Micro-electrochemical discharge cutting of glass using a surface-textured tool

Wire electrochemical discharge machining (WECDM) has been suggested as a micro-cutting method for non-conductive materials such as glass and ceramics. However, the WECDM process using traveling wire suffers from low surface integrity because of the high working voltage and long reactive tool length compared to those of the micro-ECDM process. In this research, a cylindrical tool with micro-textures on the surface is proposed as a cutting electrode. Partial electrical shielding of the tool electrode was also employed to stabilize the discharge characteristics by minimizing the reactive tool area. Two-dimensional contour cutting of soda-lime glass using the proposed method is demonstrated.