Intrinsic innovations of die sinking electrical discharge machining technology: estimation of its impact

The die sinking version of electrical discharge machining (EDM) is a current manufacturing technology widely disseminated in several industrial sectors. In the recent past, developments in the high-speed milling (HSM) have narrowed the EDMs' traditional application domains. As a result, a strong research effort has been focused on EDM leading to the reduction of the operation time and cost and to the increase of final surfaces quality. To identify future trends and perspectives of development within the industrial application of EDM technology, a survey was conducted among mould-making industrial companies and EDM equipment manufactures. The survey was designed to allow the exposure of the most relevant weaknesses and strengths of the technology and the identification of short-term threats and opportunities. In parallel, the expected impacts of the most recent developments of conventional EDM were assessed. To structure and systematize the overall analysis and quantify the total impact of each technologic innovation, a criteria matrix evaluation method was used. The results show that EDM technology will be kept as a reference manufacturing process in the mould-making industry. The maximization of EDM advantages in domains that no other technology can effectively achieve (complex geometries and hard materials processing) is one of the main reasons pointed out for the sustainability of EDM future competitiveness. The other reasons are the reduction of operative and set-up time, the reduction of operator intervention, and the extension toward surface-polishing operations.