Electrical discharge machining
Electroerosion Wire Cutting, Wire Erosion, Erosion Dredging, Sparking - There are many different and commonly used expressions for the unique EDM method. It uses small sparks to process objects with maximum precision.
Electroerosion machining is, like milling, a CNC-controlled process, in which machines machine material with sparks - electrical discharges. This electrical discharge occurs between the workpiece and the electrode, both of which are immersed in the dielectric bath.
For electroerosion sparking, coated wires with a high percentage of zinc are used, more often copper wires or molybdenum wires.
High accuracy of production
Wire electrical discharge machining finds its most common use in the molding industry. With the utmost precision, cores and other openings can be created in all metal materials (there is a presumption of electric charge). Where CNC turning methods are not enough, electro-erosion wiring - cutting or digging - can produce even problematic, complex shapes.
Perfectly clean surface without waste
Electroerosion die sinks also have a low operating effort - tools are not being replaced - only the wire is unwound from the tray. The whole process is very clean (runs under the surface in the dielectric), the resulting surfaces are perfectly smooth, clean and virtually no waste.
Electroerosion sinking
Electroerosion excavation is very similar to vertical CNC milling. An electrode holder is placed in the machine instead of the spindle, which moves down (and up) and the electrode gradually penetrates into the material (workpiece) and gradually sinks the desired shape. The resulting and desired shape can be achieved either by gradual shifting of the workpiece, but often the electrode is already in required shape, so the whole sparking is done within one movement.
The spark erosion is carried out by means of an electrode which gradually sinks the desired shape into the workpiece. The electrode is made of copper, in practice we encounter graphite electrodes that have a better life.
This method is used for dugging complex shapes and tapping.
WEDM or Wire EDM
Wire EDM can effectively machine any conductive material. Therefore, it is mainly used for precision parts. The high accuracy of this method is due to the fact that the tool (typically brass wire) does not come into direct contact with the workpiece during machining. This allows very small, fine shapes to be achieved.
Electrospark cutting is done using an electrode calibrated brass wire (other materials are used, but brass is the most common). The wire can be in diameters from 0.02 to 0.33 mm, the most commonly used standard is 0.25 mm.
The wire is tensioned between the two arms of the machine, which can be guided together or separately (slopes can be cut). The electroerosion wire itself takes place in a dielectric bath - in deionized water. The thickness that a machined material can have depends on the distance of the unwinding arms - different machine types have different.
In order for the spark-wire operation to begin, it is necessary to pre-drill a hole through which the machining wire is threaded. This hole can be emitted on the electroerosion sink (drill) using an electrode. Electroerosion cutting is a relatively time-consuming process but does not require the presence of an operator throughout the operation. That is why we have more EDM centers to maximize production speed and efficiency.
Our machinery
We perform wire erosion on the following machines:
- AgieCharmilles CUT 2000s
- AgieCharmilles Progress VP3
- AgieCharmilles Progress VP2
- AgieCut Excellence