Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) — Beltim & Associates

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What is Electrical Discharge Machining?

Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is an unconventional manufacturing method that relies on the principle of erosion by electric discharge. A process discovered by Joseph Priestley, one of chemistry’s founding fathers, in 1770. But it would take another 200 years for electrical discharge machining to become a viable fabrication technique.

How Does Electrical Discharge Machining work?

Electric discharge machining takes away material from a workpiece until it has achieved its intended form. EDM utilizes the principle of electric or thermoelectric erosion, meaning that a series of rapid-firing sparks removes (or erodes) material from a workpiece. The temperatures exceed 10,000 degrees Celsius and can vaporize material from the workpiece. And while each spark only makes a minute impression, an electrical discharge machine can deliver tens of thousands of sparks per second.

As in some other electrical processes, both intentional and inadvertent, the sparking occurs between two electrodes. The machine provides the first electrode, and the second electrode is the workpiece itself. Therefore, EDM is used to fabricate electrically conductive metals and is employed when conventional machining methods fail to cut through tough, exotic metals.

Both the wire and workpiece are bathed in dielectric fluid, usually a hydrocarbon oil or deionized water, which acts as a coolant and insulator to prevent unwanted electrical discharges.

As it flows, it flushes away debris and reduces the risk of an unstable discharge that might otherwise occur in a contaminated fluid.

Automation

The automation of electrical discharge machining is nothing new, in theory, but advanced features have electrified output in various ways. For example, improved HMI (human-machine interface) and other intuitive software upgrades yield greater control and cutting stability, minimizing labor for human engineers.

Additionally, automation allows multiple processes to occur simultaneously, benefiting our clients with higher workloads, less downtime, and the resultant top-quality products at competitive prices.