A nearly indispensable part of any innovation in aero engine manufacturing

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foto1-emagECM und PECM technology (Precise Electro Chemical Machining) from EMAG comes into its own where complex components are to be produced in demanding materials, as it machines high-tensile alloys and similar materials with a minimum of tool wear. The surfaces are of outstanding quality – with no burrs and no changes in the microstructure of the material. The electro-chemical process ensures a particularly soft removal of the material. The workpiece acts as positive anode and the tool as negative cathode. Between the two flows an electrolyte solution that dissolves metal ions on the workpiece. The contour of the cathode and the workpiece with their active, current-conducting sectors, are matched, to ensure that the material removal on the workpiece leads to the desired contour of the component. Contours, channels, grooves and cavities are generated without touching the component – and at the highest possible precision. With PECM, EMAG have developed the ECM technology further. The gap, through which the electrolyte solution flows, is particularly narrow; and the flow is optimised by a mechanical oscillation. This guarantees a particularly effective and precise removal of the material. The possibilities this technology opens up are best shown by the example of blisk productions.The life expectancy of ECM tools is very high, making sure that the tooling costs in production are much lower than those using cutting tools for the process.