Micro-EDM for Three-Dimensional Cavities

In this paper, we present a new method, called uniform wear method, for 3D micro-EDM. Simple electrodes such as with round or rectangular section are used. Uniform wear at the end of the electrode was realized by layer-by-layer machining. This maintains the original electrode shape and converts the three dimensional electrode wear to a linear one. By compensating the linear electrode wear, complicated three dimensional cavities were successfully machined. This technique was developed for micromolds, but the applicability for normal size molds was also confirmed.