在其短暂的历史中，电火花线切割技术以惊人的速度发展。虽然最初主要局限于工装行业，但后来在生产和自动化领域确立了稳固的地位。尽管这一过程尚未被充分利用，但它的销售额和使用量将继续增长，同时为现有和未来的问题提供新的制造解决方案。本文考察了机械设计、切割速度、计算机、电源和控制系统等行业技术的现状。本文还分析了电火花加工技术和美国市场的趋势，以确定电火花线切割的进展和方向。

IN ITS BRIEF HISTORY, WIRE EDM TECHNOLOGY HAS GROWN AT AN INCREDIBLE PACE. WHILE INITIALLY CONFINED MAINLY WITHIN THE TOOLING INDUSTRIES, IT HAS SINCE ESTABLISHED ITSELF FIRMLY IN THE AREAS OF PRODUCTION AND AUTOMATION. ALTHOUGH IT HAS NOT YET BEEN EXPLOITED TO ITS FULL CAPABILITIES, THIS PROCESS WILL CONTINUE TO GROW IN SALES AND IN USE WHILE OFFERING NEW MANUFACTURING SOLUTIONS TO EXISTING AND FUTURE PROBLEMS. THIS PAPER EXAMINES THE PRESENT LEVELS OF THE INDUSTRY'S TECHNOLOGY IN MACHINE DESIGN, CUTTING SPEEDS, COMPUTERS, POWER SUPPLIES, AND CONTROL SYSTEMS. TRENDS IN EDM TECHNOLOGY AND THE U.S. MARKET ARE ALSO EXAMINED TO DETERMINE THE PROGRESS AND DIRECTIONS OF WIRE EDM.