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EDM Basics - 2: How it Works
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| WARNING: Machine tools present a safety hazard. Improper operation can result in severe injury. These topics are for non-laboratory study only and are not to be used in conjunction with the operation of any tool or machine described herein. Never use a machine tool without the supervision of a qualified instructor. | ||||||||||||
| Two parts, the mold blank and the electrode, are submerged in an insulating liquid which is called the dielectric fluid. Both are connected to a source of current which can be switched on and off at will. The electrode and mold will be hooked up with opposite polarity (+ or -). When the current is switched on, an electric tension is created between the two metal* parts. |
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| As the two parts are brought together the electrical tension becomes great enough to overcome the insulating capabilities of the dielectric fluid and a spark jumps between them. Where it strikes, the metal* is heated to a very high temperature, rapidly causing vaporization. Innumerable such sparks spray, one after the other (never simultaneously), gradually shaping the desired form in the piece of metal* according to the shape of the electrode. Several hundred thousand such sparks must fly per second before erosion takes place. |
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