applied sciences Review Principles and Characteristics of Different EDM Processes in Machining Tool and Die Steels Jaber E. Abu Qudeiri 1,* , Aiman Zaiout 1 , Abdel-Hamid I. Mourad 1 , Mustufa Haider Abidi 2 and Ahmed Elkaseer 3,4 1 Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, United Arab Emirate University, Al Ain 15551, UAE;
[email protected] (A.Z.);
[email protected] (A-H.I.M.) 2 Raytheon Chair for Systems Engineering (RCSE), Advanced Manufacturing Institute, King Saud University, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia;
[email protected] 3 Department of Production Engineering and Mechanical Design, Faculty of Engineering, Port Said University, Port Said 42526, Egypt;
[email protected] 4 Institute for Automation and Applied Informatics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76344 Karlsruhe, Germany * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 29 January 2020; Accepted: 10 March 2020; Published: 19 March 2020 Abstract: Electric discharge machining (EDM) is one of the most efficient manufacturing technologies used in highly accurate processing of all electrically conductive materials irrespective of their mechanical properties. It is a non-contact thermal energy process applied to a wide range of applications, such as in the aerospace, automotive, tools, molds and dies, and surgical implements, especially for the hard-to-cut materials with simple or complex shapes and geometries. Applications to molds, tools, and dies are among the large-scale initial applications of this process. Machining these items is especially difficult as they are made of hard-to-machine materials, they have very complex shapes of high accuracy, and their surface characteristics are sensitive to machining conditions. The review of this kind with an emphasis on tool and die materials is extremely useful to relevant professions, practitioners, and researchers.