EDM effects on plated surface
EDM effects on plated surface
(OP)
I have a few stainless steel tubes with a thin layer (30 um) of copper plating on the ID, for use in our accelerator project. I worked with a colleague to process and inspect some samples from these tubes to measure the finished surface roughness. When I received the samples I realized they had been cut by wire EDM, which I worry has affected the plating integrity. We viewed a few samples in our SEM and noticed a lot of pitting in the copper layer, which is atypical compared to previous projects. Does anyone have experience using wire EDM on plated surfaces, and does it indeed affect the plating integrity?
Thanks,
Daniel
Thanks,
Daniel





RE: EDM effects on plated surface
Since DI water is used with most wire EDM systems, I don't think this would cause corrosion of the plating. But I have seen situations where a part being wire cut that was not properly grounded experienced pitting damage. So you might want to check for this.
RE: EDM effects on plated surface
RE: EDM effects on plated surface
RE: EDM effects on plated surface
We have since looked at a few similar samples and are convinced that the pitting is caused by EDM. The wire EDM was performed at another facility, so it will be difficult to track down the root cause (dielectric, ground, etc) of these defects. Lesson learned; in the future we surely won't wire EDM any sample pieces!