Electroerosional cutting by means of a wire electrode (WE), in which the required configuration of the part is produced by the appropriate WE trajectory, is used to produce solid-alloy and heat-treated steel dies, punches, blades, and patterns, as well as machine parts of complex shape, and also to machine blanks of hard-to-work materials. The WE takes the form of wire of diameter 0.02-0.5 mm uniformly wound from the supply bobbin to the takeup bobbin the course of machining. As a rule, brass or copper wire is used, because of its high erosional stability, ability to withstand considerable tensile forces, and relatively low cost. Where greater accuracy and productivity is required, wire made from tungsten, molybdenum, and their alloys may be used. In this case, the accuracy of machining is increased thanks to the greater tensile force of the WE and its greater erosional strength, while the productivity is increased as a result of adopting more rigorous machining conditions. The high cost of such WE limits their use, however.
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