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In most of the commercially available EDM systems, the control parameters such as the electrode jump height and the discharge machining time between two consecutive electrode jump actions are set manually to constant values which can ensure stable machining even under the worst machining conditions. It is beneficial to keep the machining process stable, but much time is consumed in the electrode jump process. In order to improve the EDM efficiency, a new adaptive control strategy which directly and automatically regulates the electrode jump height and discharge machining time has been developed in this paper. Experimental results show that the adaptive control system can obviously improve the machining efficiency regardless of the surface area, shape, and depth of the machined dies. Meanwhile, the accuracy and surface roughness of the fabricated dies can be well retained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]