Journal of Materials Processing Technology xxx (2004) xxxxxx

Knowledge based design of EDM electrodes for mould cavities

pre-machined by high-speed milling
K.R. Mahajan a,b, , G.E. Knoppers a , J.A.J. Oosterling a , C.A. van Luttervelt b
b

a TNO Industrial Technology, De Rondom 1, 5600 HE Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Marine Technology, Section Production Technology and Organization,
Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands

Abstract
Electric discharge machining (EDM) electrode design has always been an important activity in the die and mould making sector.
Nowadays, softwares are available to design electrodes. Using software, the EDM specialist has to select the areas in the mould cavity
that are to be EDMed. Once the areas are selected, a typical software designs an electrode along with its holder. If the mould cavity is
very complex, as is the case when the mould cavity is pre-machined by high-speed milling, the EDM specialist has to think of several
possible electrode combinations/designs and to select the best solution. He does this based on his knowledge of EDM and the knowledge
of the process capabilities of his EDM machine tool. This paper presents the basic principles of designing a knowledge based system
for automated EDM electrode design. This system works with similar logic, that an experienced EDM specialist would use to design
electrodes. First the overall methodology to design EDM electrodes automatically is described on the highest level. Then the details of this
methodology are explained followed by conclusions.
2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Today, in order to gain competitive advantage, tool and
die makers make a combined use of conventional technologies like electric discharge machining (EDM) and latest
technologies like high-speed milling (HSM), to reduce lead
times for die and mould manufacture. This combined use of
EDM and HSM is done to take advantage of both the processes in the best possible way. TNO Industrial Technology
in the Netherlands participates in an European Community
project FASTOOL which aims to integrate an EDM machine tool, a HSM machine tool and a robot for automated
die and mould manufacturing. The idea is that the mould
cavity will first be milled on the HSM machine tool followed
by EDMing on the EDM machine tool (if applicable). One
activity in this project is the automated generation of EDM
electrode designs given a mould cavity that is partially
milled, i.e., a pre-milled mould cavity. Besides the FASTOOL project, there are two more motives of developing
such a knowledge based automated system for the design
of EDM electrodes. EDM specialists are difficult to find
Corresponding author. Present address: 3/15 White House Society,
Golf Club Road, Yesawada, Pune 6, Maharashtra State, India.
Tel.: +91-2-06686305.
E-mail address: mpreetam@yahoo.com (K.R. Mahajan).

0924-0136/$ see front matter 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2004.02.007

in western countries. Such a system can replace an EDM

specialist by transferring his knowledge to the computer.
Secondly, even if a certain electrode design is perfectly millable, it is possible that it is not the technically feasible
design.

2. Broad idea of the method to automatically design

electrodes
Fig. 1 shows the broad idea of the method to design electrodes. The input to the system is the STL file of the mould
cavity obtained after HSM. This file suggests which parts
in a mould cavity could not be milled and which need to be
EDMed. The areas to be EDMed are then separated into
as many distinct regions as possible. Then these distinct regions are treated with similar logic (criteria and rules) that
an EDM specialist would use to combine them with each
other. This combination is referred to as re-grouping in the
coming sections and is nothing but the combination of one
or more regions with each other. Followed by this, we would
get as an output from this system all possible electrode designs. From these electrode designs, an EDM specialist can
make a selection based on the EDM machining times, costs,
etc. This methodology of designing electrodes in all possible ways is employed because there exists different opinions

K.R. Mahajan et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology xxx (2004) xxxxxx

Areas to
EDM

Disintegrate areas
to EDM into
distinct regions as
much as possible

Design electrodes using

logic/criteria and
smart combination/regrouping

EDM
electrodes
Fig. 1. General idea of the method to design electrodes automatically.

in industry of which electrode to use for a typical EDM

operation.
In the following sections, the major items as mentioned
in the general idea in Fig. 1 are described one by one.

