Patent ID: 7741576

Claim:
An apparatus for hybrid machining an electrically-conductive workpiece, comprising: a mandrel for supporting an electrically-conductive workpiece; a rotating cutter mounted on an arbor, the cutter made of an electrically conductive material with a non-conductive abrasive material dispersed therein; a power supply electrically connected to both the electrically-conductive workpiece and the cutter for providing electrical power to both the electrically-conductive workpiece and the cutter; and a coolant supply for circulating a coolant between the cutter and the electrically-conductive workpiece, wherein the material is removed from the electrically-conductive workpiece using a high-speed electro-erosion process that simultaneously uses electrical erosion, mechanical abrasion, and electrochemical dissolution processes when the cutter is moved relative to the electrically-conductive workpiece in the range between about 3 inches per minute to about 50 inches per minute.