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Study on ultrasonic-assisted electrochemical honing of bevel gears

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Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture

Published online on

Abstract

Electrochemical honing of gears is a productive, high-accuracy, micro-finishing and long tool life gear finishing process in which material is removed by combined action of electrolytic dissolution and mechanical scrubbing action. The use of ultrasonic-assisted electrochemical honing of gears is first proposed, and it may help to enhance the process performances of the classical electrochemical honing process by scrubbing the complete surface of the gear tooth. In this technique, the honing gear is attached on the ultrasonic vibrator to provide the ultrasonic vibrations on the workpiece surface. The focus is on an optimization of the process parameters of ultrasonic-assisted electrochemical honing of bevel gear made of AISI 1040 carbon steel. The result of experiments reveals that the applied high ultrasonic frequency (kHz) on the workpiece has the maximum influence on the process performance. The maximum percentage improvement in average and maximum surface roughness using ultrasonic-assisted electrochemical honing of bevel gear is 91.04 and 71.98, respectively. The results confirm that the ultrasonic-assisted electrochemical honing can produce a better tooth surface roughness than the electrochemical honing. This will improve bevel gear efficiency and reliability in operation.