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    Complete EDM Handbook - 10 PDF

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    Ram EDM is useful for machining intricate details, sharp corners, and fine finishes. It can produce a variety of shapes and sizes with high accuracy and surface finishes. Workpiece hardness does not affect the machining, allowing hardened metals to be easily cut. Ram EDM is commonly used to produce molds, blind cavities, internal splines, and specialized parts that would be difficult to machine through other methods. Following proper procedures for ram EDM maximizes its benefits.

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    Complete EDM Handbook - 10 PDF

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    ds_srinivas
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    Ram EDM is useful for machining intricate details, sharp corners, and fine finishes. It can produce a variety of shapes and sizes with high accuracy and surface finishes. Workpiece hardness does not affect the machining, allowing hardened metals to be easily cut. Ram EDM is commonly used to produce molds, blind cavities, internal splines, and specialized parts that would be difficult to machine through other methods. Following proper procedures for ram EDM maximizes its benefits.

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    Ram EDM is useful for machining intricate details, sharp corners, and fine finishes. It can produce a variety of shapes and sizes with high accuracy and surface finishes. Workpiece hardness does not affect the machining, allowing hardened metals to be easily cut. Ram EDM is commonly used to produce molds, blind cavities, internal splines, and specialized parts that would be difficult to machine through other methods. Following proper procedures for ram EDM maximizes its benefits.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    269 views0 pages

    Complete EDM Handbook - 10 PDF

    Uploaded by

    ds_srinivas
    Ram EDM is useful for machining intricate details, sharp corners, and fine finishes. It can produce a variety of shapes and sizes with high accuracy and surface finishes. Workpiece hardness does not affect the machining, allowing hardened metals to be easily cut. Ram EDM is commonly used to produce molds, blind cavities, internal splines, and specialized parts that would be difficult to machine through other methods. Following proper procedures for ram EDM maximizes its benefits.

