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 steps
needed 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 Overview
Electrode Discharge Machining (EDM) is a machining method primarily used for hard metals
or those that would be impossible to machine with traditional techniques. The EDM process was
invented by two Russian scientists, Dr. B.R. Lazarenko and Dr. N.I. Lazarenko in 1943. The first
numerically 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 heat
treatment 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 called
Conventional EDM and Ram EDM) and Wirecut EDM.

The basic EDM system consists of an electrode and the workpiece connected to a DC
power 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, these
fluids make cleaning easier. The machines usually are equipped with a pump and filtering
system for dielectric fluid. When the potential is difference between the tool and the workpiece is

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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 its
movements are controlled by numerical controlled systems. The gap between the tool and the
workpiece is critical. Thus, the downward feed of the tool is controlled by a servomechanism,
which automatically maintains a constant gap. Because of the process doesn’t involve
mechanical energy, the hardness, strength and toughness of the workpiece material do not
necessarily 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 and
surface roughness increase with (a) increasing current density (b) decreasing frequency of
spark. Some of the advantages of EDM include machining complex shapes that would
otherwise be difficult to produce with conventional cutting tools, extremely hard material to very
close tolerances, and very small work pieces where conventional cutting tools may damage the
part from excess cutting tool pressure. The limitation of EDM include the slow rate of material
removal, 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 and
desired surface finishes

Figure 1: Spark properties

EDM Wirecut
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 In wire electrode discharge machining or wire-cut EDM, a thin single-strand metal wire is
fed through the workpiece. This process is similar to contour cutting with a band saw, a slowly
moving wire travels along a prescribed path, cutting the workpiece. This process is used to cut
plates as thick as 300mm and to make punches, tools, and dies from hard metals that are too
difficult to machine with other methods. It also can intricate components for the electronics
industries. The wire, which is constantly fed from a spool, is held between upper and lower
diamond guides. The guides move in the x-y plane, usually being CNC controlled and on almost
all modern machines the upper guide can also move independently in the z-u-v axis, giving rise
to the ability to cut tapered and transitioning shapes and can control axis movements in x-y-u-v-
i-j-k-l-. This gives the wire-cut EDM the ability to be programmed to cut very intricate and
delicate shapes. The wire is controlled by upper and lower diamond guides that are usually
accurate to 0.004 mm, and can have a cutting path or kerf as small as 0.12 mm using Ø 0.1 mm
wire, though the average cutting kerf that achieves the best economic cost and machining time
is 0.335 mm using Ø 0.25 brass wire. The wire usually made of brass, copper, tungsten, or
molybdenum and multi-coated wire. The wire diameter typically about 0.3mm for roughing cuts
and 0.2mm for finishing cuts. The wire should have high electrical conductivity and tensile
strength, as the tension on it is typically 60% of its tensile strength. The wire usually is used only
once, as it is relatively inexpensive compared to the type of operation it performs. It travels at a
constant velocity in the range of 0.15 to 9 m/min, and a constant gap (kerf) is maintained during
the cut. The trend in the use of dielectric fluids toward clear, low viscosity fluids. The reason that
the cutting width is greater than the width of the wire is because sparking also occurs from the
sides of the wire to the work piece, causing erosion. This "overcut" is necessary, predictable,
and easily compensated for. Spools of wire are typically very long. For example, an 8 kg spool
of 0.25 mm wire is just over 19 kilometers long. Today, the smallest wire diameter is 20
micrometres and the geometry precision is not far from +/- 1 micrometre. The wire-cut process
uses water as its dielectric with the water's resistivity and other electrical properties carefully
controlled by filters and de-ionizer units. The water also serves the very critical purpose of
flushing the cut debris away from the cutting zone. Flushing is an important determining factor in
the maximum feed rate available in a given material thickness, and poor flushing situations
necessitate the reduction of the feed rate. Along with tighter tolerances multiaxis EDM wire-
cutting machining center have many added features such as: Multiheads for cutting two parts at
the same time, controls for preventing wire breakage, automatic self-threading features in case
of wire breakage, and programmable machining strategies to optimize the operation.

