Characterization of the lateral working distance in precise electrochemical machining of differently heat treated steel

Heat treated materials with high wear resistance are applied for highly strained extrusion dies. Due to the required wear resistance, conventional manufacturing of such dies is challenging. With help of electrochemical machining (ECM), materials can be machined independently of their mechanical properties [1]. However, heat treatment may influence the material-specific removal characteristics and thereby the resulting lateral working distance.In this paper, the material-specific removal characteristics of the wear-resistant steel material WOV 555 in hardened and unhardened condition are determined applying pulsed electrochemical machining (PECM). In addition, the characterization of the achievable surface quality is conducted for both heat treatment conditions. Furthermore multiphysics simulations are utilized to characterize the lateral material removal for both heat treatment conditions. For this purpose, the determined material-specific removal characteristics are integrated into the simulation model. The influence of heat treatment of WOV 555 on the lateral working distance will be evaluated by help of transient process simulations.