3. Disintegration of regions to EDM

Fig. 2 shows the conceptual scheme, that shows how areas
to be EDMed can be disintegrated into as many distinct
regions or electrodes as possible. Depending on where EDM
needs to be done, the corresponding areas on the original
mould cavity will be identified using software. The first step
is to make one single big electrode for all such areas. To the
entire electrode design, we first apply a (3D) radius detection
algorithm and find out where the radii are on the edges or
surfaces of the electrode.
Followed by radii detection, the surfaces or edges with
common surface radii/edge radii, will be highlighted and
separated as distinct electrodes. The reason to do this specifically is to take advantage of the fact that most moulds and
dies have surfaces or edges with similar geometric characteristics, like for example, common values of edge radii, common surface radii, etc. This separation of electrodes based
on common radii will give the best result in terms of individual options. Someone might even argue what happens if
the mould has a free form shape without existence of common/distinct edge/surface radii? In such cases, the system
will not separate the regions, but continue to keep the whole
geometry as one distinct region. On each of these separated
regions, certain rules are applied to still separate the regions
into smaller regions. These rules are derived from the criteria that are considered by an EDM specialist when he de-

signs electrodes. These criteria and the associated rules are

discussed in more details in the coming sections. The separation of electrodes into still smaller electrodes based on the
rules is done because although a region of the electrode may
have common surface or edge radii, it may still violate one
or more other rules. After this step, the regions that violate
any one of the rules will be stored as individual options. It
is wise to have these individual options because these might
have advantages over EDMing with combined electrodes
or EDMing with pure deep sinking in terms of gain in machining times.

4. Re-grouping/combination of regions to EDM

Fig. 3 shows the details of the electrode re-grouping/
combination procedure.
The input to this system is the saved individual options
obtained and as shown in Fig. 2 by the box store ALL
options. Then any option is selected and combined with a
second option. When the rules are again applied, it becomes
clear if they should remain as a single electrode (the rules
and the method of how to apply these rules and the criteria
they are based on, are explained in the next section). If they
can, then this combination is saved in a database. Then to
this combination, the third option is added and the feasibility
is checked. If the rules are satisfied, this combination is
saved as a second result in the database and so on. If any
of the option violated the rules, the next option is taken.
A counter is kept for the very first option that is selected,
such that when all the options are over, it takes the second
option and the process is repeated over again. The final result
from this system is EDM electrode designs in all possible
ways.
The minimum number of combinations (electrode designs) one has to perform (can obtain) using this iterative
system can be calculated by the following mathematical expression (which can be found in standard text on applied
mathematics):
Cna Min =

n!
a!((n a)!)

where, C is the total number of combinations one has to

perform using the above procedure, n the number of stored
electrode options, a the size of each individual combination.
Note that the size of the combination has always to be
2, in order to calculate the minimum number of combinations. To test the above equation consider that we have four
electrode options (named 14) which are stored and which
are to be combined amongst them using the above system.
Now, if we go through the above system (and always go
through the No loop), we will have the following possible combinations, namely, 12, 13, 14, 23, 24 and 34
(in total six combinations). Note, that we will not have the
combinations 21, 31 and 32, because the system is designed such, that the same combinations (like 12 and 21)

K.R. Mahajan et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology xxx (2004) xxxxxx

Fig. 2. Disintegration of areas to EDM into distinct regions.

are not considered again the second time. In actual practice,

this will be done by placing history checks in the software
to avoid re-combinations and subsequently reduced processing speed. Substituting the number of saved options n = 4,
in the equation, we get the result as:
Cna Min =

4!
4321
=
=6
2!(4 2)!
22

which matches with the number of combinations obtained

earlier.
The maximum number of combinations (electrode design)
one can perform (obtain) can also be calculated as:
CMax = Cna + Cna+1 + + Cnn1 + Cnn
where Cna is the minimum number of combinations obtained
earlier, a the size of each individual combination, and n
the number of stored options being treated. Depending on
the result of applying the rules in this re-group procedure,

the actual number of possible electrode designs can vary

between the minimum and the maximum. This can be expressed mathematically as:
CMax N Cna Min
where N is the final number of electrode designs obtained
after actually applying the rules.

5. What are the criteria that an EDM specialist uses to

design EDM electrodes?
In this section, the criteria that an EDM specialist considers to design electrodes are discussed followed by converting the criteria to rules, that can be used for disintegrating
and re-grouping of electrodes as seen in Figs. 2 and 3. These
criteria have been identified based on inputs from die and
mould makers and from inside knowledge within TNO.

K.R. Mahajan et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology xxx (2004) xxxxxx

Areas to
EDM

Store ALL
the options
(1), (2),(n)

Counter
(1),(n)

(2), (3), (4)

Apply
rules

Disintegrate areas
to EDM into distinct
regions as much as
possible

Select option (1)

Combine with
next option

Possible
to
combine ?