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 Typically, the main part in EDM machines are controller, diefluid center, wire center,
nozzles, and working table. The function of the controller is to receive the programme, check the
simulation and set up wire cutting and machine parameter. The diefluid center usually control
the water pressure. It is usuallly automatic calibaration. The wire center is use to roll the wire
use in the machining process. The upper and lower nozzles are function to hold the wire for the
machining process while the working table is use to place the workpiece. Wire-cutting EDM is
commonly used when low residual stresses are desired. Wire EDM may leave residual stress
on the workpiece that are less significant than those that may be left if the same workpiece were
obtained by machining. In fact in wire EDM there are not large cutting forces involved in the
removal of material. Yet, the workpiece may undergo to a significant thermal cycle, whose
severity depends on the technological parameters used. Possible effects of such thermal cycles
are the formation of a recast layer on the part and the presence of tensile residual stresses on
the workpiece. If the process is set up so that the energy/power per pulse is relatively little
(typically in finishing operations), little change in the mechanical properties of a material is
expected in wire-cutting EDM due to these low residual stresses, although material that hasn't
been stressed relieved can distort in the machining process.

Figure 2: Operation of EDM wirecut

Small hole drilling EDM is used to make a through hole in a workpiece in through which
to thread the wire in Wire-cut EDM machining. The small hole drilling head is mounted on wire-
cut machine and allows large hardened plates to have finished parts eroded from them as
needed and without pre-drilling. There are also stand-alone small hole drilling EDM machines
with an x–y axis also known as a super drill or hole popper that can machine blind or through
holes. EDM Drills bore holes with a long brass or copper tube electrode that rotates in a chuck
with a constant flow of distilled or deionized water flowing through the electrode as a flushing

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agent and dielectric. The electrode tubes operate like the wire in wire-cut EDM machines,
having a spark gap and wear rate. Some small-hole drilling EDMs are able to drill through 100
mm of soft or through hardened steel in less than 10 seconds, averaging 50% to 80% wear rate.
Holes of 0.3 mm to 6.1 mm can be achieved in this drilling operation. Brass electrodes are
easier to machine but are not recommended for wire-cut operations due to eroded brass
particles causing "brass on brass" wire breakage, therefore copper is recommended.

The Advantages of EDM Wire:

1. The Machining of Complex Geometric Forms
Complex, contoured shapes can be produced in one piece rather than several, in the exact
configuration that is required.
2. The Rapid, Economic Production of Prototypes and Low Run Parts
The ability to accurately machine complex designs, can eliminate or reduce fixture and
tooling costs for one of a kind or low run production parts.
Formed through the wire EDM process, parts can be immediately used in assembly, with
little or no additional finishing.
3. Precise Machining of Pre-hardened Materials
Because hardened materials can be EDM eroded, the need for the heat treatment of
machined parts is eliminated, avoiding potential distortion.
4. Machining to Tight Tolerances, Avoiding Distortion and Stress
Very low machining forces allow tight tolerances of up to 2 microns to be achieved. With
little or no stress imparted into the work only light clamping is necessary. Thin materials can
also be machined without distortion.
5. The Accurate and Economic Machining of Exotic Materials
Exotic materials including A-286 Superalloys, medical grade stainless, titanium, Hastelloy,
tungsten carbide, molybdenum, aluminium alloys and copper can all be machined. Better
utilisation of valuable materials is provided through chipless machining.
6. Absolute Consistency Between Machined Parts.
Because with wire EDM there is no contact between the cutting wire and the surface, there
is no tooling wear and absolute consistency can be achieved on every machined part.

The limitation of EDM wire cut is this machine only can operate on conductor material only. This
machines cannot cut soft material and insulator such as wood, nylon, teflon and rubber.

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 4.0 APPARATUS:

ii. EDM wirecut machine (waterjet): Mitsubishi 1996

i. Diefluid Centre (pressure: 6bar)

iii. Wire Center (wire diameter: 0.2mm)

iv. Machining Center (max. table size: x-300mm y-300mm z-200mm)

v. Controller system

vi. Workpiece ( Aluminium, wire diameter 0.2, 50mm x 50mm x 5mm)

50 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE:

1. The information of the machine was explained clearly by assistant lecturer.

2. The speculation of the G and M code was studied before the EDM wire cut
process started.
3. Each group was assigned to design a part.
4. The workpiece which is aluminum with 5mm thickness and wire with diameter
0.2mm is prepared.

5. Then, the manual book is referred to get the value of E, F and H1.

6. The value of E = 3501, F = 19.2 and H1 = 0.131.

7. After get the value, NC program in EDM Wirecut machine is set.

8. The G-code and M-code is downloading in NC program and the machine is

run according to the code.

9. The desired shape will appeared on the screen and the wire will cut the
aluminum according to the code that has been downloading.

