Review on Effects of Electrode in Electrical Discharge Machining Process

Abstract

Electrical Discharge Machining is one of the non-conventional machining processes used for electrically conductive material. It is widely used for manufacturing complicated parts which are tough to be produced by conventional manufacturing processes. It is based on thermoelectric energy between workpiece and electrode. Metal is removed by melting and vaporizing because of spark occurs in the gap between electrode and workpiece. Workpiece and electrode must have electrically conductive to generate a spark. The performance of the EDM process is largely depends on the electrode. Electrode is considered as tool in EDM process. Selection of the electrode material plays vital role in the EDM process. Different electrode materials have different properties. Hence, the performance of the EDM process changes with different materials. Researchers have used different materials as electrode to investigate the effects of materials and to improve the performance of EDM process. This paper reviews the research work carried out in the field of materials and manufacturing methods for electrodes in EDM process. Keywords: [EDM, Electrodes, Materials, Manufacturing Process].