Effect of electroplastic cutting on the manufacturing process and surface properties

This article reports on a novel machining process technique: in situ electrically assisted turning process based on the influence of electropulsing. A self-made generator was used to induce a current intensity of 90 A, a pulse duration between 50 and 200 μs and frequencies between 100 and 300 Hz. The influence of different electropulsing configurations assisting the machining process was studied, specifically on the surface properties and the power consumption in several steel alloys. The results show that the electrically assisted turning process improves material machinability, decrease the power consumption up to 105.4 W and the specific cutting energy up to 25%. The assisted process also modifies the surface properties, the average surface roughness decreases within the range of 6-40% and material hardness decreases within the range of 6-16% when compared to the conventional process.