ELECTROCHEMICAL MACHINING OF TITANIUM COMPRESSOR BLADES.

Electrochemical machining (ECM) of titanium and its alloys using sodium chloride electrolyte is associated with pitting of machined surface due to passivation. Careful selection of electrolyte containing aggressive ions like KBr, Na//2SO//4 and NaNO//3 can yield better surface finish. This paper deals with investigations into the machining of titanium alloy VT-5 with NaCl and also with NaCl containing aggressive ions. Higher flow rate produced better finish. Switching over to ECM under the conditions specified in the paper lead to 50% reduction in machining time compared to copy milling followed by abrasive belt grinding.