Journal of Manufacturing Processes 59 (2020) 366–377

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Journal of Manufacturing Processes

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/manpro

Electrochemical micromachining of micro hole using micro drill with

non-conductive mask on the machined surface
Hang Zou a, Xiaoming Yue a, b, c, *, Haixuan Luo a, Baohui Liu a, Shiyi Zhang a
a
School of Mechanical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, 250061, China
b
Key Laboratory of High-Efficiency and Clean Mechanical Manufacture, Ministry of Education, Shandong University, Jinan, 250061, China
c
Suzhou Research Institute, Shandong University, Suzhou, 215123, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The stray current corrosion brings negative effects on the machining quality and accuracy in electrochemical
Electrochemical micromachining (EMM) micromachining (EMM) of micro hole, limiting the industrial application of EMM. This paper proposes the
Micro hole electrochemical micromachining of micro hole using micro drill with non-conductive mask on the machined
Non-conductive mask
surface. In this method, non-conductive mask was coated on the workpiece surface first. Then, the mask was
Micro drill
Stray current
drilled precisely by micro drill to expose the workpiece surface, which was a mask through-hole. Thirdly, on the
Stray corrosion location of this mask through-hole, the same micro drill was used as a cathode electrode to fabricate micro hole
through EMM. Lastly, the redundant mask was removed through a chemical method without damaging the
original surface of workpiece. The simulation results show that the mask coated on the workpiece surface can
reduce the stray current significantly, thereby decreasing the stray corrosion effectively. The cyanoacrylate was
chosen as an ideal mask material because of its excellent properties, such as low cost, easy operation, etc.
Through the above method, micro hole with high quality and accuracy was fabricated successfully, demon­
strating that using micro drill with non-conductive mask coated on the workpiece surface can not only effectively
protect the workpiece surface from corrosion, but also improve the machining quality and accuracy of micro hole
in EMM.

1. Introduction discharge machining (EDM), laser machining, ultrasonic machining, and

electrochemical machining (ECM), spark assisted electrochemical
With the development of micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) machining (SAEM) [4], etc. However, it is tough to fabricate micro holes
and other precise miniaturization and integration instructions, the de­ in a very hard and brittle material through traditional methods due to
mand for micro structures machined on the micro products is constantly the extremely high tool wear. By contrast, non-traditional machining
increasing owing to their many benefits, such as relatively low cost, methods exhibit some advantages owing to its lower machining force,
small space and light weight. Specifically, micro holes are one of the less or no tool wear, and the machining ability of any materials
most important and useful micro structures in many components and regardless of their strength and hardness (any conductive materials for
parts, such as the cooling holes in the jet turbine blades, the microfluidic ECM and EDM). Thereby, they have been widely used in the machining
channel in micro reactors and micro exchangers, the fuel injection of micro holes on the difficult-to-machining materials.
nozzles in the engine, etc. [1,2]. Moreover, high-quality and Among non-traditional machining methods, ECM is an anodic
high-precision micro holes machined on the parts with extremely hard dissolution process, in which the anode material can be removed
and tough materials are always a difficulty to solve [3]. Thus, nowadays, through the ion dissolution based on the Faraday’s law when a sufficient
the fabrication of micro holes is attracting more and more researchers’ voltage is exerted between the anode electrode and cathode workpiece
attention. in which the gap is filled with the electrolyte [3]. Furthermore, ECM
There are many methods to fabricate micro holes, which can be technology has many unique advantages, such as no electrode wear,
classified as two categories: i) traditional machining methods, such as absence of residual stress, and good surface quality [5,6]. Thereby,
micro drill; ii) non-traditional machining methods, such as the electrical electrochemical micromachining (EMM), which is one of variants of

* Corresponding author at: School of Mechanical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, 250061, China.
E-mail address: [email protected] (X. Yue).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmapro.2020.09.077
Received 15 June 2020; Received in revised form 24 August 2020; Accepted 30 September 2020
Available online 10 October 2020
1526-6125/© 2020 The Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
H. Zou et al. Journal of Manufacturing Processes 59 (2020) 366–377

Fig. 1. Schematics of the experimental setup used to fabricate micro hole by EMM.

