A Complete Guide of Graphite Electrode
Graphite has many advantages that have made it the most used material for EDM electrodes: • It is very easy to machine. • It is very resistant to thermal shocks. • It has a low coefficient of thermal expansion (3 times higher than copper) that guarantees the stability of the electrode geometry during machining with electric shock. • It is available in large blocks. • It does not melt, it transforms directly from the solid state to the gaseous state at 3,400 ° C. avoiding wear. • It provides a higher rate of metal removal than copper but with less wear. • It has the unique characteristic that wear tends to decrease when the current increases. More about Graphite The graphite electrode used for EDM machining is an isotropic material with a grain size ranging from a few micrometers to about 20 micrometers. In the 70s, improvements made by graphite manufacturers (isotropic pro