EDM Applications by Industry

Tool & Die / Stamping

The original and still dominant application. Die details for metal stamping operations — carbide punches, die openings, stripper plate holes, pilot holes. Wire EDM is the standard process for cutting die sections in hardened tool steel. If you make stamping tools, you either run EDM or you send out to a shop that does.

Injection Molding

Sinker EDM is essential for injection mold manufacturing. Complex cavity details, rib features, textured surfaces, vent slots, thin-wall core pins — features that are either impossible or prohibitively expensive to mill. Wire EDM handles through-features like ejector pin holes, runner channels, and core/cavity splits. Most mold shops run both processes extensively.

Aerospace

Turbine blade cooling holes, fuel nozzle features, structural fittings in Inconel and titanium. EDM's ability to machine exotic superalloys without mechanical stress makes it indispensable for components that conventional machining can't handle. Wire EDM for fir-tree root profiles on turbine blades is a classic aerospace application.

Medical Devices

Surgical instruments, bone screws, implant components, micro-features on catheter tooling. Medical work typically requires tight tolerances, excellent surface finish, and biocompatible materials like titanium and cobalt-chrome that EDM handles cleanly. Micro-EDM enables features smaller than any conventional process.

Extrusion Dies

Aluminum extrusion die openings are almost universally cut by wire EDM. The complex profiles, tight tolerances, and hardened H13 steel make wire EDM the natural — and often only — viable process. Extrusion die work is high-volume repeat work for many EDM shops.