EDM graphite, also known as electric discharge machining graphite, is a new type of material that is now more and more widely used in the precision mold processing industry. At present, in mold processing plants in developed European countries, more than 90% of the electrode materials for mold processing are graphite. Copper, the once dominant electrode material, has almost lost its advantages compared to graphite electrodes. Why is this happening? Because graphite has huge advantages as a discharge material for EDM, since spark oil also contains C atoms, during discharge machining, the high temperature causes the C atoms in the spark oil to be decomposed, thereby forming a protective film on the surface of the EDM graphite electrode, which compensates for the loss of the graphite electrode. Therefore, the loss of the graphite electrode is very small, so the service life is long.
My country's manufacturing industry is developing in a high-end direction. The country is vigorously promoting intelligent manufacturing and building a strong manufacturing country. Therefore, in the field of precision mold manufacturing, the requirements for discharge materials used in processing are getting higher and higher. Therefore, EDM graphite, also known as electric discharge machining graphite, is playing an increasingly important role in the processing of these precision molds. As a result, the selection of EDM materials has attracted great attention from the industry, and the high-quality EDM graphite produced is increasingly selected by high-end mold manufacturers.
In the past EDM industry, manufacturers used to choose electrolytic copper, copper tungsten, silver tungsten, etc. as electrode raw materials. Of course, traditional graphite is also a good choice. So why didn't graphite become the preferred material for EDM in the early years? That's because most EDM manufacturers choose electrolytic copper as the preferred raw material for EDM due to comprehensive factors such as cost, quality, and work efficiency. In recent years, with the development of our country's industry, we have also made remarkable achievements in science and technology. Creating higher quality and lower costs in the precision mold industry has become the theme of the times. Therefore, looking for newer graphite materials to replace copper electrodes has become a new trend in the industry.
Advantages of EDM electric spark graphite electrode:
1. Faster processing speed. Typically, the machining speed of graphite can be 2-5 times faster than copper, and the discharge speed is 3-5 times faster than copper.
2. The material is less likely to deform and has obvious advantages in processing thin rib materials. The softening point of copper is around 1000 degrees, and it is easily deformed by heat. The sublimation temperature of graphite is 3650 degrees, and the thermal expansion coefficient is only 1/30 of copper.
3. Lighter weight. The density of graphite is only 1/5 of copper. When large electrodes are used for electrical discharge processing, it can effectively reduce the burden on machine tools (EDM) and is more suitable for applications in large molds.
4. Discharge consumption is smaller. Since spark oil also contains C atoms, during electrical discharge machining, the high temperature causes the C atoms in the spark oil to be decomposed, and in turn forms a protective film on the surface of the graphite electrode, compensating for the loss of the graphite electrode.