10. The product is ready.

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6.0 RESULTS AND DATA ANALYSIS:

• NC code programming:
L 0303;
H1=0.131;
E3501 F19.2 M20 H1
0.131; M80;
M82;
M84;
G90;
G40;
G00 X0 Y0;

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 G02 X10 Y0;
G01 X10 Y5;
G01 X20 Y5;
G01 X20 Y10;
G01 X10 Y10;
G01 X10 Y15;
G02 X0 Y 15;
G01 X0 Y0;
M00
M02

7.0 DISCUSSION:

1. What is the meaning of EDM

Wire EDM (Electrical Discharge Machining) uses electric current and fine wire to cut
conductive materials. It leaves a smooth surface that often requires no further finishing or
polishing. Note that the cutting wire should not touch the material and that the cutting itself is
due to the erosion that occurs when a spark forms between the cutting wire and the raw
material. The EDM process is generally computer-controlled (CNC) and as a result is highly
accurate and repeatable. A typical wire EDM process will consist of several passes, moving at
various speeds. The first pass is typically a fast-moving, lower accuracy cut which is used to
remove large quantities of material. Later skim passes will retrace the cuts at lower speed,
removing less material and improving the surface quality and accuracy of the cut. Also note that
machining occurs after heat treatment so the finished dimensions of the machined items are not
adversely affected by heat treatment. Most sophisticated EDM setups allow the rotation of the
cutting wire through several axes and through large angles, allowing products to be tapered and
finished in 3 dimensions. The ability to taper the finished product is very useful when creating
stamping dies and extrusion molds. Complex cutouts can be formed by drilling a hole through
the raw material, threading the EDM wire through the hole and cutting. Materials that can be cut
include most metals and metal alloys, graphite, carbide and diamond. Applications of Wire EDM
include the manufacture of extrusion dies, blanking punches and metal and tool fabrication. The
process is most suitable for low production volumes of items which require tight manufacturing
tolerances.

2. What is the limitation of EDM machining center.

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 Machining centers are machine tools that are used to automatically repeat operations on a
workpiece. Common operations include drilling, reaming, tapping, milling, and boring. Most
machining centers are numerically controlled. A CNC machining center uses computerized
numeric control (CNC) to manufacture complex parts in metal or other materials. Typically, a
CNC machine center uses a program which conforms to the EIA-274-D standard, commonly
called G-code. The limitations of machining center are:

· The slow rate of material removal.

· Reproducing sharp corners on the workpiece is difficult due to

electrode wear.

· Limited for ferrous alloys but no reaction works in non-ferrous

such as plastic, fiber, wood and so forth.

· EDM wire cut machine can only be operated with the present of
electricity.

· Unable to interpret technical or manual data/drawing. EDM wire

cut machine is enable to interpret and receiving drawing from
software such as CATIA, AutoCad, unigraphic, Solid Edge,
SolidWorks and etc.

· The control system of the electrode may fail to react quickly

enough to prevent the tool and workpiece to get in contact, with a
consequent short circuit. It is unwanted because a short circuit
contributes to the removal differently from the ideal case. The
flushing action can be inadequate to restore the insulating
properties of the dielectric so that the flow of current always
happens in the point of the inter-electrode volume (this is referred
to as arcing), with a consequent unwanted change of shape
(damage) of the tool-electrode and workpiece.

4. Explain about axes for EDM wirecut machine.

A two-axis wire EDM can only make cuts at right-angles to the work table, while
a CNC positioning system with a two-axis table can perform a wide variety of
angled cuts. Independent four-axis machines can cut tapered angles and
make cuts that result in different top and bottom profiles. This capability is
needed in making extrusion dies and flow valves. The wire never touches the
work during cuts. The wire-control servo system is able to maintain a wire-to-
 work distance of approximately .001 inch. The wire cuts along a programmed
path starting at either an edge or in a drilled hole. Parts to be cut can be
stacked for production quantities. Wire-Cut

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EDM requires the movement of the workpiece on the electrode in the X and Y axes. In most
instances the workpiece moves and the electrode wire remains stationary. Electrode travel is
perpendicular to the workpiece. In some instances the workpiece may travel in the Y-direction
and the electrode wire will travel in the X-direction. It is even possible that the electrode would
travel in both the X and Y directions with the part being stationary. It makes no difference how
the X and Y movements are made so long as there is relative movement between the electrode
and the workpiece. Movement of the X-Y axes is under the command of the NC or CNC control.
The axis contour is programmed into the NC or CNC control unit.

