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Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM): A Machining Process
Get Quotes for Wire EDM and Ram EDM Services
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Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM)
Another great
example of how technological advances have improved upon traditional machining
processes is Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM). EDM enables you to remove
material by immersing a part in water and to create a very high voltage
between a piece of copper or graphite and the part so that sparks jump between
them. The sparks are so hot that they cut away metal from the part. The
main advantage of EDM is that it can be used to cut any metal as long as
it conducts electricity. EDM can cut small or odd-shaped angles and intricate
contours and because it does so without ever touching the part the accuracy
of EDM is extremely high.
The EDM process is frequently used in mold-making and tool and die applications.
Other frequent EDM applications include prototyping and low volume production
runs that would cost prohibitive utilizing other more labor intensive machining
processes.
There are two common kinds of EDM: Wire EDM and Ram EDM.
Wire EDM
In wire EDM, the copper cutting tool is a wire
that is guided by a computer controlled machine. The wire cuts a thin line
through the part. Many shapes can be produced this way in flat material.
The wire-cut EDM uses water as its dielectric. Proper flushing of the Electrical
Discharge Machining environment is required to prolong tool life. Filters
and de-ionizing units help to control the water’s resistivity to ensure
that the EDM process works at peak efficiency.
Ram EDM
More complex shapes can be formed by ram EDM.
Ram EDM uses a negatively shaped copper or graphite electrode, which slowly
descends into the part as it cuts leaving a precise impression in the part.
The advantage to ram EDM is that it can produce parts with very complex
geometry in materials that are hard to work. The disadvantage is that this
takes a very long time and sometimes several copper or graphite tools must
be made because the sparks eventually wear away the copper or graphite as
well. To maintain or prolong tool life in the Electrical Discharge Machining
process it is imperative to continuously flush residue from the work environment.
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