Workpiece surface hardness as an indicator of process regime in peripheral electrochemical grinding

Peripheral electrochemical grinding can operate under four main regimes depending on the process settings. The operating regime is determined by the relative contributions of electrochemical dissolution and mechanical abrasion, which can be controlled by the level of applied voltage. Current, overcut and surface roughness have all been shown to be indicators of the transition voltages between operating regimes. The present paper presents experimental evidence to show how surface hardness changes after machining AISI 01 tool and die steel in the different regimes. A marked change in surface hardness is seen to occur between the totally abrasive regime and the totally electrochemical regime.