Given the EDM`s complete disregard for the hardness of a metal, it`s most commonly used for creating hardened alloy tooling needed for other manufacturing processes – alloys that are very difficult to machine with traditional cutting and milling methods. The vast majority of injection mold tooling, extrusion and stamping dies need these alloys to handle the high forces in their processes and are created using EDM.
Also, since the process does not use any mechanical force whatsoever, Hole drilling EDM can drill holes on an angle through curved surfaces without any deviation. In some cases, electrodes can be rotated or moved along curved paths through workpieces in ways, which is not possible with other processes like CNC Machining.