Effect of electrode insulation on the electric field and the flow field of the machining gap during electrochemical drilling（ECD） is numerically studied. Electric field simulation shows that the current density along the side gap decreases with increasing the thickness of electrode insulation. And the analysis of the electrolyte flow in the frontal gap shows that the insulation thickness has a remarkable influence on the pressure distributions. Ex- periments investigate the influence of the insulation thickness on the main characteristics of the machined hole, i.e. , radial overcut, entrance conicity, and current stability. The poor hole is observed and identified as most likely to occur with a combination of the low tool feed rate and the low insulation thickness. The appropriate thickness of the insulating layer leads to an improvement on hole accuracy and machining stability.
