Strategies of improving accuracy in micro-EDM

Presently, the application of microelectro-discharge machining (micro-EDM) has been extended to various industries including automotive, biomedical, and semiconductor industries. The accuracy and the process repeatability are two important performance parameters to consider in micro-EDM. Some of the sources of inaccuracy during micro-EDM are stochastic nature of process itself, difficulty in handling very small electrodes, vibration of the tool electrode due to flushing jet, challenges in positioning and changing the electrodes, unpredictable tool wear, and so on. In this chapter, the sources of inaccuracy as well as the solutions to improve the accuracy during various forms of micro-EDM process will be discussed in detail. The current research developments as well as future research focus on the areas of accuracy and repeatability during micro-EDM will also be discussed in the chapter.