traditional ECM, has been applied in the machining of micro holes [7,8]. difficult in the ECM with the ultrasonic vibration, limiting its wide ap­
However, EMM also faces many challenges in the machining of micro plications in the EMM of micro hole. In recent years, ultra-short pulse
holes with high quality and precision, such as the stray corrosion [9], with tens of nanosecond duration is used in EMM to improve the
poor machining accuracy and process stability. As a result, traditional machining precision and quality [17–19]. However, the machining ef­
EMM technology cannot satisfy the usage requirements of micro holes ficiency of ultra-short-pulse EMM is extremely low, which limits its wide
with high precision and surface quality. Thus, many researchers [10–12] applications.
have been focusing on improving the machining quality and precision of To protect the machining surface from corrosion by the stray current
micro holes in ECM. Some researchers designed or optimized the shapes from the bare micro electrode and improve the machining accuracy, this
of micro electrode to achieve better electrical density distribution and paper proposes another new method which is the electrochemical
thus improve machining accuracy. However, the stray current coming micromachining of micro holes using micro drill with non-conductive
from the side wall of bare microelectrode is unavoidable. On the other mask on the machined surface. In this method, non-conductive mask
hand, some researchers [13–15] applied the insulated layer on the sur­ is coated on the workpiece surface first. Then, this non-conductive mask
face of the cathode electrode to avoid the influence of the stray current is drilled precisely by a micro drill. Finally, on the location of this mask
on the machining precision and quality of holes in ECM. But, it is very hole, a micro hole on the metal workpiece can be machined through
hard and expensive to prepare the insulated layer on the surface of micro EMM by using the same micro drill as the cathode electrode. The
electrode whose diameter is just tens of micrometers, thus, this method simulation and experimental results demonstrate that this method pro­
is limited in the practical application of EMM process. Wang et al. posed in this study can effectively improve the machining accuracy and
demonstrates that the ultrasonic vibration in ECM can improve the quality of micro hole in EMM. Furthermore, the preparation of non-
surface quality of machined workpiece and decease the radial overcut conductive mask on the surface of workpiece doesn’t rely on the com­
and hole taper [16]. However, the rotation of the tool electrode is plex technological process and expensive equipment, such as the

Fig. 2. SEM images of micro drill.

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Fig. 3. Comparison diagram of the cylindrical electrode and micro drill in transferring the electrolysis products.

process. Moreover, standardized micro drills have many advantages,

Table 1
such as low cost, high accuracy, size serialization, etc. Thus, standard­
Experimental conditions used in EMM.
ized micro drills are an ideal choice of micro electrode in EMM. The
Diameter of micro drill 100 μm initial position of micro drill can be determined by the contact percep­
Rotating speed of spindle 2000− 8000 rpm
tion of this machine tool. The micro drill with high-speed rotation is fed
Machined voltage 10 V
Workpiece Feeler gauge (spring steel) along Z axis of the machine tool at a uniform speed.
Voltage frequency 10, 100 kHz
Voltage duty 20 %
2.2. Experimental results and discussion
Feeding rate 0.5, 1 μm/s
Electrolyte concentration 2% NaNO3
Flow rate of electrolyte 30 mL/min The experimental conditions were shown in Table 1 with the rotating
speed of spindle 2000 rpm, voltage frequency 10 kHz, and feeding rate 1
μm/s. The thickness of workpiece used was 100 μm. Micro drill was
photolithography [20,21] which shows a complex process including placed 25 μm above the workpiece surface through the contact
spin coating, prebaking, exposure, development, and postbaking for perception first. Then, this micro drill moved 150 μm towards the
every specimen. Thus, this method also has advantages of low cost and workpiece so that a through-hole can be fabricated. To force the flow
easy operation. Furthermore, this method has a huge potential to and renewal of the electrolyte in the micro hole during the machining,
fabricate complex structures with the help of complex motion of micro the electrolyte was jetted to the inlet of micro hole, as shown in Fig. 1.
drill on the complex curved surface of workpiece which is coated with Fig. 4 shows the top surface of workpiece before and after drilling one
the non-conductive mask proposed by this study. hole. From Fig. 4(a) and (b), it can be found that the top surface of
workpiece was totally destroyed by the stray corrosion on a large area
2. EMM of micro hole without mask on the machined surface not just around the hole. Especially, far away from the inlet of micro
hole, there existed a larger fan-shaped stray corrosion zone which was
2.1. Experimental setup and details completely consistent with the flow direction of the electrolyte on the
surface of workpiece. Thus, this fan-shaped stray corrosion zone was
Fig. 1 illustrates the schematics of the experimental setup used to caused by the electrolyte that flowed on the surface of workpiece. Fig. 4
fabricate micro hole in EMM. The device consists of a precise XYZ (c) and (d) show the SEM picture of top surface of workpiece, from
movement stage with the motion accuracy of 0.5 μm, an electrolyte which the deep gully in the fan-shaped stray corrosion area can be
recycling system, a data acquisition system, a power system, and other presented clearly.
accessories. A high-speed spindle, whose radial runout error is 2 μm, is Fig. 5 shows the partial enlarged SEM images around micro hole.
installed on the Z stage. The power system used in this study is a high- From Fig. 5(a) and (b), it can be found that the shape of the inlet and
frequency power amplifier. To enhance the flow of electrolyte, the outlet of micro hole was not circular, and the inlet of micro hole was
electrolyte is jetted to the inlet of micro hole by a needle tube with the much larger than the outlet of micro hole, demonstrating that the
flow rate of 30 mL/min whose internal diameter is 410 μm. The stan­ dimensional accuracy of micro hole was extremely low. Moreover,
dardized micro drill with the diameter of 100 μm, which is also used as around the inlet of micro hole, the stray corrosion caused a large area of
the cathode electrode in EMM, is installed in the high-speed spindle. material removal. From Fig. 5(c) and (d), it was also found that the
Micro drill has the spiral groove structure on the outer surface, and the machined surface of micro hole was rough, showing that the surface
shape structure of micro drill can stir and refresh the electrolyte suffi­ quality of machined hole was significantly low.
ciently, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, which can help stabilize the machining The above machining experiment demonstrates that even if the

