WIRE ELECTRICAL

DISCHARGE MACHINING
 INTRODUCTION
• Among the earliest nontraditional manufacturing process.

• The evolution of the Wire EDM in the 70's was due to powerful
generators, new wire tool electrodes, better mechanical concepts,
and improved machine intelligence, better flushing.

• Over the years the speed of Wire EDM has gone up by 20 times
when it was first introduced, machining costs have decreased by at
least 30% over the years.

• Surface finish has improved by a factor of 15, while discharge

current has gone up more than 10 times higher.
 TYPES OF WIRE EDM MACHINES

• Simple Two Axis EDM

- a simple XY table
- can only make simple right angle cuts

• Simultaneous Four Axis EDM

- can cut tapers through the workpiece
- the top and bottom of the cut must be the same shape

• Independent Four Axis System

- has a UV axis and XY axis
- useful for extrusion dies
- the top shape of the cutout can be different than the bottom shape.
WORKING PRINCIPLE OF WIRE EDM
 WIRE ELECTRODE

• Diameter ranges from 0.05 to 0.30mm

• Single component wire

- brass, copper, zinc, molybdenum, or
tungsten

• Multi-component composite wires

- zinc coated copper, zinc-coated brass, silver-coated
brass
 WIRE SELECTION IN
WIRE EDM
• Conductivity

• Tensile strength

• Elongation

• Wire melting temperature

• Vapor pressure
 WIRE PATH

• The wire never contacts the workpiece.

• The wire electrode cuts by means of

spark erosion, leaving a path slightly
larger than the wire.
 DIELECTRIC FLUID

• Deionized water, distilled water.

• Circulated through an ion-exchange resin.

• The amount of the deionized of the water determines its

resistance.

• Must be circulated under constant pressure to flush away the

particles and assist the machining process.

• Can be cooled in a heat exchanger, at which cooling efficiency may

be reduced.

• Must be filtered to remove workpiece particles that would prevent

efficient flushing of the spark gaps.
 FUNCTION OF THE DIELECTRIC
FLUID
• Provide a path for the spark between the wire electrode and the
workpiece material.

• To insulate the gap before a large amount of energy is

accumulated and to concentrate the discharge energy to a small
area.

• Helps to initiate the spark between the wire and the workpiece.

• Flushes away the particles of the workpiece that was removed

by the spark discharges to prevent shorting.

• Acts as a coolant for both wire and the workpiece.

 FLUSHING
• Forcing the fluid to pass through the spark gap
under pressure by sucking it through the gap can
do flushing.

• Needs careful consideration because of the forces

involved, especially where fluid is pumped or
sucked through narrow passageways, and large
hydraulic forces can easily be generated.

• Excessive high pressures can lead to displacement

of the electrode, and the workpiece or both,
causing inaccuracy in the finished product.
 FLUSHING METHOD

• Pressure flushing
• Circulating the dielectric fluid
• Vacuum flushing
• Vibrating
 OVERCUT & KERF

• Overcut is defined as the distance between one

side of an electrode and the adjacent wall of
the workpiece cavity.
• ranges from 0.02 to 0.05 mm.
• The width of the kerf is the wire diameter plus
EDM overcut.
• ranges in width from 0.09 mm to 0.10 mm.
 WORKPIECE MATERIAL

• The Wire EDM process will machine any electrically conductive

material regardless of hardness.

• Polycrystalline diamond, used in form tools and other cutting tools.

• Most homogeneous materials used in metalworking can be shaped

by EDM process.

• Workpiece of aluminium, brass, and copper should be processed

with metallic electrodes of lower melting points such as copper or
copper-tungsten.

• Workpieces of carbon and stainless steel that have high melting

point should be processed with graphite electrodes.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF EDMed PARTS

• Parts are made of hardened metals or other materials that are

difficult to machine by conventional machining methods.

• They are made of electrically conductive materials.

• They are delicately and must be shaped with a process that

presents very low cutting pressure.

• Deep, narrow slots or holes are required, especially if they are

not round or have shallow entrance angles.

• burr-free, eliminating secondary operations that would be

required with other processes.
…Thank You…