Electrical discharge machining is an advanced machining process used in the
machining of hard materials and in die manufacturing industry. The main cost
component in electrical discharge machining is the cost of the tool electrode. The
conventionally used electrode material like copper and graphite has very low wear
resistance, hence, wear out fast. Continuous efforts are being made to find electrode
materials which have optimum value of electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity
and wear resistance. Composites of various combinations of material have been tried in
search of alternative tool materials. The current study presents a review of different
materials utilized for the manufacturing of composite electrodes for electrical discharge
machining and their fabrication techniques. It has been observed that among the
different electrode fabrication techniques available, powder metallurgy has shown very
promising results.
Keywords: Composite, Electrical discharge machining, Electrode wear rate,
Material removal rate, Powder metallurgy, Rapid prototyping.