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Fig. 4. Top surface of workpiece before and after drilling micro hole.

Fig. 5. Partial enlarged SEM images around micro hole.

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Fig. 6. Schematics of working principle of non-conductive mask cooperating with micro drill to fabricate micro hole in EMM.

machining conditions of low concentration electrolyte and pulse power electrolyte due to the stray corrosion, as shown in Fig. 4.
were used in the fabrication of micro hole on the spring steel workpiece Some researchers used an insulated through-hole mask to cover the
through EMM, the machining quality and accuracy of micro hole were workpiece surface. The machined area of workpiece is exposed by these
still extremely low under the condition of jetting electrolyte. Next, a new through-holes on the mask while the other area can be protected by the
method would be proposed to solve the above problem. mask effectively [22]. Through the design of through-hole array,
different kinds of complex micro-dimple array on the workpiece surface
3. Propose of non-conductive mask cooperating with micro drill can be fabricated easily by ECM. Inspired by this method, we propose
to fabricate micro hole the electrochemical micromachining of micro hole using micro drill with
non-conductive mask on the machined surface. In this method,
3.1. Principle of non-conductive mask cooperating with micro drill to non-conductive mask is coated on the workpiece surface first. Then, this
fabricate micro hole non-conductive mask is drilled precisely by a micro drill, as shown in
Fig. 6(a). The micro drill and the workpiece are connected to the outputs
Traditionally, in the fabrication of hole by ECM, to reduce the of the contact perception of the machine tool. In the drilling process of
negative effect of the stray corrosion on the machining accuracy and the mask hole, every 1 μm the micro drill moves towards the workpiece
quality, the outer surface of the cathode electrode is coated with non- surface, the machine tool will detect the voltage between the micro drill
conductive mask [13–15]. However, in the EMM of micro hole, the and workpiece. When the micro drill touches the workpiece surface, the
above method faces new problems. On one hand, it is quite expensive or voltage between the micro drill and workpiece becomes zero and the
difficult to coat non-conductive mask on the outer surface of micro movement of the micro drill is stopped by the machine tool immediately.
cathode electrode whose diameter is just tens of micrometers. On the Through the above method, the relative position between the micro drill
other hand, in the EMM of micro hole, along with the decrease of the and workpiece can be determined preciously. Finally, on the location of
diameter of cathode electrode, the fabrication of hollow electrode is this mask hole, micro hole on the anode workpiece can be machined
becoming more and more difficult. As a result, flushing the electrolyte through EMM by using the same micro drill as the cathode electrode, as
from the inside of the cathode electrode is becoming impossible. Thus, to shown in Fig. 6(b). During the machining process, it is guessed that
guarantee the flow and renewal of the electrolyte in the micro hole non-conductive mask coated on the workpiece surface can protect the
during the EMM, flushing the electrolyte from the outside of the cathode non-machining area of the workpiece surface from being corroded by
electrode is extensively adopted. However, the machining experiment the stray current, thereby improving the machining quality and accu­
has demonstrated that as for some materials that are easy to be corroded, racy. Next, a simulation will be implemented to verify this method
the workpiece surface can be destroyed seriously by the flushing theoretically.

