1.

Chemical machining (CHM) is the material removal process for the production of desired
shapes through selective or overall of material by controlled chemical attack with acids
or alkalis. This is one of the oldest nontraditional machining processes and also has
some drawbacks .The main issues face by chemical machining process is the reduced
material removal rate when compared to other nontraditional machining techniques.
Accuracy of machine should also paid attention. Apart of this, since we are using
chemical etchant for the process, it also has some environmental issues. The machining
quality of chemical machining is comparatively less. So it is necessary to think of an idea
to improve the quality Selection of an etchant is dependent upon numerous factors,
some of which are:(1) material to be etched, (2) type of maskant or resist used, (3) depth
of etch, (4) surface finish required, (5) potential damage to or alteration of metallurgical
properties of the material, (6) speed of material removal, (7) permissible operating
environment, (8) economics of material removal, and (9) heat-treated condition of
materials

2. Advantages:
3. Negligible tool wear.
4. Complex and concave curvature parts can be produced easily by the use of convex and
concave tools.
5. No forces and residual stress are produced, because there is no direct contact between
tool and workpiece.
6. An excellent surface finish is produced.
7. Less heat is generated.

Disadvantages:
1.The risk of corrosion for tool, w/p and equipment increases in the case of saline and
acidic electrolyte.
8. Electrochemical machining is capable of machining electrically conductive materials only.
9. High power consumption.
10. High initial investment cost.

Applications:
Die-sinking operations.
Drilling jet engine turbine blades.
Multiple hole drilling.
Machining steam Turbine blades within minimum close limits
Micro machining.
Profiling and contouring.
3.The electrolyte has three main functions in the ECM process. It carries the current between
the tool and the workpiece, it removes the product of the reaction from the cutting region, and it
removes the heat produced by the current flow in the operation. Electrolytes must have high
conductivity, low toxicity and corrosivity, and chemical and electrochemical stability. The rate of
material removal in ECM is governed by Faraday’s laws and is function of current density.
Primary variables that affect the current density and MRR are voltage, feed rate, electrolyte
conductivity, electrolyte concentration/composition, electrolyte flow rate and material of the
workpiece. Therefore electrolyte must be selected carefully. An extremely useful tool for
optimization of the ECM process is the polarization curve. Polarization studies can provide
important and useful information on the electrolyte properties for the ECM process.

5.Advantages of CHM
Burr-free components are produced.
Most difficult to machine materials can be processed.
High surface finish is obtained.
Any metal can be machined.
Stress free components are produced.
Since the process is comparatively simple, there is no need of highly skilled labour.
Both faces of the workpiece can be machined simultaneously.
Hard and brittle materials can be machined.
Tooling cost is very low.
Complex contours can be easily machined.
Disadvantages of CHM
Since the process is slow, metal removal rate is low.
Manufacturing cost is high.
Workpiece thickness, that can be machined, is limited.
Large floor area is needed.
It is not possible to produce sharp corners.

Etching is used in microfabrication to chemically remove layers from the surface of a wafer
during manufacturing. Etching is a critically important process module, and every wafer
undergoes many etching steps before it is complete.
Maskants means a coating that is applied directly to aluminum components to protect surface
areas when chemical milling the component with a Type I or Type II etchant. Type I chemical
milling maskants are used with a Type I etchant and Type II chemical milling maskants are used
with a Type II etchant.