Experimental Study on EDM SKD61 with Different Material Electrodes

Abstract

The electrode is an essential tool in electrical discharge machining (EDM). The quality and efficiency of EDM are directly determined by the performance of electrode materials. Copper tungsten alloy (CuW50) and pure copper cuboid electrodes were fabricated by wire-cut electrical discharge machining (WEDM). The machining parameters of processing current, pulse width and machining efficiency were selected as test variables, and the single-factor EDM experiment was carried out on SKD61 die steel with the goal of processing speed v and machined surface Ra. The results show that the processing speed and machined surface obtained by using pure copper electrodes are better than those obtained by using the CuW50 electrode. The processing current, pulse width and machining efficiency parameters corresponding to the maximum processing speed and the optimal machined surface obtained using the two material electrodes are basically different.