Fig. 7. Schematics of simulation model.

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Table 2 bubbles generated in EMM, were neglected, and the electrolyte con­
Simulation conditions. ductivity k was assumed to be constant.
Electrolytic conductivity k 1.7 S/m Based on the theory of the static electric field, the potential distri­
Machined voltage U 10 V bution ϕ in the electrolyte follows the Laplace’s equation, as shown in
Feeding speed v 40 μm/s Eq. (1).

∂2 ϕ ∂2 ϕ
∇2 ϕ = + =0 (1)
∂x2 ∂y2
→
The current density J n is given by Eq. (2).
→
J n = − k∇ϕ (2)

The material removal velocity in the normal direction → v n is pro­

→
portional to the current density in the normal direction J n , as shown in
Eq. (3) [23].
M →
→
vn = ⋅ J n ⋅η(J) (3)
z⋅ρ⋅F

where M = 54.94 g/mol is the molar mass of anode material, ρ =

7.77 g/cm3 is the density of anode material, F is the Faraday constant,
which is equal to 96500 C/mol, z = 2.4 is the valency of anode material,
η(J) is the current efficiency associated with the current density and is
expressed by Eq. (4), in which Jmin is the minimum current density of
anodic dissolution and is set to 10 A/cm2 according to the reference
[24].
{
1 for J > Jmin
η(J) = (4)
0 for J ≤ Jmin

Through Eqs. (1)–(4), the electric field and current distribution of

electrolyte, the movement of interface between the electrolyte and
anode can be calculated. The simulation conditions were shown in
Table 2. Fig. 8 shows the electrolyte current density distribution at t =
0.8 s and the corresponding current density streamlines represented by
black lines. From Fig. 8(a), it can be found that due to the open surface
between the cathode and anode, the electric current was generated not
only between the anode and the bottom of the cathode, but also between
the anode and the side of the cathode. The electric current that was
Fig. 8. Electrolyte current density distribution at t = 0.8 s (black lines represent generated between the anode and the side of the cathode can be defined
the electrolyte current density streamlines). as the stray current. The simulation result indicates that on the interface
between the electrolyte and anode, the range of the electric current
3.2. Simulation of EMM without and with a mask on the workpiece density that was larger than 105 A/m2 could be -145 μm/s ~ 145 μm/s.
surface From Fig. 8(b), it can be found that the electric current was also
generated not only between the anode and the bottom of the cathode,
Fig. 7(a) and (b) show the schematics of axisymmetric simulation but also between the anode and the side of the cathode. However, due to
models without the mask and with the mask coated on the workpiece non-conductive mask on the anode surface, the stray current decreased
surface, respectively. In the simulation, the cathode electrode fed at a significantly. The simulation result indicates that on the interface be­
constant speed v. For simplicity, the reaction products, such as ions and tween the electrolyte and anode, the range of the electric current density

Fig. 9. Comparison of surface morphology at t = 0.8 s.

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Fig. 10. Schematics of the 1st method for preparation and removal process of non-conductive mask on the workpiece surface.

