EVOLUTION IN EDM.

Vertical and wire electrical discharge machining methods are being linked to offer new approaches to manufacturing. Application areas where the processes have been linked together include machining of extrusion dies, manufacture of wire draw dies, and the machining of small, irregularly shaped jet engine parts. These processes will be linked with CAD/CAM in the near future and integrated into a flexible manufacturing system. Programs will be stored in a host computer and directly downloaded to the appropriate computer numerically controlled unit.