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    131

    Uses of Ram EDM


    There are many operations where ram EDM is the most efficient way to machine
    parts. Sometimes numerically controlled mills are used for blind cavities, but
    when sharp corners, intricate details, or fine finishes are required as in Figure
    10:1, ram EDM is used. For very intricate details, ram EDM is partically useful.
    See Figure 10:2.
    Figure 10:1
    Blind Cavity
    Courtesy Agie
    Profiting With Ram EDM
    Figure 10:2
    Intricate Details EDMed
    Courtesy Sodick
    10
    132
    Complete EDM Handbook
    Compliments of www.ReliableEDM.com
    Benefits of Ram EDM
    A. Different Shapes and Sizes
    Ram EDM can machine a wide variety of shapes and sizes as illustrated in
    Figures 10:3 and 4. Also this non-contact machining method with low-pressure
    flushing allows it to produce very thin sections.
    Multi-Cavity Mold for Plastic Containers
    Mold for Rubber Mat Mold for Motor Rotor Cooling Blades
    Mold for Glass Stems
    Figure 10:3
    Examples of Molded Shapes Produced With Ram EDM
    Courtesy Charmille
    Profiting with Ram EDM 133
    B. Accuracy and Finishes
    Depending on the accuracy of the electrode, tolerances of up to +/- .0001
    (.0025 mm) can be held. Furthermore, if the correct amount of current is used, very
    fine finishes can be obtained. Certain machines can produce a mirror-type finish.
    Machines capable of producing mirror finishes eliminate the laborious method of
    polishing cavities.
    C. Workpiece Hardness Not a Factor
    Workpiece hardness has no effect on cutting. Therefore hardened parts can be
    easily machined.
    D. EDMing Threads Into Hardened Parts
    Ram EDM is capable of machining threads into hardened parts, difficult-to-
    machine alloys, and even carbide. CNC machines are capable of doing this by
    orbiting a threaded electrode.
    Figure 10:4
    Medical Casing From Design to Mold
    Courtesy Agie
    134
    Complete EDM Handbook
    Compliments of www.ReliableEDM.com
    Parts for Ram EDM
    A. Molds
    Ram EDM is an excellent machining method to produce molds. See Figure 10:5.
    Molds can be EDMed from miniature toys to large injected plastic molded parts
    for automobiles. Molded parts are produced when plastic is injected into preformed
    molds and cooled.
    B. Blind Keyways
    Ram EDM can easily cut blind keyways as in Figure 10:6. Wire EDM is usually
    used when keyways pass through the part.
    Figure 10:5
    A Graphite Electrode and the Molded Part
    Figure 10:6
    Blind Keyway
    Courtesy Charmille
    Profiting with Ram EDM 135
    C. Internal Splines
    When internal splines do not go through the part as in Figure 10:7, then ram
    EDM is used to machine the splines.
    D. Hexes for Special Bolts and Parts
    Ram EDM is ideal to machine special bolts and parts with blind cavities, such
    as hexes as shown in Figure 10:8.
    E. Helical Gear Machining
    Orbiting machines can machine helical gears, as seen in Figure 10:9.
    Figure 10:7
    Internal Splines
    Figure 10:8
    Hexes for Special Bolts and Parts
    Figure 10:9
    Helical Gear Machining
    Courtesy Mitsubishi
    View AA
    136
    Complete EDM Handbook
    Compliments of www.ReliableEDM.com
    Micro Machining for Ram EDM
    Fine details can be machined with ram EDM. Figure 10:10 shows some micro-
    machining using copper electrodes.
    Machining Large Pieces
    Since our company is located in Houston, TX, there is much work for the oil field
    industry. We get many calls to ram EDM work on large workpieces. Figure 10:11 is
    an example of one of our jobs. We also make special fixtures where we can EDM
    on top of tall parts.
    Figure 10:10
    Micro-Machining
    Courtesy Charmilles Technologies
    Figure 10:11
    Marching a Large Workpiece
    Profiting with Ram EDM 137
    Materials for Ram EDM
    Any electrically-conductive material can be machined with ram EDM, such as:
    tool steels, cold and hot rolled steel, stainless steels, inconel, hastalloy, stellite,
    aluminum, copper, brass, titanium, and carbide.
    Some steels have a high sulfur content to aid in turning and milling. However,
    steel with high sulfur content can form sulfide inclusions which for fine details as
    in mold work may cause irregularities and have a negative impact on the surface
    finish. For mold work it is preferable to work with steel that has low sulfur content.
    In polishing steel with high sulfur content, the softer steel matrix next to the sulfur
    inclusion tends to be polished out leaving a void in the surface.
    Speeding the Mold Processing
    Mold makers often seek ways to speed up removing molded material. When
    certain mold areas take longer to cool than other areas, cycle times must be
    lengthened. Adding more water lines is not always feasible due to the configuration
    of the mold.
    Processing speeds may be increased by placing a high thermal conductivity
    copper alloy, like Ampco alloy 940, into areas requiring faster cooling. Using such
    copper alloys can reduce the cycle time from 20% to 30%, since this material
    disperses heat six times faster than steel.
    To EDM these copper alloys, a high grade graphite with negative polarity is
    used. Another method to cool the mold quickly without substantially changing it is
    to replace steel core pins with copper alloy pins.
    EDMing Carbide
    Carbide ranges from high cobalt (16%), which is a low wear, high shock grade,
    to low cobalt (6%), which is a high wear, low shock grade. Since only the cobalt in
    carbide conducts electricity, carbide does not EDM as rapidly as steel. Therefore,
    the higher the percentage of cobalt, the faster the carbide can be EDMed.
    Proper Procedures for Ram EDM
    Many parts would be impossible to be machined without ram EDM. It is
    important to learn the proper procedures to maximize the benefits of this process,
    for by learning the proper use of Ram EDM, one can dramatically reduce operating
    costs. The next few chapters will discuss the proper procedures for ram EDM.

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