that was larger than 105 A/m2 was only -70 μm/s ~ 70 μm/s. Fig. 9 The first method used the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) tech­
shows the comparison of the surface morphology of the anode. From nology to prepare the mask on the workpiece surface. The EPD is a
Fig. 9(a), it can be found that due to a wide range of stray current on the process that colloidal particles suspended in a liquid medium migrate
anode surface without non-conductive mask, the anode material was under the influence of an electric field (electrophoresis) and are
removed on a large scale, generating a bell-mouth profile. But, from deposited onto an electrode. All colloidal particles that can be used to
Fig. 9(b), it can be found that due to the protection of non-conductive form stable suspensions and that can carry a charge can be used in
mask on the anode surface, the stray current only caused a small-scale electrophoretic deposition. This includes materials, such as polymers,
undercutting, generating a bowl-mouth profile. The simulation results pigments, dyes, ceramics and metals [25]. The mask preparation and
demonstrate that the non-conductive mask coated on the anode surface removal processes were shown in Fig. 10 as follow: i) The workpiece was
can decrease the stray current effectively, thereby improving the connected with the cathode and put into the liquid medium with the
machining accuracy and quality markedly. colloidal particles solution of epoxy resin; ii) The workpiece with the
epoxy resin mask was dried in a drying oven; iii) The workpiece was
4. EMM of micro holes with mask on the machined surface drilled by micro drilling and machined by EMM; iv) The workpiece was
soaked in the epoxy resin remover liquid for 30 min to remove the epoxy
4.1. Preparation of non-conductive mask on the workpiece surface resin mask; v) The workpiece was cleaned in the alcohol liquid. The
comparison photograph of workpiece surface without epoxy resin mask
The simulation results have demonstrated that non-conductive mask (upper) and with epoxy resin mask (lower) prepared through the above
coated on the workpiece surface can not only protect the workpiece method was shown in Fig. 12(a). The mask prepared by this method was
surface from corrosion, but also improve the machining accuracy. black and its thickness is 10~20 μm.
However, in the practical application, making a mask with excellent The mask preparation and removal process of the second method was
performances on the workpiece surface is the key to achieve the above shown in Fig. 11 as follows: i) The workpiece tilted at 45◦ and the
method successfully. Thus, the mask prepared on the workpiece surface cyanoacrylate liquid (CH2– – C(CN)− COO-C2H5) dropped from the
must have the following properties: (1) easy to be fabricated by micro burette onto the workpiece surface. Under the action of gravity, the
drilling. The drilling accuracy and quality have significant and direct cyanoacrylate glue can flow and cover the workpiece surface; ii) The
influences on the final fabrication of micro hole by EMM, which will be workpiece still tilted at 45◦ and the water dropped from the burette onto
discussed in the Section 4.2; (2) good combination with the workpiece the mask surface. The liquid cyanoacrylate mask can be solidified with
surface. If the mask and workpiece surface don’t combine strongly, the water; iii) The workpiece surface was dried in the air; iv) The workpiece
electrolyte can percolate through the gap between the mask and work­ was drilled by drilling and machined by EMM; v) The workpiece was
piece surface, causing the stray corrosion; (3) the mask must be easy to soaked in the acetone liquid for 10 min to remove the solidified
be removed from the surface workpiece after EMM; (4) mask prepara­ cyanoacrylate mask; vi) The workpiece was cleaned in the alcohol
tion with convenience and low cost. Through constant attempts with liquid. The comparison photograph of workpiece surface without
different mask materials and manufacturing processes, two kinds of cyanoacrylate mask (upper) and with epoxy resin mask (lower) prepared
methods are proposed and compared as follows. through the above method was shown in Fig. 12(b). The mask prepared

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Fig. 11. Schematics of the 2nd method for preparation and removal process of non-conductive mask on the workpiece surface.

micro drill moved 150 μm towards the workpiece so that a through-hole

can be fabricated. To force the flow and renewal of the electrolyte in the
micro hole during the machining, the electrolyte was jetted to the Inlet
of micro hole, as shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 13 shows the top view of micro holes machined through the first
method. The machined conditions were shown in Table 1 with the
rotating speed of spindle 4000 rpm, voltage frequency 10 kHz, and
feeding rate 1 μm/s. The thickness of workpiece used was 100 μm.
Specifically, Fig. 13(a) shows the inlet of micro hole before removing the
epoxy resin mask. It can be found that the shape of the epoxy resin mask
hole is quite circular and the diameter of the mask hole is 110 μm,
demonstrating the good machining performance of the epoxy resin mask
in the drilling process. Fig. 13(b) shows the inlet of micro hole after
removing the epoxy resin mask through the method shown in Fig. 10. It
can be seen that the shape and dimensional accuracy of micro hole is
quite high compared to the hole machined without the mask shown in
Fig. 5. However, although the epoxy resin mask successfully protected
the workpiece surface from being corroded by the stray corrosion and
also helped improve the machining accuracy of micro hole in EMM, the
Fig. 12. Comparison images of workpiece surface. workpiece surface was still corroded seriously (in Fig. 13(b), the orange
color on the workpiece surface represented the corrosion marks).
by this method was transparent and its thickness is 20~30 μm. Because the chemical property of the epoxy resin was quite stable and
only the acidic epoxy resin remover can remove the epoxy resin mask
from the workpiece surface. As a result, the workpiece surface was also
4.2. Experimental results and discussion
corroded by the acidic epoxy resin remover during the removal process
of the epoxy resin mask. Thus, considering that the epoxy resin mask was
In this section, micro holes are machined in EMM on the surface of
quite hard to be removed from the workpiece surface, the epoxy resin
spring steel workpiece which has been coated with the mask through the
mask prepared by the EPD technology was not a good choice.
above two methods. When micro drill drilled through the mask, micro
In the second method, the acetone was used as the remover of the
drill was placed 25 μm above the workpiece surface first. Then, this

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Fig. 13. Optical images of micro hole machined by EMM with the 1st method shown in Fig. 10.

