1.0: TITLE: Electrode Discharge Machine Wirecut (EDM wirecut) 2.0: OBJECTIVE :1.

To acquaint students with NC programming and EDM wirecut.2.To understand the fundamentals of part programming in terms of the various stepsneeded to be taken for completing a successful NC program.3.To learn about the principle of operation of EDM wirecut machines.4.To understand the process capabilities of EDM wirecut.5.To understand the advantages and disadvantages of EDM wirecut machines and their applications.6.To study the necessary precautions needed for this experiment. 3.0: INTRODUCTION: EDM OverviewElectrode Discharge Machining (EDM) is a machining method primarily used for hard metalsor those that would be impossible to machine with traditional techniques. The EDM process wasinvented by two Russian scientists, Dr. B.R. Lazarenko and Dr. N.I. Lazarenko in 1943. The firstnumerically controlled EDM was invented by Makino in Japan. EDM can cut small or odd-shaped angles, intricate contours or cavities in pre-hardened steel without the need for heattreatment to soften and re-harden them as well as exotic metals such as titanium, hastelloy,kovar, and inconel. There are two main types of EDM machines; Sinker EDM (also calledConventional EDM and Ram EDM) and Wirecut EDM.The basic EDM system consists of an electrode and the workpiece connected to a DCpower supply and placed in a dielectric fluid. The functions of the dielectric fluids are to:1.Act as insulator until the potential is sufficiently high.2.Provide cooling medium.3.Act as a flushing medium and carry away the debris in the gap.The most common dielectric fluids are mineral oils, kerosene and distilled and deionized water.Clear, low viscosity fluids are also available although they are more expansive. However, thesefluids make cleaning easier. The machines usually are equipped with a pump and filteringsystem for dielectric fluid. When the potential is difference between the tool and the workpiece is2

sufficiently high, the dielectric breaks down and a transient spark discharge through the fluid,removing a very small amount of metal from the workpiece surface.The workpiece is fixtured within the tank containing the dielectric fluid, and itsmovements are controlled by numerical controlled systems. The gap between the tool and theworkpiece is critical. Thus, the downward feed of the tool is controlled by a servomechanism,which automatically maintains a constant gap. Because of the process doesnt involvemechanical energy, the hardness, strength and toughness of the workpiece material do notnecessarily influence the removal rate. The frequency of discharge or the energy per discharge,the voltage and the current usually are varied to control the removal rate. The removal rate andsurface roughness increase with (a) increasing current density (b) decreasing frequency of spark. Some of the

advantages of EDM include machining complex shapes that wouldotherwise be difficult to produce with conventional cutting tools, extremely hard material to veryclose tolerances, and very small work pieces where conventional cutting tools may damage thepart from excess cutting tool pressure. The limitation of EDM include the slow rate of materialremoval, the additional time and cost used for creating electrodes for ram / Sinker EDM,reproducing sharp corners on the workpiece is difficult due to electrode wear.Spark Properties Spark temperatures are between 8,000 and 12,000 C (plasma zone) The range of the sparks varies from a few microns to 1 mm Controlled by the generator and are adjustable for different material types anddesired surface finishes Figure 1: Spark properties EDM Wirecut