Experimental study of pulsed electrolyte jet machining for small hole

For the difficulties of machining small hole on difficult-to-cut materials, a study of hole-making technology by pulsed electrolyte jet machining is carried out. Main effects of DC power and pulse power on the hole conicity, surface quality and drilling efficiency are studied in this paper. The experiment results show that: hole with high surface quality can be available and the hole conicity is effectively reduced by using pulsed electrolyte jet machining; DC is suitable for improving efficiency when the ECM voltage is less than 300V, while pulse power supply shall be adopted to achieve good surface quality and high drilling efficiency when the ECM voltage is more than 300V. © 2011 Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.