Fig. 14. Optical images of mask holes.

Fig. 15. Optical images of micro hole machined by EMM with the 2nd method shown in Fig. 10.

cyanoacrylate mask. During the removal process of the cyanoacrylate very promising mask material used to protect the workpiece surface.
mask, the acetone didn’t bring about any negative influence on the However, the solid cyanoacrylate was quite brittle, and its machining
workpiece surface, such as the corrosion. Moreover, the preparation performance should be investigated first.
process of the cyanoacrylate mask was quite simple and didn’t rely on Fig. 14 shows the mask hole drilled under 2000 r/min and 10,000 r/
complex operation and equipment. Thus, the cyanoacrylate mask was a min. From the figure, it can be found that the shape and dimensional

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rotating speed of micro drill. But, when the rotating speed exceeded
4000 r/min, the diameter of the mask hole didn’t change obviously.
Thereby, in the following machining experiment, 4000 r/min was used.
Figs. 17 and 18 show micro holes machined in EMM with the mask
and without the mask respectively under the machining conditions
shown in Table 1 with the rotating speed of spindle 4000 rpm, voltage
frequency 10 kHz and 100 kHz, feeding rate 1 μm/s. The thickness of
workpiece used was 100 μm. From Fig. 17, it can be seen that the
workpiece surface at the inlet of micro hole kept its original quality after
drilling micro hole due to the protection of the mask. But, Fig. 18 shows
that the workpiece surface around the inlet of micro hole was corroded
by the stray current after drilling micro hole without the mask. Due to
the limitation of figure dimension, the fan-shaped stray corrosion zone
caused by the electrolyte that flowed on the surface of workpiece was
not presented here, which has been shown and discussed in Fig. 4.
Fig. 16. Relationship between the diameter of micro hole and the rotation
Moreover, the shape and dimensional accuracy of the inlet of micro hole
speed of micro drill.
machined with mask were also improved markedly compared to the
micro hole machined without mask on the workpiece surface. From
accuracy of the mask hole drilled under 10,000 r/min were much better Fig. 17, it can be found that the inlet diameter and the outlet diameter of
than the mask hole drilled under 2000 r/min. Fig. 15 shows the influ­ micro hole were almost equal and the taper of micro hole was near 0◦ no
ence of the machining quality of the mask hole on the final machining matter under low or high frequency of machined voltage. But, without
quality of micro hole in EMM. In Fig. 15(a), a crack defect around the the mask on the workpiece surface, the inlet diameter of micro hole was
Inlet of micro hole occurred during the drilling process of the mask hole larger than the outlet diameter of micro hole, as shown in Fig. 18. The
by micro drill. As a result, the defective mask can’t protect the work­ bell mouth and taper of micro hole were obvious. It should be noted that
piece surface effectively, and the workpiece surface was corroded with the mask on the workpiece surface, the outlet diameter of micro
locally. The final shape of micro hole machined in EMM was not circular, hole was a little larger than the inlet diameter of micro hole, as shown in
as shown by Fig. 15(b). Thus, the drilling quality of the mask hole has a Fig. 17. This is because the workpiece surface at the outlet of micro hole
significant influence on the final shape of micro hole by EMM. Fig. 16 was not coated with the mask, as a result, the outlet of micro hole was
shows the influence of the rotating speed of micro drill on the machining corroded slightly by the stray corrosion when micro drill drilled through
quality of the mask hole. From the figure, it can be found that the micro hole.
diameter of the mask hole decreased along with the increase of the To further investigate the inside of micro hole, micro holes were

Fig. 17. SEM images of micro hole machined by EMM with the 2nd method shown in Fig. 10.

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Fig. 18. SEM images of micro hole machined without mask.

Fig. 19. SEM images of cross-section of micro holes.

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fabricated on the workpiece with the thickness of 300 μm and then cut References
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efficiency and Clean Mechanical Manufacture at Shandong University 150.
(Ministry of Education), and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
(2020M672052).

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