The project concerns evaluation of a new machining technique which combines elements of wire Electro Discharge Machining (EDM) and Electro Chemical Machining (ECM). The metal removal process involves the anodic dissolution of the workpiece in close proximity to a moving wire. A prototype single-axis wire ECM machine will be built to prove the concept, in addition to detailed theoretical analysis. Such a machine, if it is successfully built and tested, would have the advantages of wire EDM without its adverse heat treatment effects on the machined surface. Also, in such a machine, high fluid pressures would not be needed, reducing machine and tooling stresses and avoiding one of the main disadvantages of conventional ECM.
