Large size titanium alloy parts are widely used in aerospace. However, they are difficult to manufacture using mechanical cutting technology because of severe tool wear. Electrochemical jet machining is a promising technology to achieve high efficiency, because it has high machining flexibility and no machining tool wear. However, reports on the macro electrochemical jet machining of large size titanium alloy parts are very scarce, because it is difficult to achieve effective constraint of the flow field in macro electrochemical jet machining. In addition, titanium alloy is very sensitive to fluctuation of the flow field, and a turbulent flow field would lead to serious stray corrosion. This paper reports a series of investigations of the electrochemical jet machining of titanium alloy parts. Based on the flow analysis and experiments, the machining flow field was effectively constrained. TB6 titanium alloy part with a perimeter of one meter was machined. The machined surface was smooth with no obvious machining defects. The machining process was particularly stable with no obvious spark discharge. The research provides a reference for the application of electrochemical jet machining technology to achieve large allowance material removal in the machining of large titanium alloy parts.

Macro electromechanical milling has recently attracted increasing attention because numerous large thin-walled structures composed of difficult-to-cut materials are employed in the aerospace field. This paper reviews recent developments in state-of-the-art macro electromechanical milling. The fundamental aspects of material removal mechanisms, such as the generation and breakdown behaviors of passive oxide films of typical difficult-to-cut materials, were discussed. Rapid methods for breaking down passive films are summarized, and simulation methods for the machining process coupling multiple physical fields are introduced. Specific electrochemical milling methods, including fly mode electrochemical milling and sink electrochemical milling, are classified. Efforts made to improve process performance, such as the material removal rate, surface quality, and machining accuracy, are discussed. In addition, the main hybrid electrochemical milling methods, including electrochemical discharge milling, mechano-electrochemical milling, and electrochemical mill grinding, are also presented.

In flat jet electrochemical milling, the electrolyte forms a backward parallel flow after impacting the workpiece, resulting in a weak current density distribution on the workpiece. Poor surface quality usually occurs on the machined titanium alloy surface because it inevitably suffers from the weak current density. In this study, a method of flat jet electrochemical milling with tailoring the backward parallel flow was proposed to eliminate the negative effects caused by the weak current density. Multiphysics simulations are carried out to comprehend the mechanism of flat jet-EC milling with tailoring backward parallel flow and better construct the novel tool electrode. Experiments on flat jet electrochemical milling of TC4 alloy with and without tailoring backward parallel flow are conducted. The results reveal that, compared with flat jet electrochemical milling without tailoring backward parallel flow, the recommended tool reduces the surface roughness by 86% to 93%, and improves the material removal rate by 93% to 163% with different feed rates. Additionally, the recommended tool is more conducive to maintaining the inherent hardness of the material. Finally, a surface with low Sa of 0.37 μm is obtained.

Electrochemical milling is a modified technique of traditional electrochemical machining (ECM) that can be used to manufacture some helicopter transmission system parts. The use of rotary tools and an inner-jet electrolyte supply pattern can greatly improve the material removal rate (MRR) in a single pass. However, the feed speed is generally limited to minimize the tool wear. To increase the MRR, electrical discharge machining (EDM) is introduced into the electrochemical milling process. The tool rotation is employed to interrupt the discharge and the high-conductivity salt solution and non-pulsed direct current power supply are also adopted to increase ECM, eventually, a new machining method is proposed, which can be called rotary sinking electrochemical discharge milling (RSECD milling). The mechanism of it is explored in this study by analyzing the machined current, MRR, surface morphology, and tool wear at different applied voltages and feed speeds. Besides, the RSECD milling using the tool with a larger diameter is also conducted to further verify the effectiveness. In particular, the MRR can be increased by 742.5% when using the tool with a diameter of 20 mm at the applied voltage of 20 V.

Electrolyte jet machining (EJM) is a promising method for shaping titanium alloys due to its lack of tool wear, thermal and residual stress, and cracks and burrs. Recently, macro-EJM has attracted increasing attention for its high efficiency in machining wide grooves or planes. However, macro-EJM generates large amounts of electrolytic products, thereby increasing the difficulty of rapid product removal with a standard tool and reducing the surface quality. Therefore, for enhanced product transport, a novel tool with a back inclined end face was proposed for macro-EJM of TC4 titanium alloy. For comparison, also proposed were ones with a standard flat end face, a front inclined end face, and both front and back inclined end faces. The flow field distributions of all proposed tools were simulated numerically, and experiments were also conducted to validate the simulation results. The results show that one with a 5° back inclined end face can decrease the low-velocity flow zone in the machining area and increase the high-velocity flow zone at the back end of tool, thereby promoting rapid product removal. A relatively smooth bright-white groove surface was obtained. The same tool also resulted in the highest machining depth and material removal rate among the tested ones. In addition, rapid product removal was beneficial to the subsequent processing. Because of its rapid product removal, the machining depth and material removal rate during deep groove machining using the tool with a 5° back inclined end face were respectively 7% and 14% higher than those produced using a standard one. Moreover, the lowest bottom height difference of 0.027 mm can be obtained when the step-over value was 8.2 mm, and a plane with a depth of 0.285 mm and a bottom height difference of 0.03 mm was fabricated using the tool with a 5° back inclined end face.