The prediction of workpiece shape during electrochemical machining by the boundary element method

Abstract The authors aim to improve the reliability and speed of workpiece shape prediction for electrochemical machining. A review of some previous mathematical modelling work is followed by a resume of the Boundary Element Method. Linear and quadratic elements are used herein to represent the boundaries and, because the workpiece shape changes as machining progresses, an automatic re-noding procedure is adopted after each iteration. The effect of element and time step size on the accuracy of the workpiece profile is studied, accuracy being measured by comparing converged parts of the workpiece shape with exact equilibrium solutions. The paper reveals considerable promise for boundary element simulation particularly when it is reasonable to assume that homogeneous physical conditions exist in the inter-electrode zone.

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