Shape Machining by Wire Electrical Discharge Milling Method

Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is a useful method for machining hard materials such as cemented carbide. However, in the equipment used in sinking electrical discharge machining (SEDM), the electrodes wear and can become exhausted during use. It is necessary to prepare several electrodes in advance of machining. We developed a new SEDM method that uses a feeding wire electrode. It is named wire electrical discharge (WED) milling. By this method, the machining is similar to mechanical milling with a ball end mill, but is free from problems such as tool wear or the built-up edge in mechanical milling. In this paper, the machining of various shapes was carried out on cemented carbide using the WED milling method. In addition, a transistor control capacitor electrical discharge circuit was used when machining cemented carbide, with the purpose of improving the machining speed.