Modelling of the electrochemical machining process by the boundary element method

This paper describes the development and application of the boundary element method to model the machining of simple milling and turning features. The 3D model uses linear triangular elements to discretise the workpiece and tool surfaces. Highlights of the program include the use of analytical integration to calculate the element matrices rather than numerical, and the automatic refinement of the mesh as the workpiece is progressively machined. The program has been tested for milling slots using a rectangular tool and for turning a thin-walled tube. It is shown that there is good agreement between the predicted and experimental results.