Abstract
Injection molded direct joining (IMDJ) is one of the metal-polymer direct joining methods, which is based on metal surface treatment and insert injection molding. In this research, we apply electrolyte jet machining (EJM), to the surface treatment process. EJM is carried out by jetting electrolytic aqueous solution from a nozzle towards a workpiece while a voltage is applied between the nozzle and the workpiece. As metal removal occurs in this process according to electrolytic reactions, micro/nano structures will be formed on surface of the workpiece. In this work, we have developed an EJM apparatus that can process metal pieces and verified the application of EJM to metal-polymer direct joining. We also studied the effects of current density of EJM experiments on average shear strength of metal-polymer joining.
