At Twin City EDM and Manufacturing, we work with a variety of different companies and product developers that possess with a wide-range of experience on how to best create the parts and components they need.

While our team will always provide information and answers to questions, it can also be helpful to have a general understanding of manufacturing options before any detailed conversation occurs. To get a better understanding of wire EDM, and when it is an ideal option, review the information below.

The Basics

Wire EDM is the ability to cut metal using electric discharge machining (EDM). The wire does not make contact with the surface of the material, which means there are no burrs on the surface once the cut is completed.

Additionally, with no contact, there is no pressure on the surface, which means very fine workpieces can be easily cut without any distortion, and very fine cuts can be made that would not be possible with other cutting options.

Using wire EDM, the wire, which is pulled tight between two spools, is covered in deionized water. The water acts as an electric insulator until the point of the discharge.

The discharge occurs as the wire gets close to, but not in contact with, the workpiece. At that instant, there is a heating of the workpiece where the discharge is located; the temperature raised thousands of degrees in a micro-fraction of a second. The result is a bubble of plasma on the surface that collapses and throws the molten material from the workpiece into the water. The resulting crater is then hit with another discharge, at a rate of up to 250,000 times per second.

Through the use of wire EDM, an even, precise cut or hole can be made in any conductive material. This provides the ideal solution when precision, small-radius, or very complicated cuts need to be produced.