Electrochemical discharge assisted grinding for plastic domain machining of quartz glass

Quartz, ceramics, and other insulating brittle materials exhibit outstanding physical and chemical properties, playing an indispensable role in the fields of aerospace and weaponry equipment. Due to their high hardness, brittleness, and non-conductive characteristics, conventional grinding cannot achieve efficient and damage-free machining of these materials. In this research, an electrochemical discharge assisted grinding (ECDAG) process is proposed by utilizing the localized high temperature generated by the discharges to soften the material, thereby facilitating plastic domain grinding to improve machining performance. The influence mechanism of key factors was analyzed, including the localization of electrochemical discharges, the abrasive grain rate of grinding wheels, and the energy matching between electrochemical discharges and grinding. Furthermore, an experimental system was developed for the ECDAG process, and comparative experiments between ECDAG and conventional grinding (CG) were conducted on quartz glass workpieces by machining grooves. The results demonstrate the feasibility and capability of ECDAG for machining insulating brittle materials. Compared with CG, ECDAG with plastic grinding characteristics can achieve superior surface and subsurface quality, greater groove depth, and lower grinding force.