Introdution

EDM (Electrical Discharge Machining) is one of the greatest innovations affecting the tooling and machining industry. It can be used in the area of processing increasingly difficult shapes and super tough alloys. Many of the complex features designed into today's aerospace, medical, and other precision components, would not have been economically feasible without the advent of EDM.

EDM works by eroding material in the path of electrical discharges that form sparks between an electrode tool and an electrically conductive workpiece. During the process, the workpiece is connected to cathode of a pulsed power supply and the electrode is connected to anode. A small gap is maintained between the workpiece and the electrode.

When a pulse of DC electricity is delivered to the electrode and the workpiece, a small amount of material from the surfaces of the workpiece at the points of spark contact melts and vaporizes due to the extremely high temperature and high pressure. When the electrical pulse is terminated, the spark and heating action are stopped instantly. The result is an erosion of material from the workpiece.

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