What is EDM?

EDM is a machining method primarily used for hard metals or those that would be impossible to machine with traditional techniques. One critical limitation, however, is that EDM only works with materials that are electrically conductive. EDM or Electrical Discharge Machining is especially well-suited for cutting intricate contours or delicate cavities that would be difficult to produce with a grinder, an end mill or other cutting tools. Metals that can be machined with EDM include hastalloy, hardened tool-steel, titanium, carbide, inconel and kovar. EDM is sometimes called "spark machining" because it removes metal by producing a rapid series of repetitive electrical discharges. These electrical discharges are passed between an electrode and the piece of metal being machined. The small amount of material that is removed from the workpiece is flushed away with a continuously flowing fluid. The repetitive discharges create a set of successively deeper craters in the work piece until the final shape is produced.

Wire Cut EDM

In wire EDM a very thin wire serves as the electrode. Special brass wires are typically used; the wire is slowly fed through the material and the electrical discharges actually cut the workpiece. Wire EDM is usually performed in a bath of water. If someone was to observe the wire EDM process under a microscope, he would discover that the wire itself does not actually touch the metal to be cut; the electrical discharges actually remove small amounts of material and allow the wire to be moved through the workpiece. The path of the wire is typically controlled by a computer, which allows extremely complex shapes to be produced.

Diagram:

MAJOR COMPONENTS
A Wire EDM system is comprised of four major components. (1) Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) Think of this as The Brains. (2) Power Supply Provides energy to the spark. Think of this as The Muscle. (3) Mechanical Section Worktable, work stand, taper unit, and wire drive mechanism. (This is the actual machine tool.) Think of this as The Body. (4) Dielectric System The water reservoir where filtration, condition of the water (resistivity/conductivity) and temperature of the water is provided and maintained. Think of this as The Nourishment.

PRINCIPLE OF WIRE ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE MACHINING

The Spark Theory on a wire EDM is basically the same as that of the vertical EDM process. In wire EDM, the conductive materials are machined with a series of electrical discharges (sparks) that are produced between an accurately positioned moving wire (the electrode) and the workpiece. High frequency pulses of alternating or direct current is discharged from the wire to the workpiece with a very small spark gap through an insulated dielectric fluid (water). Many sparks can be observed at one time. This is because actual discharges can occur more than one hundred thousand times per second, with discharge sparks lasting in the range of 1/1,000,000 of a second or less. The volume of metal removed during this short period of spark discharge depends on the desired cutting speed and the surface finish required. The heat of each electrical spark, estimated at around 15,000 to 21,000 Fahrenheit, erodes away a tiny bit of material that is vaporized and melted from the workpiece. (Some of the wire material is also eroded away) These particles (chips) are flushed away from the cut with a stream of de-ionized water through the top and bottom flushing nozzles. The water also prevents heat build-up in the workpiece. Without this cooling, thermal expansion of the part would affect size and positional accuracy. Keep in mind that it is the ON and OFF time of the spark that is repeated over and over that removes material, not just the flow of electric current.

Application:
Prototype production The EDM process is most widely used by the mold-making tool and die industries, but is becoming a common method of making prototype and production parts,[25] especially in the aerospace, automobile and electronics industries in which production quantities are relatively low. In Sinker EDM, a graphite, copper tungsten or pure copper electrode is machined into the desired (negative) shape and fed into the workpiece on the end of a vertical ram. Coinage die making For the creation of dies for producing jewelry and badges by the coinage (stamping) process, the positive master may be made from sterling silver, since (with appropriate machine settings) the master is significantly eroded and is used only once. The resultant negative die is then hardened and used in a drop hammer to produce stamped flats from cutout sheet blanks of bronze, silver, or low proof gold alloy. For badges these flats may be further shaped to a curved surface by another die. This type of EDM is usually performed submerged in an oil-based dielectric. The finished object may be further refined by hard (glass) or soft (paint) enameling and/or electroplated with pure gold or nickel. Softer materials such as silver may be hand engraved as a refinement. Small hole drilling On wire-cut EDM machines, small hole drilling EDM is used to make a through hole in a workpiece in through which to thread the wire for the wirecut EDM operation. A separate EDM head specifically for small hole drilling is mounted on a wire-cut machine and allows large hardened plates to have finished parts eroded from them as needed and without pre-drilling. Metal disintegration machining Several manufacturers produce EDM machines for the specific purpose of removing broken tools (drill bits or taps) from work pieces. In this application, the process is termed "metal disintegration machining".

Advantages:
1) Complex shapes that would otherwise be difficult to produce with conventional cutting tools 2) Extremely hard material to very close tolerances 3) Very small work pieces where conventional cutting tools may damage the part from excess cutting tool pressure. 4) There is no direct contact between tool and work piece. Therefore delicate sections and weak materials can be machined without any distortion. 5) A good surface finish can be obtained. 6) Very fine holes can be easily drilled.

Disadvantages:
1) The slow rate of material removal. 2) The additional time and cost used for creating electrodes for ram/sinker EDM. 3) Reproducing sharp corners on the workpiece is difficult due to electrode wear. 4) Specific power consumption is very high. 5) Power consumption is high. 6) "Overcut" is formed. 7) Excessive tool wear occurs during machining. 8) Electrically non-conductive materials can be machined only with specific set-up of the process.