Publication on nanocrystalline copper electrodes for EDM process
| General information - News |
The NL-1 team has published the results of applied research on electrodes made of nanocrystalline copper for use in Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM). In 2025, these results were recognized in two industrial research competitions: Technical Achievement of the Year (SIMP) and Polish Product of the Future (PARP).
The research focused on the development and optimization of plastic deformation of pure M1E copper using an unconventional hydrostatic extrusion (HE) process, aimed at improving the properties of electrodes used in EDM. Optimization of the HE process (accumulated strain ε = 2.51) led to the formation of an ultrafine-grained structure with an average grain size of d₂ ≈ 370 nm, resulting in a significant increase in mechanical strength (UTS ≈ 400 MPa) while maintaining very high electrical conductivity (~99% IACS).
Due to the application-oriented nature of the study, the copper processed by HE was tested under industrial EDM conditions. Wear tests demonstrated a significant reduction in electrode wear (30–90%) for HE-processed electrodes compared to undeformed copper, as well as an improvement in surface quality of up to 25%.
Full details can be found in the published paper: Skiba, J.; Kulczyk, M.; Przybysz-Gloc, S.; Skorupska, M.; Kobus, M.; Nowak, K. Industrial-Scale Copper Wear Reduction in the Electrical Discharge Machining Through Hydrostatic Extrusion. Materials 2026, 19, 1314.
