Effects of Roughened Wire Tool Electrode Surface by Wet Blasting Method on WEDM Properties

High-speed cutting techniques in electric discharge machining are expected to contribute to cost cutting and energy reduction in these machining processes. It has been revealed that the surface shape of the wire tool electrode influences the wire electric discharge machining characteristics. It has also been hypothesized that a rough wire has many concentrated electric fields that lead to the shorter electrical discharge delay time. However, there are not enough experimental results to demonstrate the effect of the surface shape of the wire tool electrode on improving the processing speed. It is also expected that a simple and effective processing method will increase and control the roughness of a wire tool electrode. In this study, we proposed the wet blasting method as a new surface roughness treatment technique, and investigated the processing ability of this method under various conditions. Moreover, we examined the electric discharge machining characteristics of cemented carbide using a wire tool electrode roughened by a suitable wet blasting treatment.