With a wire electrical discharge machine (WEDM), a thin single-strand metal wire, is used to cut plates as thick as 12" and to make punches, tools, and dies from hard metals that are difficult to machine with other methods. The EDM guides are CNC-controlled. This allows the wire-cut EDM to be programmed to cut very intricate and delicate shapes. Wire-cutting EDM is commonly used when low residual stresses are desired, because little change in the mechanical properties of a material is expected due to low residual stresses. Bottom line, very intricate and dynamic parts can be made with a Wire EDM machine that CNC mills, CNC lathes, and 3-D printers cannot make.