Computer numerical control: Difference between revisions

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| [[Electric discharge machining]] || (EDM), also known as spark machining, spark eroding, burning, die sinking, or wire erosion, is a manufacturing process in which the desired shape is obtained using electrical discharges (sparks). Material is removed from the workpiece by a series of rapidly recurring [[Electric current|current]] discharges between two electrodes, separated by a [[dielectric fluid]] and subject to an electric [[voltage]]. One of the electrodes is called the tool electrode, or simply the "tool" or "electrode", while the other is called the workpiece electrode, or "workpiece".

EDM can be broadly divided into "sinker" type processes, where the electrode is the positive shape of the resulting feature in the part, and the electric discharge erodes this feature into the part, resulting in the negative shape, and "wire" type processes. Sinker processes are rather slow as compared to conventional machining, averaging on the order of 100mm100 mm³/min,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Klocke |first1=F. |last2=Schwade |first2=M. |last3=Klink |first3=A. |last4=Veselovac |first4=D. |date=2013-01-01 |title=Analysis of Material Removal Rate and Electrode Wear in Sinking EDM Roughing Strategies using Different Graphite Grades |journal=Procedia CIRP |series=Proceedings of the Seventeenth CIRP Conference on Electro Physical and Chemical Machining (ISEM) |volume=6 |pages=163–167 |doi=10.1016/j.procir.2013.03.079 |issn=2212-8271|doi-access=free }}</ref> as compared to 8x10⁶8 million mm³/min for conventional machining, but it can generate features that conventional machining cannot. Wire EDM operates by using a thin conductive wire, typically brass, as the electrode, and discharging as it runs past the part being machined. This is useful for complex profiles with inside 90 degree corners that would be challenging to machine with conventional methods.

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