Effects of electrolytic copper and copper alloy electrodes on machining performance in electrical discharge machining (EDM)

Abstract The most important cost element of electric discharge machining (EDM) is the production of tool electrode (shortly electrode). In the EDM process, copper and its alloys are often used as electrode materials. The machining with EDM without increasing the costs can be achieved by selecting the proper electrode with low production and material costs as well as high workpiece material removal rate (MRR), low electrode wear rate (EWR), and relative wear (RW = MRR/EWR). In this study, the EDM performance outputs, namely, MRR and RW were experimentally investigated for electrolytic copper, CuCr1Zr (with and without aging treatment) and CuCo2Be alloy electrode materials for varying machining parameters. The performance outputs were affected by the electrode material and the applied aging treatment. The aged CuCr1Zr alloy electrodes had higher electrical conductivity and better machining performance than the as-received alloy. The CuCo2Be alloy electrodes exhibited moderate to high MRR; however, their RW was the highest. Although the electrolytic copper has moderate MRR performance compared to the investigated alloys, its low cost increased its performance index, making it a more suitable electrode material for EDM applications.