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2001
Conference Paper
Titel
High speed cutting of graphite electrodes
Abstract
Increasingly, graphite is being used as an electrode material for EDM machining applications. The obvious advantages to be gained in the manufacture of filigree geometries and the high rates of material removal, must be balanced against the lack of experience in machining graphite in practice. Due to its material characteristics, the material behaviour of graphite is brittle, which means that it is difficult, if not impossible, to transfer experience acquired in steel machining to graphite machining. The following article describes the special features of the cutting mechanisms at work in graphite machining operations and give rommendations regarding machining strategies and parameters which, if applied, help to avoid disappointment when machining graphite.