Processing of titanium alloys with improved efficiency and accuracy by laser and electrochemical machining

The fabrication of microstructures with high efficiency and accuracy on titanium alloys presents significant challenges due to stringent quality requirements. Hybrid laser and electrochemical machining (LECM) has emerged as a viable solution for efficient and precise processing of titanium alloys. This study investigates the material removal mechanism of titanium alloys during LECM, analyzing the machining characteristics under the combined influence of laser processing and electrochemical machining. The impacts of voltage, laser power, and feeding rate on aspects such as aspect-ratio, accuracy, efficiency, and surface roughness are examined. Results reveal that synchronous laser irradiation effectively accelerates electrochemical corrosion rates, enhancing the removal capability of the passive film. Notably, LECM outperforms pure ECM, demonstrating significant improvements in parameters such as aspect-ratio (394.4% increase), material removal rate (140% increase), and aspect-ratio (172.8% increase). Lower laser power is favored for high-precision LECM. An electric circuit model elucidates the titanium alloy material removal mechanism in LECM. Additionally, the study proposes the use of gradient laser power for fabricating high-aspect-ratio structures with efficiency and accuracy. The research successfully fabricates microstructures with elevated aspect-ratio and flat bottoms on titanium alloys.