Graphite and Its Effects on the Human Body and Tool Room Equipment

The health and welfare of toolmakers that useMany shops use a centralized vacuum system
graphite to make electrodes for use the EDMdesigned for the removal of fine dust particles, such as
machining of molds should be a high priority forgraphite. It is important to have enough air velocity in
management. In addition to the health issues for thethe vacuum system to be effective. It is
workers, the very expensive machinery, such as therecommended to have an air velocity of 500 ft. per
EDM machines and milling machines, must beminute and the air in the lines should travel at a rate of
protected from the damaging effects of graphite dust.2,000 ft. per minute in order to prevent the dust from
EDM and injection molding are inseparably linked in thesettling inside the duct work.
manufacturing process of plastic products.With a centralized system it is much easier to
Anyone who has worked with graphite in theefficiently manage the dust from the various machine
manufacturing of EDM electrodes is keenly aware oftools because the system is more efficient and the
the need for proper dust removal during the machininghoses can be strategically placed. Special wheel
process. Many ill-equipped shops have very littleguards are available for surface grinders that act as a
equipment to handle the dust generated during millingturbo to remove the dust into the vacuum system.
and grinding operations.Newer milling machines which are more or less
Safetydedicated to electrode machining are equipped with
The MSDS (material safety data sheet) for theextremely effective dust removal systems. The
synthetic graphite used in EDM show that there are nosealed chamber around the work area enables the
carcinogenic properties associated with graphite. It is avacuum to capture a high percentage of the dust. This
chemically inert material and contains no volatiledevelopment has dramatically reduced the amount of
components. It is also used for medical purposes, suchgraphite dust in the shop environment.
as implants and heart valves in the human body.An additional method of dust removal is the use of a
This is not to say that graphite is totally harmlesscurtain of coolant surrounding the milling cutter. This
though. It can be very irritating to the skin, eyes, andprevents the dust from ever escaping and is very
nasal passages. It can cause stinging, redness andefficient. This feature is available on some milling
watering of the eyes, and itching of the skin. This canmachines as well as an accessory that is easily
be a very annoying experience when a toolmaker isinstalled.
expected to produce a close-tolerance electrode withA Clean Shop Environment
a fine finish.Graphite dust is highly conductive and has been
Controlling the Dustresponsible for the damage of many expensive tools
The simple but very ineffective solution is to wearand machines. Glass scales can give false
particle masks. Experience shows that this stop-gapmeasurements due to the settling of dust. Electronic
measure is a failure. The mask soon is clogged withequipment can be short-circuited by the dust as well.
the fine dust and the operator is left breathing aThe grimy nature of graphite makes it especially
disgusting blend of bad-breath and graphite dust!annoying if it accumulates on work-benches and
Portable vacuums are the next best solution, but thisdesks.
also has many drawbacks. Often the filter in theIt is in the best interest of everyone to make every
portable shop vacuum is not fine enough to trap theeffort of maintain a clean and pleasant atmosphere in
microscopic sized particles, and they are simply blowna moldmaking or EDM shop. The toolmakers will be
back into the air. Also, because the vacuum hose ishappier, the work will be better and the machinery will
often cumbersome to manipulate, operators fail toperform as it should. It is also very impressive to
properly align the hose to capture the most dust.visitors to see a clean, dust-free shop.