The era of advanced manufacturing involves the parallel development of sophisticated miniature products as well as novel materials which have necessitated research into electrochemical micromachining technology (micro-ECM) where the material removal is achieved in an athermal manner through the controlled anodic dissolution of the workpiece. High-quality micromachining is obtained through the controlled application of electric and flow fields. The development of micro-ECM is backed by several industries including aerospace, mold, space, automotive, microelectronics, consumer goods, and biomedical industries. In micro-ECM technology, the tool serves as one of the main factors influencing processing accuracy and capability. This aspect has not been covered in detail in existing review articles. Therefore, this review article focuses on tooling aspects of micro-ECM technology. It incorporates all the aspects of tooling from functional design, structures, and materials to fabrication routes in a single manuscript. This article also attempts to highlight the development of composite micro-tools to deliver multiple process energies, ECM tools fabricated through additive manufacturing routes, proposes future research directions and the associated challenges involved with the use of micro- and nano-tools in ECM technology. This review article seeks to address both the academic and industrial audience thereby leading to further tooling innovations for micro-ECM technology.

先进制造时代涉及复杂微型产品和新型材料的并行开发，因此需要对电化学微加工技术（micro-ECM）进行研究，其中通过工件的受控阳极溶解以非热方式实现材料去除。通过电场和流场的受控应用可以获得高质量的微加工。微ECM的发展受到航空航天、模具、航天、汽车、微电子、消费品和生物医学等多个行业的支持。在微细ECM技术中，刀具是影响加工精度和能力的主要因素之一。现有的评论文章尚未详细介绍这方面的内容。因此，本文重点关注微 ECM 技术的工具方面。它在一份手稿中整合了从功能设计、结构和材料到制造路线的工具的所有方面。本文还试图重点介绍复合材料微型工具的发展，以提供多种工艺能量、通过增材制造路线制造的 ECM 工具，提出未来的研究方向以及在 ECM 技术中使用微型和纳米工具所涉及的相关挑战。