EDM Machining vs High Speed Milling - Will High Speed Milling Replace EDM?

In mold making, high-speed milling can process 60HRC hardened steel and make cuts after heat treatment, reducing the workload of EDM. It comes from the supplement to the weaknesses of traditional milling and EDM technology. Will high-speed milling replace EDM machining? What are their unique applications?

Advantages and Applications of EDM Machining

Basically, the advantages of EDM are mainly reflected in the machining of deep slots and narrow slots, the machining of internal corner cleaning, the processing of clear edges, the machining of fine, complex, and precise machining, deep cavities, and superhard materials. These are the shortcomings of high-speed milling. It can be seen that EDM has an absolute advantage in the manufacturing of precision molds with fine and complex shapes

With the rapid development of high-speed milling technology, EDM technology has been greatly impacted. However, in the face of challenges, EDM integrates advanced CNC technology. At present, various process indicators of CNC EDM machines have reached a very high level, which can obtain microcavities with highly accurate edges and corners, and obtain mirror machining effects with a Ra value less than 0.1 μ m. In addition, in recent years, the development of CNC EDM milling, powder-mixed EDM large-area finishing, and other technologies has demonstrated the new vitality of EDM.

For the machining of precision small cavities, narrow slots, grooves, corners, etc., EDM should be the first choice; For the machining of complex shape parts, especially when the tool is difficult to reach the complex surface, EDM has its significance; In places where deep cutting is required and where the ratio of length to diameter is particularly high, it is more clear to avoid the application of high-speed milling; For the processing of high-tech parts, the programming time for machining electrodes is generally shorter than that for high-speed milling of workpieces. EDM should be used to provide the surface with sparklines where EDM finishing is specified.

Advantages and Applications of High-Speed Milling

A small-diameter milling cutter is used for high-speed milling. High speed and small cycle feed rate greatly improve production efficiency and accuracy. At the same time, due to low milling force, reduced thermal deformation of the workpiece, small milling depth, and fast feed, the surface roughness is very small.

High-speed milling is suitable for the production of most molds, simplifying the mold manufacturing process. The traditional machining process is rough machining of profile, rough milling of cavity, heat treatment, finish machining of profile, EDM cavity, bench worker grinding and polishing cavity, surface strengthening treatment. The processes after adopting high-speed machining are rough machining, heat treatment, finish machining, high-speed milling of cavity, and surface strengthening treatment, which can save electric machining (relatively speaking), manual grinding, and other processes, shorten the process route and greatly improve the processing productivity.

In fact, high-speed milling is also very suitable for electrode manufacturing. The electrode of traditional milling needs to be polished manually, and the consistency is poor, which will affect the quality of EDM. The electrode for high-speed milling hardly needs manual polishing, and the electrode for rough machining and finish machining can reach the nearly perfect consistency. In addition, high-speed milling can machine thin-walled and more complex electrodes.

Will High-Speed Milling Replace EDM

With the rapid development of high-speed milling today, the development space of EDM has been squeezed. High-speed milling has also brought greater technological progress to EDM. For example, high-speed milling is used to manufacture electrodes. Due to the realization of machining in narrow areas and high-quality surface results, the number of electrodes designed is greatly reduced. In addition, using high-speed milling to manufacture electrodes can also improve production efficiency to a new level, and ensure the high precision of electrodes, so that the precision of EDM is also improved. If most of the machining of the cavity is completed by high-speed milling, EDM is only used as an auxiliary means to clean corners and trim edges, so that the allowance is more uniform and less.

The development of EDM and high-speed milling is complimentary. The development of high-speed milling technology promotes the development of EDM technology and also provides a new impetus for its development. They play an irreplaceable role in each other, and they should develop their strengths and circumvent their weaknesses. The combination of these two technologies can provide the best solution for the manufacturing of highly complex and high-precision molds.

EDM Machining vs High Speed Milling – Will High Speed Milling Replace EDM

Advantages and Applications of EDM Machining

Advantages and Applications of High-Speed Milling

Will High-Speed Milling Replace EDM

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