Micro electrochemical milling

In this paper, electrochemical machining (ECM) for fabricating micro structures is presented. By applying ultra short pulses, dissolution of a workpiece can be restricted to the region very close to an electrode. Using this method, 3D micro structures were machined on stainless steel. Good surface quality of the structures was obtained in the low concentration electrolyte, 0.1 M H2SO4. In ECM, when the machining depth increases, structures taper. To reduce the taper, a disc-type electrode is introduced. By electrochemical milling, various 3D micro structures including a hemisphere with 60 mum diameter were fabricated.