Study on Electrical Discharge Machining Characteristics of Coated Electrodes

Low electrode wear EDM is attained by the adhesion of heat resolved carbon made from kerosine type machining fluid to the electrode end surface. This phenomenon, however, occurs only under long pulse duration. Therefore, the low electrode wear EDM under finishing condition is impossible so far. In the previous paper, the authors developed a turbostratic carbon electrode whose structure is very similar to the heat resolved carbon generated in EDM process and made it clear that the low electrode wear EDM was possible by using the electrode even under finishing condition. In this study, a carbon coated electrode and a SiC coated one which can be made rapidly at low cost were developed and their EDM characteristics were investigated. Experimental analysis pointed it out that both electrodes were effective in reducing electrode wear under finishing condition.