EDM Machining Australia
Wire EDM and sinker EDM for hardened metals, complex geometry, and features impossible to mill. Tolerances to ±0.005mm. Any conductive material.
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EDM Processes
Wire EDM
Thin wire electrode cuts precise 2D profiles through full material thickness. Ideal for blanking dies, punches, extrusion dies, gear profiles, and complex flat geometry in any hardness material.
Common Applications
- ✓Die and punch sets
- ✓Extrusion dies
- ✓Gear and spline profiles
- ✓Medical implant profiles
- ✓Carbide tooling
- ✓Test gauges and masters
±0.005mm standard · ±0.002mm achievable
Sinker EDM
Shaped electrode machines 3D cavities into workpieces. Essential for injection mould cavities, die casting dies, forging dies, and any blind 3D feature in hardened steel.
Common Applications
- ✓Injection mould cavities
- ✓Die casting dies
- ✓Forging dies
- ✓Blind keyways in hardened steel
- ✓Deep narrow slots
- ✓Complex 3D pockets
±0.01mm standard · ±0.005mm achievable
Why Choose EDM?
Hardness is irrelevant
EDM removes material through electrical discharge, not cutting force. A 65 HRC hardened D2 tool steel cuts just as readily as annealed mild steel. Machine first or harden first — your choice.
Sharp internal corners
Milling always leaves a radius at internal corners equal to the tool radius. EDM can produce near-sharp corners (wire radius ~0.13mm), enabling die sets and profiles impossible to mill.
No cutting forces
Zero cutting force means delicate thin walls, fine features, and fragile parts can be machined without deflection or distortion — critical for precision tooling.
Surface integrity
EDM produces a consistent, stress-free surface. For tooling applications, this is preferable to the surface stresses introduced by conventional machining.
EDM FAQ
What is EDM machining?
Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) is a non-contact machining process that removes material through controlled electrical sparks between an electrode and the workpiece, both submerged in a dielectric fluid. Because EDM uses electrical energy rather than mechanical cutting force, it can machine any electrically conductive material regardless of hardness — including hardened tool steel (60+ HRC), carbide, titanium, and Inconel. EDM is ideal for complex geometry, sharp internal corners, thin walls, and features that would be impossible or prohibitively expensive with conventional cutting tools.
What is the difference between wire EDM and sinker EDM?
Wire EDM uses a thin continuously-fed wire electrode (typically 0.25mm brass wire) to cut through the workpiece like a bandsaw — but with electrical discharge rather than mechanical cutting. Wire EDM produces precise 2D profiles and straight-walled cuts through full material thickness. Sinker EDM (also called die-sinking EDM or ram EDM) uses a shaped electrode machined to the inverse of the desired cavity. The electrode sinks into the workpiece to produce 3D cavities — mould cavities, die pockets, and blind features with complex 3D geometry.
What materials can be EDM machined?
EDM can machine any electrically conductive material: hardened tool steels (D2, H13, A2, M2 — up to 65 HRC), carbide (tungsten carbide), stainless steel (all grades), titanium (all grades), Inconel and superalloys, copper and brass, aluminium, and cobalt-chrome. EDM is particularly valuable for materials that cannot be practically machined conventionally due to extreme hardness — hardened die steel and carbide being the primary examples. Non-conductive materials (ceramics, plastics, glass) cannot be EDM machined.
What tolerances does EDM achieve?
Wire EDM achieves dimensional tolerances of ±0.005mm (5 microns) as standard on cut profiles. ±0.002mm is achievable with multi-pass finishing cuts and calibrated machines. Surface finish of Ra 0.4–0.8 μm is standard; Ra 0.1 μm is achievable with fine skim cuts. Wire EDM is one of the most accurate machining processes available, particularly for profile accuracy over long cuts — superior to milling for maintaining dimensional consistency over 100mm+ profile lengths.
When should I use EDM instead of milling?
Choose EDM over milling when: (1) The material is too hard to mill — hardened steel above 45 HRC becomes difficult and expensive to mill but EDM is unaffected by hardness. (2) Sharp internal corners are required — milling always leaves a radius equal to the tool radius, while EDM can produce near-sharp corners. (3) Deep narrow slots or cavities are needed — EDM can cut features inaccessible to rotating tools. (4) Thin walls or delicate features would deflect under milling cutting forces. (5) The part requires extreme accuracy on a complex profile. For soft materials with accessible geometry, milling is faster and cheaper.
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