Modulee-3: ADVANCED MATERIA

M
AL REMO
OVAL PR
ROCESSES
S
Leccture No-10
Diee-Sinker ED
DM and its S
Systems
Die-Sinker
D
EDM is know
wn by differeent names suuch as Ram
m EDM, sinkker EDM, veertical
EDM
E
and plu
unge EDM. The processs is generallly used for producing bblind cavitiees. In
die-sinker ED
DM, the elecctrode and workpiece
w
aree submergedd in an insullating liquidd such
ass oil or otheer dielectric fluids. The electrode annd workpiece are conneccted to a suiitable
power supply
y. An electriical potentiaal is generatted betweenn the tool annd the workkpiece
th
hrough the power
p
supplly. As the ellectrode appproaches woorkpiece, thee dielectric bbreak
down starts taaking place in
i the fluid. Due to this activity, a pplasma channnel starts forrming
an
nd sparks jum
mp from thee electrode to
o the workpiiece leading to material rremoval from
m the
workpiece.
w
The
T principlee of die-sinking EDM iss shown in F
Fig. 3.10.1 aand the schem
matic
of die-sinker EDM process is shown in Fig. 3.10..2
The
T main com
mponents of Die-sinker EDM
E
are:

Powerr supply.

Dielecctric system..

Electrrode

Servo system.

Power
P
Supplly
The
T power su
upply provid
des a series of
o DC electriical dischargges and contrrols:

Curren
nt

Pulse voltage

Pulse duration

c
Duty cycle

Electrrode polarity
y

Pulse frequency

Dielectric
D
an
nd its Circullation System
The
T dielectric fluids useed in EDM operations
o
aare of differrent types. T
The most poopular
dielectric
d
flu
uids are hydrrocarbon oill (kerosene in particularr). The otheer fluids useed are
trransformer oil,
o paraffin oil; silicon based oil, oor de-ionized water. Thhe selection of an
appropriate
a
dielectric
d
flu
uid dependss upon its vvarious chem
mical and ffluidic properties
(ssuch as flash
h point, dieleectric strengtth, viscosityy, specific gravity and coolor)
The
T dielectricc system perrforms the fo
ollowing taskks:

It induces clean dielectric into the cutting zone

Flushes away debris

Cools the workpiece and electrodes

In order to provide circulation of the dielectric fluid to the work piece, the EDM machine
tool is equipped with a well-designed dielectric circulation system. It consists of
following two parts:
1. Pump : Its main purpose is to circulate the dielectric fluid on-to the

workpiece

2. Filter and suction unit: This unit filters out the material debris and any other
foreign parts from the dielectric.
Servo System
The servo system is commanded by signals from gap voltage sensor system in the power
supply and it controls the in-feed of the electrode to precisely match the required rate of
material removal. At times stepper motor can be used instead of a servomotor. As soon as
the gap voltage sensor system determines bridging of some pieces of electrically
conductive materials between the electrode and work-piece, the servo system
immediately reacts and reverses the direction. The process is restored when the gap is
flushed by the dielectric fluid. When the gap becomes clear, the in-feed resumes and
cutting process continues.
Electrodes
The electrodes for EDM process are usually made of brass, copper, graphite and coppertungsten alloys.

Design considerations for EDM process

In EDM process, fine openings and deeper slots need to be avoided.

Very fine surface finish values should not be specified.

As the MRR of EDM process is low, the rough cutting should be done by some
other machining process and EDM machine should me made used for the
finishing operations only.