ADVANCE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES 20ME53I

Electrical Discharge Machining

Electrical discharge machining is also called as spark erosion or metal sparking machining it is a non-
traditional machining process which can be based on erosion.
Electrical discharge machining or Electro discharge (EDM) machining is an electrothermal non-
traditional machining process, where electrical energy used for generated spark and material for
erosion.
EDM is used to machine difficult to machining material.

Types of EDM:
1. Die sinker EDM
2. Wire EDM
3. Fast hole drilling EDM
Typical parts produced in different types of EDM’s:
1. Die sinking EDM
a. Injection molds
b. Dies
c. Complex shapes
2. Wire Cut EDM
Wire EDM is used for cutting aluminium, brass, copper, carbides, graphite, steels and
titanium
 Aerospace, Medical, Electronics and Semiconductor applications
 Tool & Die making industries.
 For cutting the hard Extrusion Dies
 In making Fixtures, Gauges & Cams
 Cutting of Gears, Strippers, Punches and Dies
 Manufacturing hard Electrodes.
 Manufacturing micro-tooling for Micro-EDM, Micro-USM and such other
micromachining applications

Working Principle of Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM):

Electrical discharge machining works on the principle of metal removal by the combination of
electrical and thermal energy. The electrical energy is utilized to create electric spark and heat is
produced by erosion of metal.

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Figure: Working Principle of Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) Refer any one of above

In electro discharge machining, there is no physical contact between tool and workpiece. It is a non-
traditional machining process. In this, the tool electrode is connected to the -ve terminal of the DC
power supply and workpiece is connected to the +ve terminal of the DC power supply. So, tool acts
as a cathode and workpiece acts as an anode.
There is a spark gap between the tool and workpiece is about 0.05 to 0.25 mm. In the flow of
dielectric fluid. The dielectric fluid is works as an insulator and as a conductor. When the DC power
supply, the tool electrode generated at the spark and due to this the spark hoes to the workpiece
by dielectric fluid and machining is done.

In this process, work piece should be well electric conductive. Only electric
conductive material can be machined by this method. The working of EDM is as
follow.

 First both work piece and tool are submerged into dielectric fluid. The dielectric fluid
help to control the arc discharge. This also removes suspended particles of work piece
material and tool from the work cavity.
 A servomechanism is used which maintains a very small gap between the work piece
and the tool. This gap is desirable for proper arc formation. It is about the thickness of
human hair.
 The tool is made as the opposite shape of work piece.
 A high frequency current supplied to electrode, which produces a spark between the
tool and work piece. This spark generates high in work cavity.
 The metal removed from the work piece due to erosion and evaporate ion.
 The chips or suspended particle between tool and work piece should be removed to
prevent them to form bridge that causes short circuit. This is done by continuous supply
of dielectric fluid.
 The EDM produce a cavity slightly larger than the electrode because of overcut

Set-up Of EDM:
The setup and working of EDM as consist as follows,

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 Dielectric reservoir, pump, and circulation system

 Power generator and control unit
 Working tank with work holding device
 X-y table accommodating the working table
 Tool holder
 Servo system to feed the too

Characteristics of EDM:
The characteristics of electro-discharge machining EDM are as follows:
 Tolerances of +/- 0.005 are possible.
 The hardness of the material has no bearing on the process – EDM can successfully
machine Tungsten Carbide, Stellite, Hastelloy, Nitralloy, Waspaloy, Nimonic, and
Inconel.
 Without distortion, cutting complex shapes and thin-walled configurations
 Because EDM is a no-contact, no-force process, it is ideal for delicate or fragile parts that
can’t withstand the stress of traditional machining.
 There are no burrs left after the EDM process.

Applications of EDM:
1. It is used for manufacturing of tool having complicated profile.
2. It is used for machining of forging, blanking, extrusion, etc.
3. It is used for making of stamping dies.
4. It is used for drilling of micro holes, deep holes.
5. It is used for machining of hydraulic valve spool.
6. It is used for internal threads and internal helical gears.
7. Manufacturing of sintering dies
8. Calibrating tools
9. Shaping carbide tools and templates.
10. Making of dies, fixtures and gauges.
11. Die casting dies and mould inserts.
12. Re-machining, repairing of worn dies for hot and cold forging.

Advantages of EDM:
1. There is no physical contact between tool and work piece.

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2. Comparable MRR.
3. It gives complex surface finish.
4. They required less machining time.
5. There is less operating skill is required.

Disadvantages of EDM:
1. The main disadvantages are various tool are required for various workpiece.
2. High energy is required.
3. Storage of tool electrode is required.
4. High cost and maintenance cost are required.
5. High tool wear rate.

Calculation of Material Removal Rate:

MRR is the rate at which the material is removed from the work piece. Its unit is mm3/s. The
material is removed from the work piece because of series of recurring spark between the
two electrodes.

