WIRE EDM

Wire electrical discharge machining, otherwise known as wire EDM or wire-cut EDM, is a specialized service offered at Almar Tools along with our tool manufacturing and grinding services. Wire EDM uses a metallic wire to cut or shape a workpiece, often a conductive material, with a thin electrode wire that follows a precisely programmed path. During the wire cutting process there is no direct contact between the wire and the workpiece which allows for machining without causing any distortion in the path of the wire, or the shape of the material. To accomplish this, the wire is very rapidly charged to a desired voltage. The wire is also surrounded by deionized water. When the voltage reaches the correct level, a spark jumps the gap and melts a small portion of the work piece. The deionized water cools and flushes away the small particles from the gap. Wire EDM is ideal for delicate or small work pieces that may be damaged during conventional machining or other traditional techniques, thick parts requiring good finishes and/or accuracies, complex shapes or narrow slots, larger parts that need to hold accurate tolerances, and delicate, hard, exotic/expensive or weak materials.