Delcam has increased the capabilities of its Delcam Electrode (www.delcam-electrode.com) integrated solution for the design, machining and inspection of electrodes; the system can now produce multi-part electrodes or family electrodes.

In addition, electrodes can now be displayed in the history tree of the tool on which they will be used, so simplifying project management. In addition, all electrode drawings will be updated automatically if the design is changed.

Multi-part electrodes can reduce the time needed for both electrode machining and the EDM process, compared to using several individual electrodes. In addition, machining multiple electrodes from a single blank can save material — and a single holder can be used for the combined electrode.

Furthermore, the design of multi-part electrodes uses the same wizard-based process as conventional electrodes.

The same multi-part electrode process can be used if particularly hard materials are to be ‘burnt’ or if the same electrode design is required in several areas of the tool. In these cases, where a single electrode might not be sufficient, a second electrode can be created within the blank, again by rerunning the wizard; once the first electrode has worn out, the electrode assembly can be rotated to use the second one.

Compared with standard electrodes, compound electrodes require more-complex movement around the tool as they are used. To ensure that collisions do not occur, collision prevention technology from the PowerMill CAM system has been added into the simulation algorithms used by Delcam Electrode, which also combines the PowerShape CAD software, the PowerMill CAM system and the PowerInspect inspection software to give a completely integrated solution for the design, machining and inspection of electrodes. Moreover, Delcam Electrode can provide scripts for equipment from most major EDM machine suppliers.