Core77

Production Methods: This Disappearing Steel Snowflake Shows the Impressive Capabilities of Wire EDM

This is what a machining accuracy of 0.0001" looks like

By Rain Noe - November 29, 2016

in Digital Fabrication

It's been a while since we looked at EDM, or electrical discharge machining, which essentially cuts through metal with sparks. In the variant of this production method known as wire EDM, the cutting is done with a thin brass wire and the fun combination of electricity and water. Wire EDM is what you use when you want to cut something that's, say, 300mm thick, and made out of a tough-to-machine metal.

Wire EDM yields pretty stunning accuracy—we're talking +/- 0.0001"—which means you can do fun stuff like this:

Enter a caption (optional)

This video was put together by Texas-based Reliable EDM.

Via The Awesomer

o

Favorite This
Q
5

Comment

Comments

Chris Ruf

8 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

I've held samples like these in my hands, and they are impressive. I assume that the inside piece is made from a separate piece of steel than the surrounding part, then the faces are ground to be smooth which gives it a uniform appearance. Otherwise I would expect you would need to drill a hole to feed the wire through to get it started on the inside of the hallow part. I've not seen any drill marks on these. Can anyone confirm this?

!Report as spam
- Rain Noe
  
  Chris Ruf
  
  8 years ago
  
  Z
  
  Z
  
  Reply
  
  He says in the video that it's made from two different pieces.
  
  !Report as spam
Christopher Hanks

8 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

:0

!Report as spam
iii jjjj

8 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

Nice, but does it fit like a punching tool for metal?

My profil on behance.net/design-workbench

!Report as spam