Four Things To Be Aware Of Regarding EDM Manufacturing

If you're looking for the right machining process for your manufacturing needs, you might want to learn a few things about electrical discharge machining (EDM) to determine if this process is right for your needs. 

The following are four things you should be aware of regarding EDM manufacturing to determine if this machining method is right for your processing and manufacturing needs.

Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is the same thing as die sinking, wire burning, and spark machining.

There are numerous names for the electrical discharge machining. Being aware of these alternatives names for the process is helpful when you're in the market for EDM manufacturing services.

EDM can also be referred to by the names die sinking, wire burning, spark machining, spark eroding, and wire erosion. 

EDM uses electrical discharges in order to shape work pieces.

With EDM, a work piece is machined into the desired shape with the help of electrical discharges or sparks.

This means that excess material is removed with two electrodes with a dielectric liquid in between them that rapidly produces a series of discharges. Both a tool-electrode and a workpiece-electrode are necessary for this process. 

EDM is a machining method used to cut through work piece materials that are composed of hard metals that would be difficult to shape with more traditional techniques.

If you're trying to decide whether EDM is appropriate for your machining needs, you need to consider what material your work piece is composed of.

If your work piece is made up of particular hard metals or metal alloys, EDM may be the best option. EDM is typically chosen when more traditional machining methods do not create enough force to break apart a particular hard work piece material.

EDM is typically used as a machining method for materials including titanium, hardened steel, inconel, and kovar. 

Two of the most common types of EDM are die-sink EDM and wire-cut EDM.

There are two major options available for EDM types: die-sink EDM and wire-cut EDM. Die-sink was the original EDM tactic available, and it involves the use of an electromagnetic interrupter arrangement and a vacuum tube circuit. 

The wire-cut method is used when dies need to be made in the work material. With the wire-cut method, the tool-electrode is a wire wound up in between two spools. The feed rate and the surface finish of the work piece can be minutely controlled with modern wire-cut EDM technology.