High precision finish cutting by Dry WEDM

This paper describes the development of a new dry wire electrical discharge machining (dry-WEDM) method, which is conducted in a gas atmosphere withou t using dielectric liquid to improve the accuracy of finish cutting. In dry -WEDM, the vibration of the wire electrode is minute due to the negligibly small process reaction force. In addition, as the gap distance is narrower than that in conventional WEDM using dielectric liquid, and there is no cor rosion of the workpiece, high accuracy in finish cutting can be realized in dry-WEDM. However, some drawbacks of dry-WEDM include lower material remov al rate compared to conventional WEDM and streaks are more likely to be gen erated over the finished surface. Increasing the wire winding speed and dec reasing the actual depth of cut are effective to resolve these drawbacks.