5 Axis Precision Machining allows machining of all 5 sides in one Set up. While this can
certainly be a cost saving factor, 5 Axis machining is used more often for complex contour work,
which may need simultaneous movement of all 5 Axes. Current generation 5 Axis machines
offer excellent tolerances - as close as 3 microns.

5 Axes EDM

5 Axis Wire EDM actually is on different axes as compared to the 5 Axis CNC Machining
processes. Often, people would consider the tilting of the wire head as being 5 Axis work. In
actuality, true 5 Axis EDM would have a rotary indexer that could actually rotate the part - even
simultaneously during the Wire EDM process. The rotary indexer is actually use to index on the
preset increments. A 5 Axis Wire EDM with fine wire capability would be able to use a .001"
diameter wire and can even offer sub micron tolerances.

Advantages of 5 axis Wire EDM technology: 5 axes Wire EDM can be extremely useful when
close tolerances are involved. The use of fine wires with very small diameters in the range of .
001-.004" can guarantee a very high precision work on wire EDM machines. Because EDM is a
no-contact and no-force process, it is well suited for making frail or fragile parts that cannot take
the stress of standard machining; it can cut parts 16 inches tall with a straightness of ±0.0005
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inch per side! Parts requiring small inside radii are now easily achieved using this technology.
The use of a .001" wire would be that the corner radii can be as sharp as .0015 (there is usually
an overburn of .001" during the EDM process). But the most important advantage came with the
increased sophistication of EDM controls in rams and the new EDM processes that use simple-
shaped electrodes to 3D mill complex shapes with extremes accuracy! Now users demand and
need maximum productivity and throughput, increased accuracy, higher angles of taper, thicker
work pieces, automatic wire threading, and long periods of unattended operation, make the Wire
EDM machining a breakthrough precision technology. 5 axis Wire EDM is used to manufacture
complex parts for the aerospace, Medical, and telecommunication Industries.

4. Explain about EDM cutting process completely (from start to end of process).

Wire EDM machining (also known as "spark EDM") works by creating an electrical
discharge between the wire or electrode, & the workpiece. As the spark jumps across the
gap, material is removed from both the workpiece & the electrode.

To stop the sparking process from shorting out, a non conductive fluid or dielectric is also
applied. The waste material is removed by the dielectric, and the process continues.

5. Comment on safety aspect that you have seen concerning this EDM wirecut machine.
· Never under any condition touch the wire during the process of cutting
because the wire carries the electric charges.
· Do not pointing or poking the used wire to human because it is quiet
sharp and may cause injuries.

8.0 CONCLUSION:

From the experiment we can conclude that this EDM wire cut expose student using code
program. For this water jet wire cut it have 5 axes that can operate at X, Y, Z, U, V and it also
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have 5 main components. For the EDM wire cut it use braze tool because it have high melting
point so it can cut all the metal below braze melting point. For this experiment we can know
code that use in NC program different code have different axis to cut which is G code. To get a
good result we must avoid error during conduct this experime

90 RECOMMENDATION:

1. The operator needs to make every effort to be constantly aware of the

machine and its surroundings. When coming into contact with any part of the
fluid or the electrode can cause severe injury or even death.
2. A second concern is the dielectric fluid, which is an oil based liquid. As with
any oil, the proper handling of parts, measuring tools, etc. should be taken
into consideration
3. Applying High Energy Applied Technology (H.E.A.T) to reduce wire EDM
burn times.
4. Cover all skin surfaces and wear safety boots for protection from sparks
5. Control and monitoring the software to get outstanding part straightness and
accurate dimensions.

100REFERENCES:

i. Serope Kalpakjian, Steven R. Schmid, Manufacturing Technology and

Fundamental, 5th edition, Prentice Hall, 2004
ii. Serope Kalpakjian & Steven R. Schmid, Manufacturing Processes for
Engineering Materials, 4th Edition, Illinois Institute Of Technology, Prentice
Hall, 2003.
iii. Singh, A. & Ghosh, A. A Thermo-Electric Model of Material Removal During
Electric Discharge Machining. (1999).
iv. http://en.wikipedia.org-wiki-electrical_discharge_machining
v. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-edm.htm
vi. http://process_equipment.globalspec.com/LearnMore/Manufacturing_Process_E
quip ment/Machine_Tools/Machining_Centers
vii. http://www.5axis.net/
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