No

Select the next

option

Yes

Design electrodes using

logic/criteria and
smart combination/regrouping

EDM
electrodes

Save this
option in a
database

Figure 1 again re-produced

here to show relationship with
Figure 3

EDM
electrodes
Fig. 3. Details of the re-group procedure to re-group different options.

As seen in Fig. 4, the criteria can be listed as:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

EDM machining depths.

Horizontal distances between regions to EDM.
Surface roughness required on the mould cavity.
EDM machining strategy used.
Machining times and costs obtained by using a certain
electrode design.
6. Manufacturability of the electrode.
From these criteria, the EDM machining times and costs
and the manufacturability of the electrodes have not been
considered to convert to rules because, these two criteria are

Distances
between
regions to
EDM
EDM
machining
depths

Surface
roughness
required

Criteria for
grouping EDM
electrodes

Machining
times and
costs

EDM
machining
strategy

Manufacturability
of the electrode

Fig. 4. Criteria for grouping/designing electrodes.

already considered elsewhere in the FASTOOL project. All

the other criteria listed above have been investigated and
converted to rules. The criteria and the conversion to rules
are discussed next one by one.
5.1. EDM machining depth criterion
EDM specialists in practice, use this criterion to limit
the complexity of the designed electrode from the EDM
machining point of view. When differences in machining
depths are beyond a certain limit, uneven wear occurs on
electrodes. This also means that for the next finishing EDM
operation, the number of electrodes needed for region with
longer machined depth and machining time will be higher
than for region with lower machined depth and machining
time.
5.1.1. Converting this criterion to a rule to apply it when
designing electrodes
This section describes how this criterion is converted to
a rule. Normally in practice, and based on experience a difference in machined depth of about 2530% is allowed.
This is also because it is difficult to predict wear of EDM
electrodes. Hence, to begin with a factor of 0.3 has been
taken. Much further research is required to predict electrode
wear. According to this discussion, the rule can be written
as hmax 0.7 = hmin , where hmax is the depth of region 1

K.R. Mahajan et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology xxx (2004) xxxxxx

while hmin is the depth of region 2 which are to be combined

with each other. The values of the machined depths can be
found out by performing geometric analysis using software.
The rule will remain valid (consequently combining the
two regions) when the above equation is satisfied and vice
versa.
5.2. Horizontal distances between regions to
EDM criterion
In practice, there are two factors the EDM specialist will
use when combining electrodes as far as horizontal distances
are considered. The first one is the maximum allowable overall dimension of the electrode that can be safely clamped in
the EDM machine tools automatic tool changer (ATC) system and secondly the size of the pallet system on which the
electrodes are placed (which are used to transport electrodes
for measurement, etc.). The pallet system has been added
because nowadays even small to medium sized tool and die
making companies shift to standardization practices.
5.2.1. Converting this criterion to a rule to apply it when
designing electrodes
In this, one electrode is designed (by combining two regions) and the overall size (L (mm) B (mm) H (mm))
is saved. Then, from the pallet size and the maximum allowable electrode dimensions in the ATC system, we select
the smallest overall dimension. We select the smallest one
because we can then compare this smallest one with the
overall size of the combined electrode. If the combined
size of the designed electrode is smaller than the selected
smallest, then this rule is valid and vice versa.
5.3. Difference in surface roughness criterion
There are several examples of mould cavities in industry
where different parts of a cavity have different surface roughness requirements. In such cases one electrode can never be
designed for two regions with different surface roughness
requirements. This is due to the fact that different surface
roughness requirements call for different process parameters
during the EDM operation.
5.3.1. Converting this criterion to a rule to apply it when
designing electrodes
To convert this criterion to a rule, regions in a mould
which have such special requirements, have to be selected
on the highest level of the system (i.e., when the mould cavity is input in the CAM system for HSM), where regions
with special surface requirements will be given attributes
like special surface roughness. This information will then be
carried throughout the system up to this level of EDM electrode design where the system will try to combine regions
with each other. When two regions with different surface
roughness values are combined the rule will be violated,
consequently separating such regions.