MRR = (Wi-Wf) / t × ρ
Where, Wi = initial weight of material
Wf = final weight of material after experimentt = machining time = 10 min
ρ = density of material = 7.84 gm/cc3

The MRR can be defined as the rate of material removed per second or the ratio of change in
volume of workpiece during machining divided by duration of machining.

Since for each experiment, t and ρ have been kept constant and weight loss is only varying
quantity with respect to various EDM process parameters. That is why MRR has been
expressed in terms of weight loss in gram.
Calculation of Spark Energy:
Evaluation of spark energy is important due to melting and evaporation of workpiece
material and outcome of machining on surface roughness, microstructure, microhardness,
and heat affected zone (HAZ) .Following equation was used for calculating the spark energy.
Spark Energy (joule)= Id x Vg x Ton

Weighing of specimen:
Electronic balance was used for weighing the workpiece and tool, before and after machining.
It had a weighting capacity of 210 grams and can accurately measure the weight of 0.001
gram.
Process parameters of EDM:

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 Discharge energy
 Capacitance
 Dielectric fluid
 Deionization
 Frequency
 Overcut
 Material removal rate (MRR)
 Heat affected zone (HAZ)
 Electrode wear
Besides above list of parameters, following figure depicts the process parameters and output
characteristics of EDM.

Factors affecting material removal rate:

1.Effect of pulse on time (Ton) on MRR and spark energy

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A non linear relationship between pulse on time

and MRR has been observed as shown in fig.1.
MRR increases as the value of Ton increases up to
100 µs. The rate of increase in value of MRR is
more for range of Ton (10µs -50µs) than range of
(50µs- 100µs). With further increase in pulse on-
time from 100 µs -200 µs, the MRR decreases
slightly. This may be attributed to reason that with
high pulse on time i.e. 200µs, more material gets
melted at the tool workpiece interface, which
require proper flushing time but as the value of
pulse off time is too short comparative to pulse on
time so there is not enough time for the flushing
to clear the debris from the inter-electrode gap
between the tool and work piece, hence arcing takes place which accounts for decreasing the MRR.

Figure 2 shows a linearly increasing trend between

pulse on time and spark energy. It may be noticed
that rate of increase in spark energy is nearly uniform
as the Ton increases.

2.Effect of current on MRR and spark energy:

It was observed that MRR was mostly affected by
current as indicated in Fig. 3. In the range (4 amp-5
amp), MRR increases moderately then it decreases
slightly between (5amp-6 amp) and finally it MRR
decreases sharply in the range(6amp-7 amp). Decrease
in MRR is be due to the contamination of plasma
column in gap. This contamination is caused by debris
(dislodge material) from electrodes.

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Spark energy is directly proportional to applied current

as depicted in Fig. 4.

3.Effect of Voltage on MRR and spark energy:

Figure 5 represents variation of MRR w.r.t. voltage.
There is slight increase MRR from 5 V to 10 V and sharp
decrease from 15 V to 20 V. Decrease in MRR with
increase in voltage lies between above two in range of
(10 V- 15 V). Increase in voltage leads to increase in
spark energy. More spark energy means more material
removal in the presence of suitable values of remaining
process parameters.

Figure 6 shows the similar relationship between

voltage and spark energy as current/Ton Vs spark
energy. From figures 4.2, 4.4 and 4.6, it can be
concluded that spark energy is function of pulse on
time, current and voltage and also linearly
dependent on these EDM parameter.

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Dielectric Fluid:
Dielectric fluid is used to fill the gap between tool and workpiece.it is st0red in a tank and circulated
through the high-pressure pump.
Most commonly dielectric fluid is used as kerosene, paraffin oil, transformer oil, hydrocarbon-based
oil, silicone-based oils, and De-ionized water.
Kerosene is most suitable dielectric fluid to give more accuracy and surface finish.

Functions of Dielectric Fluid:

1. It helps to initiate discharge by serving as a conducting medium.
2. It conveys the spark.
3. It acts as a coolant.
4. It maintains the charge value of condenser voltage.
Are the functions of dielectric fluid.

Characteristics / Requirements of Dielectric Fluid:

1. It has high dielectric strength.
2. It has rapid deionization.
3. It should have high flash point.
4. It should be easily available.
5. It should be economical.
6. It should be non-toxic material.
Are the characteristics and requirements of dielectric fluids.

Flushing of dielectric fluid:

Flushing refers to proper circulation of dielectric fluid at the gap between the work and electrode
tool in EDM. The efficiency of the cutting process to a great extent depends on the flushing of
dielectric fluid. Good flushing is essential to achieve good machining conditions in EDM. As the
machining progresses the dielectric fluid gets contaminated with eroded metal particles and carbon
particles resulting due to cracking of dielectric fluid due to heat.
The different methods of circulation of dielectric fluid for flushing in EDM
are:
1. Pressure dielectric flow
2. Reverse dielectric flow
3. Vacuum dielectric flow

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4. Vibration flush cut

Below Figure illustrates the four different methods of flushing used in EDM.

