This study fabricates a roughing electrode of electrical discharge machining (EDM) using a rapid prototyping (RP) system and investment casting technology, which reduces the overall time that is required for fabrication and the cost of the manufacturing process for a selected electrode. Pro/E (3D CAD) software is used to design the electrode prototype, which has a complex appearance, and to transform the CAD model into stereolithography (STL) format. An RP machine (Zcorp 402 3DP) is used to construct a gypsum-based powder model. After a sealing process using the permeation of resin, the water resistance and strength of the gypsum-based material are increased. The manufacturing process then involves creating a wax model with a gypsum electrode that is strengthened by resin permeation by casting a vulcanized silicone molding. The brass electrode is fabricated using investment casting technology. The results of an EDM test show that the brass electrodes with RP that are manufactured perform well and the total time that is required to machine the EDM electrode using RP is 15.8% less than the time that is required for a CNC machining process.

这项研究使用快速成型（RP）系统和熔模铸造技术制造了电火花加工（EDM）的粗加工电极，这减少了制造所需的总时间和选定电极的制造工艺成本。Pro / E（3D CAD）软件用于设计外观复杂的电极原型，并将CAD模型转换为立体光刻（STL）格式。RP机器（Zcorp 402 3DP）用于构建基于石膏的粉末模型。在使用树脂渗透的密封过程之后，石膏基材料的耐水性和强度增加。然后，制造过程包括使用石膏电极创建蜡模型，该模型通过浇铸硫化的有机硅模制件而通过树脂渗透而得到增强。黄铜电极采用熔模铸造技术制造。EDM测试的结果表明，制造的带有RP的黄铜电极性能良好，并且使用RP加工EDM电极所需的总时间比CNC加工过程所需的时间少15.8％。