wheel.
Wheels for ECG
During ECG, the abrasive wheel functions as follows:
1. The abrasive in the wheel continuously removes an electrically resistant film from the face of
the work. If this dielectric film were allowed to remain, the flow of direct current would stop
and there would be no electrochemical action.

2. The abrasive provides an electrically insulated gap between the cathodic wheel and the
anodic work. Without this there would be a direct electrical short and resultant damage to both
the wheel and the work. For optimum or maximum stock removal, the gap must be less than
0.03 mm.

3. The wheel carries the electrolyte in the spaces between the abrasive grains across the face of
the work. Without the electrolyte between the wheel and the work, there would be no
electrochemical action.
Several types of current-carrying abrasive wheels are used for ECG grinding. Common abrasives are
used in wheels for ECG; however, the abrasive grains must be nonconductive. For this reason, silicon
carbide and some forms of cubic boron nitride cannot be used since they are electrically conductive.
These include:
Diamond wheels. These wheels are used to electrochemically grind flat surfaces of
tungsten carbide tools and other carbide parts.
Nondiamond-face wheels. This type of wheel is used for grinding the flat surfaces of
steels and alloy steels. To date, the abrasive used in this type of wheel has been aluminum
oxide.
Nondiamond wheels. Dressable resin-bond and copper-loaded wheels (Copperdyne) are
used extensively for all applications other than tungsten carbide.
Electrolytes for ECG

The most efficient electrolyte for ferrous, nickel, and cobalt alloys is sodium chloride, but this salt
solution is not necessarily the best overall because corrosion problems can be quite severe and
tolerance control can be troublesome. For most alloys and for tungsten carbide, the best electrolyte
formulations contain sodium nitrate as the active ingredient, with rust inhibitor and chelating-agent
additives. Sodium chloride formulations are recommend only for titanium, zirconium, and columbium.
Alkaline formulas, such as sodium carbonate-sodium hydroxide are recommended for tungsten and
molybdenum. Electrochemically reactive metals, such as copper or silver, are best grounds with
weaker electrolytes such as sodium nitrite.
Usually electrolytes are formulated at about 120-240 g/L. Temperature of the electrolyte is usually
maintained between 30-45 C; pressure used to pump the fluid is about 35-70 KPa. Filtration of the
electrolyte is important; filtration to 50-100 m is sufficient.
Operating Parameters
Power requirements: In ECG operations, d-c power is used, usually at a potential of 4-14
V; current ranges from 50-3000 A.
Current density: Generally, current densities range from 77 A/cm2 when tungsten carbide
is ground to 230 A/cm2 when steels are ground.
Metal removal rates: Faradays laws closely apply to ECG in that metal removal rate is
almost directly proportional to current density. A rule of thumb for estimating metal removal
rate for most materials is 0.16 cm3/min for each 100 A of applied current. Usually, on materials
harder than Rc 45, metal removal rates for ECG are up to 10 times faster than rates
possible with conventional grinding.
Wheel speed: In ECG operations, wheel speed is most often between 25-35 m/s. Wheel
speed is important in that the wheel servers as an electrolyte pump and helps maintain an
even flow of fluid between the wheel and work.
Tolerances: With careful control of electrolyte temperature, specific gravity, and
conductivity, it is possible to produce parts to 0.005 mm.
Applications
In operations in which ECG can be applied, it produces results far beyond those that conventional
grinding methods can provide. In my cases it can reduce abrasive costs up to 90%. This reduction is
most easily observed in connection with diamond wheels and carbide grinding. However, it is also
significant with respect to steel and alloy steel grinding with nondiamond wheels.
Also, because it is a cool process, ECG can be used to grind any electrically conductive material
without damage to it from heat. In addition, this process can grind steel or alloy steel parts without
generating any burr. Thus, the costly operation of subsequent deburring is automatically eliminated.
ECG has found many applications in the aerospace, automotive instrumentation, textile, and medical
manufacturing industries, among others. The process is most frequently used to grind hard, tough
materials, because ECG is performed with significantly less wheel wear than conventional grinding.
The process has proved effective in grinding turbine blade Z notches, in grinding honeycomb seal
rings and in slotting piston rings. Surgical needles and thin-wall tubing are cut effectively due to the
low forces generated in the ECG process.