5.4. EDM machining strategy criterion

Different EDM machine tool makes have different capabilities in terms of machining strategies available. However,
the most common strategies available on most machine
tools and the ones most commonly used are deep sinking,
conical orbiting movement and the star-like orbiting movement. Some new EDM machine tools have the 3D-orbiting
movement as an extended machining strategy. This criterion has been added to this system of designing EDM
electrodes because some of the strategies create geometric
errors during/after EDMing. These errors can be compensated/eliminated by the use of alternative machining
strategies and solutions. However alternative machining
strategies and solutions (may) call for additional number of
EDM electrodes during EDMing. For instance pure deep
sinking calls for a higher number of electrodes increasing
the EDM time and overall costs while orbiting EDM requires less number of electrodes while resulting in lower
EDM machining times and costs.
5.4.1. Converting this criterion to a rule to apply it when
designing electrodes
The system has been designed to take into consideration
differences in the capabilities of EDM machine tools in
terms of machining strategies and the user choices in terms
of quality requirements of the mould cavity. The first inputs
to this system are the two regions which are to be designed
as one electrode (e.g. regions 1 and 2). These regions will
have undergone a geometry analysis on the highest level.
The user on the highest level will have selected the regions
where he wishes to have special quality requirements from
the mould cavity (examples are near sharp corners and
limits on the values of the allowable geometric errors) and
the EDM machine tool he wishes to use. This information
will be brought from the highest level to this level of EDM
electrode design. Details are avoided here and are available
from the author on request. In brief, the general idea is
that depending on the mould quality requirements and the
selected EDM machine tool, the system will search for solutions and automatically assign additional number of EDM
electrodes and the machining strategies to use.

6. How to use the rules to design EDM electrodes?

So far we have discussed the conversion to rules of the
following criteria:
1. The EDM machining depths.
2. The horizontal distances between regions to EDM.
3. The existence of special surface roughness and texture
on mould surfaces.
4. The EDM machining strategy.
These rules are applied during disintegrating and regrouping of regions to finally obtain the designed electrodes.

K.R. Mahajan et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology xxx (2004) xxxxxx

During disintegrating the regions, the rules do not have

to be applied in a specific sequence. However, during the
re-grouping procedure, these rules are applied in a specific
order of importance. This order of importance is actually
the order of the weight each rule carries when allowing a
combination. For example, the surface roughness rule will
not allow a combination of two regions in any case. Hence
it is wise to always keep such regions separate from each
other no matter what the result of applying other rules is.
Hence, during the re-group procedure the rules are applied
in the following order one by one:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

Surface roughness rule.

EDM machining depth rule.
Horizontal distances between regions to EDM rule.
EDM machining strategy rule.

The re-grouping will take place according to the procedure

explained in Fig. 3.

7. Conclusions
In this paper the basic principles of designing a knowledge based automatic EDM electrode design system were
explained. The success of this system depends to some extent
to the radius detection software algorithm. Although difficult to implement, this software algorithm is not impossible
to realize. In principle the system can also accommodate a
section to predict EDM machining times and the amount of
electrode wear. This would enable to determine the number
of subsequent electrodes needed in view of required geometric accuracy of the cavity. Some preliminary work in these
directions has been performed but many particularities of
EDM machining have to be researched. Outside the FAS-

TOOL project, this knowledge based system can be expected

to work in a semi-automatic fashion in a very good way. The
user (by then the EDM specialist would not be required) will
only have to separate the areas he wants to EDM. The system
will then by itself be able to design feasible electrodes. The
system has been designed to take care of differences in EDM
machine tools, that makes it quite unique. This system proves
to be an important development in modern tool manufacture.
Further reading
Electrode design software Power Shape or commonly
known as PS electrode, 2003. http://www.delcam.com.
Electrode design software Quick electrode , 2003.
http://www.cimatron.com.
X.M. Ding, J.Y.H. Fuh, K.S. Lee, Computer-aided EDM
electrode design, Comput. Ind. Eng. 42 (2002) 259269.
K.R. Mahajan, Towards knowledge-based design of EDM
electrodes for pre-milled mould cavities, Masters Research
Thesis, PT 03.082, Section Production Technology and Industrial Organization, Delft University of Technology, The
Netherlands, 2003.
FASTOOL Project Proposal, TNO Industrial Technology,
The Netherlands, 2002.
B. Lauwers, Computer-aided process planning and manufacturing for electrical discharge machining, Ph.D. Thesis,
93 D5, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Katholieke
Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, 1993.
F. Staelens, Overall on-line optimization of planetary electro discharge machining, Ph.D. Thesis, 90 D2, Department
of Mechanical Engineering, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven,
Belgium, 1990.
T. Altan, B.W. Lilly, J.-P. Kruth, W. Knig, H.K. Tnshoff,
C.A. Luttervelt, A.B. van Khairy, Advanced techniques for
die and mould manufacturing, Ann. CIRP 42 (2) (1993) 707.