Tool Electrodes:
The tool electrode is connected to the negative terminal of the battery which acts as a cathode.
There is a softer material is used for tool electrode such as cooper, brass and other alloys are used
for tool.
The followings are the different electrode materials that are used commonly in the industry: •
Graphite
 Electrolytic oxygen-free copper
 Tellurium copper – 99% Cu + 0.5% tellurium
 Brass
 Copper graphite
 Zinc alloys
 Steel
 Copper tungsten
 Silver tungsten

 Tungsten etc.,

Tool Electrode Characteristics:

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1. It should be good conductor of electricity.

2. It should be good conductor of heat.
3. It should have high melting point.
4. It should have higher density.
5. Easy manufacturability.
6. It should be available at low cost.
7. It should be easily available.
8. It should resist deformation.
9. It should low wear rate.
10. It should be available in variety of shapes.
Are the characteristics of tool electrode.

Tool electrode material selection criteria:

The main factors that determine the suitability of a material for application as electrode tool
material in EDM are:
1. Higher metal removal rate
2. Lower tool wear
3. Higher degree of electrical efficiency
Tool material used in EDM and their characteristics has been depicted in below table.
Material
Tool Material Wear Ratio Fabrication Cost Application
removal rate
Graphite High Low Easy High All metals
High in
Copper Low Easy High All metals
roughing
High in
Brass High Easy Low All metals
finishing
Tungsten Low Low Difficult High For small holes
Tungsten-
Low Low Difficult High Accurate work
Copper alloys
Cast Iron Low Low Easy Low Restricted
Steel Low High Easy Low Finishing
High in
Zinc Alloys High Easy Low All metals
roughing

Controlling Parameter EDM:

The controlling parameters of the EDM are as follow:

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1. Spark Gap: There is a spark gap between the tool and workpiece. The gap is 0.0125 to
0.125mm.
2. Current: The DC supply is flowing through it and it is 0.5 to 400 amperes.
3. Voltage: The DC supply voltage flowing through it and its are 40 to 300 volts.
4. Pulse Duration: The pulse duration in between 20 to 2000.
5. Dielectric Pressure: The dielectric pressure is less than 0.2 MPa.
6. Comparable MRR.

Output Characteristics of EDM:

1. Accuracy.
2. Material removal rate.
3. Tool wear.
4. Surface finish.

Wire EDM:
These machines are also known as wire burning, spark EDM, and wire erosion. They use a thin
heated wire as an electrode. Hard diamond is used as a guide to hold the wire steady. The wire
electrode is moved through the workpiece to craft a particular shape, but only the electrical
discharges of the wire do touch the workpiece; the wire itself does not touch the workpiece. In
this type of EDM, the wire is put in slow motion.

 Differs from conventional EDM in that a thin, 0.05-0.3mm dia wire performs as the
electrode
 Unlike conventional EDM, the workpiece in WEDM is almost never submerged in dielectric
fluid. Instead, a localized stream is used
 Advantage of using water as a dielectric – high MRR, no fire hazard – yielding for unattended
machining

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Advantages of wire EDM Process:

Machining of press-stamping dies is simplified because the
punch, die, punch plate and stripper all can be machined from a common CNC program
1. overall fabrication time is reduced when compared to EDM
2. die life is also increased by as much as 7-10 times since clearances can be controlled very
accurately
3. Machining of extrusion dies and dies for powder metal compaction
4. Fabrication of EDM electrodes is simplified because both roughing and finishing electrodes
can be made from the same basic program using scaling feature
5. Fabrication of grinding wheel form tools, profile gauges and templates
6. To produce small prototype lots of stampings if the final stamping die configuration has not
yet been determined.
7. Die costs reduced by 30-70%.
8. No cutting forces.

Disadvantages:
1. High capital cost
2. Recast layer
3. Electrolysis can occur in some materials
4. Slow cutting rates
5. Not applicable to very large workpieces

Applications of WEDM:

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1. Machining of press-stamping dies is simplified because the punch, die, punch plate and
stripper all can be machined from a common CNC program
 overall fabrication time is reduced when compared to EDM
 die life is also increased by as much as 7-10 times since clearances can be controlled
very accurately
2. Machining of extrusion dies and dies for powder metal compaction
3. Fabrication of EDM electrodes is simplified because both roughing and finishing
electrodes can be made from the same basic program using scaling feature
4. Fabrication of grinding wheel form tools, profile gauges and templates
5. To produce small prototype lots of stampings if the final stamping die configuration has
not yet been determined.

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