Analysis of the wear characteristics of an EDM electrode made by selective laser sintering

Selective laser sintering (SLS) is a suitable process to manufacture an EDM metal prototype directly. Metal Infiltration, as a kind of post-treatment technique, is used to improve the density and other aspects of the mechanical performance of an SLS metal prototype. A parametric experiment has been applied, achieving substantial improvements in electrode quality and machining quality. At present these electrodes are suitable for finishing cuts in EDM, and show potential for the manufacture of electrodes with comparable performance to that of solid copper.