Sharpened of saw blades by electrical discharge machining

Electrical discharge machines have undergone rapid improvements in capability, economical operation, speed and flexibility. In fact, electrical discharge machining (EDM) is now the fourth most popular machining process, selling more than all other processes except milling, turning and grinding. Ninety percent of EDM applications in the world are used to produce molds, stamping dies, extrusion dies, forging dies, tool fixtures and gauges. Other applications include aircraft part production and medical parts. This paper presents the complete design of an electrical discharge machine. The design includes the computer numeric control (CNC) system, and the power supply. In order to optimise the process an adaptive control algorithm has been implemented. The main application of this machine is for sharpening diamond disks, although it can be used for machining materials as: carbon steel, stainless steel, iron, copper, etc.