Use of coated microtools in advanced manufacturing: An exploratory study in electrochemical machining (ECM) context

Coated tools have improved the performance of both traditional and nontraditional machining processes and have resulted in improved machining characteristics. However, a study on the performance of coated tools in micromachining, particularly in ECM, has not yet been adequately conducted. One possible reason is the difficulties associated with the preparation of coated microtools. This paper describes a method of preparation of nickel coated tungsten microtools by electrodeposition and reports on the performance of these tools in microECM experiments. The tungsten microtool was electroplated with nickel with direct and pulse current. The effect of the various input parameters on the coating characteristics was studied and performance of the coated microtool was evaluated in pulse ECM. The coated tool removed more material than the uncoated tool under similar conditions and was more electrochemically stable. It was concluded that nickel coated tungsten microtool can improve the pulse ECM performance.