Types of EDM:
Wire EDM
In wire EDM, a metal wire is fed in the dielectric fluid, which can cut very thick metal using the principle of electrical discharge machining as in die sinking EDM. Instead of machining the shape of the electrode to the required design, wire EDM achieves the desired shape using electrified current discharged by a taut thin wire. The thin, traveling wire acts as the cathode and allows precision cuts into the metal workpiece.
Sinker or Plunge EDM
This machining process, along with wire EDM, is used for medical device manufacturing and all die sinking applications. This machining process can produce difficult configurations through wire cutting and complex electrode plunge cutting. Plunge EDM is ideal for cutting materials that require sub-thousandths of an inch tolerance. Plunge EDM's precision machining process is automated for continuous production and many machines can be monitored by a single machinist. Production machined parts, tool & die and mold-making components are routinely performed at our state-of-the-art machine shop.
Hole EDM
Achieve very intricate shapes with sinker EDM machining. This machine-cutting process that uses electrically-charged electrodes to achieve a specific odd or detailed shape in a hard-to-cut metal component. The shape from the electrode part is sunk into the oil-immersed work piece, sinking the shape and not cutting all the way through the piece, if so desired. The electrode discharges pulsed electrical sparks that jump into the work piece, eroding out small pieces until the desired shape is achieved. Brass, tungsten, copper, and graphite are some of the commonly-used electrode materials. Any conductive material can be the work piece. Sinker EDM machining is generally reserved for parts or components that are not easy to cut and shape.
Tool, die, and mold making is one of the applications of die sinking with EDMs, since they are capable of machining shapes and contours not achievable on any other machine tool. The combination of palletized workpieces and electrodes allows us to machine parts around the clock with the utmost in precision, transferring parts from machine to machine with routine precision every order. Sharp corners, super fine finishes, curved holes, hex and bristol sockets, splines, gears and keyways are just a handful of the operations performed daily at Refracto.
