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Article: Anti-electrolysis is pro EDM. (electrical discharge machining)
- Article from:
- Modern Machine Shop
- Article date:
- February 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Gardner Publications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A new breed of power generators for wire EDMs has options for reducing, even eliminating, one of the unwanted side effects of this very versatile metalcutting process.
Although wire EDM (electrical discharge machining) has earned respect for its ability to machine difficult workpieces with unsurpassed accuracy, the machining process didn't gain the full attention it deserves until recently. The culprit: electrolysis.
Electrolysis, intrinsic to the early days of EDMing and continuing until the early 1990s, is caused by stray voltage from the cutting process interacting with contaminant in the dielectric fluid and attacking the workpiece. Electrolysis is ...