There are many different types of coated EDM wire available today, so it is important to understand the specific application for which a wire was designed and intended. There isn’t a single wire type that is best for every application. Some are designed for speed, some are designed for accuracy and surface finish, and others are designed to provide a combined mix or cost value of these different characteristics.

When it comes to producing the best surface finish, there are only a few coated wires that should be considered.  A traditional A-type coated wire such as a Cobracut A is a good choice for fine finish applications, but it will provide minimal machining speed benefits over standard brass wire operation.  A-type coated wire is reasonably priced, but there are newer coated wires that can provide greater performance.

One option is the new hybrid gamma phase wire called HyperCut™.  This new wire combines the characteristics of A-type and gamma phase wires. The result is a super-clean wire that is faster than plain brass and produces higher accuracy and surface finish.  The characteristics of HyperCut wire favor accuracy and surface quality, so it does not represent the fastest coated wire on the market.  HyperCut wire marks a significant step forward for precision applications since it provides excellent AWT reliability. HyperCut wire was also developed to further improve machine productivity while achieving high accuracy and fine surface finishes down to 3umRz / 16uinRa with just 3-pass machining.