Recent Postings

For this week’s blog post, we wanted to remind EDMers of a basic, but crucial practice to improve performance and consumable life.

As part of work piece preparation, the work piece should be thoroughly cleaned before wire EDM operations. This includes the cleaning of any fluids, coolants, oils, or debris that can be on the parts. Be sure to clean any threaded or counterbored holes, as grinding grit and metal chips have a tendency to accumulate in these areas. These simple measures will prevent machining issues, extend filter and resin life, and avoid contamination of the di-electric water supply.

Dealing with a wide variety of part applications allows us the benefit of testing new wire types on a frequent basis. Today, we wanted to share one with you - Bedra's CobraCut-AS. This new zinc coated wire works as an economic alternative to the industry standard CobraCut or MegaCut-A type wire. Bedra has been the leader in zinc-coated high-performance EDM wire for over 30 years, and is now offering a lower cost zinc coated wire that does not compromise on quality, efficiency, or precision. For more information on CobraCut-AS, we recommend contacting SST-Consumables at 1-800-336-7283.

Makino has just released Machining Conditions Version 8 for the DUO-Series wire EDM machines, which provides new conditions for 0.006” (0.150mm) steel, and coated wire settings for 0.010” (0.250mm) aluminum. This update also provides several revisions and improvements to the 0.010” (0.250mm) and 0.012” (0.300mm) technology library for steel, tungsten carbide, and copper. Updating to Version 8 requires software version Wx.010-3 or newer. Please contact Makino’s Technical Services at 1-888-625-4664 for more information.

For this week's blog post, we wanted to recommend a helpful new EDM acid cleaner and rust remover called K-200. This acid cleaner is ideal for cleaning and maintaining the wire guides and threading jet assembly. We believe in its effectiveness so much that a bottle is provided with all of Makino's EDM machines.

Please remember that safety should always be the #1 concern when handling acid cleaners, and eye protection should be worn at all times. When using acids to clean machine parts, it is recommend that the acid not be used to clean rubber or plastic parts, and any surfaces that are cleaned should be washed with water to neutralize the acid cleaner.

K-200 is currently available in 1-Liter bottles through SST-Consumables. For additional information on the product, please contact 1-800-336-7283.

Makino’s HQSF (High Quality Surface Finish) technology for sinker EDMs, which uses a suspended additive in the di-electric fluid to dramatically enhance surface finish, is available in two different additive types. Type 1 additive is used for small to medium sized (under 8.0 square-inches) part details, and can produce surface finishes down to 2µmRmax (10µinRa) using graphite electrodes. Type 2 additive is used for medium to large part details, and can produce surface finishes down to 4µmRmax (18µinRa) using graphite electrodes. Both types are used with a standard concentration level of 1.0~1.5 grams per liter of di-electric fluid.

The use of HQSF technology provides finer and more consistent surface finishes over the entire part detail with improved metallurgical quality. In many cases, these characteristics have eliminated hand benching or polishing processes, and can extend the functional life of the produced component. HQSF can actually reduce cycle time if only standard EDM finishes are required, but the technology also provides further machining processes that are used to achieve surface finishes far beyond what standard EDM can produce using both copper and graphite electrodes.

Makino’s MGW-S WireWizard Wire EDM control provides an EZ-Cut power control function that allows the operator to raise or lower the machining power and speed during a rough cut by (+) or (-) 25% in 5% increments. This convenient function is used by both novice and experience operators, and automatically adjusts several power setting elements of the active E-code. The EZ-Cut function, which only affects rough cut power settings, is primarily controlled by the on-screen color coded slider bar located on the OPERATION page, but it can also be direct M-code programmed. The direct M-code programming format is provided below, and allows the EZ-Cut function to be turned on and off, and also allows programming of the adjustment value.

M72 S2 N2 L____ P____

L0 = EZ-Cut OFF
L1 = EZ-Cut ON (Uses the current set value of the EZ-Cut slider bar if P Value is not set)
P = -5 to 5 (0 value is standard E-Code value)

When preparing small diameter pipe electrodes for EDM hole drilling operations, it sometimes necessary to cut electrode tubes to a specific length. Using scissors, cutting pliers, or nail clippers to cut the electrodes will typically result in pinching, crushing, or closing of the inner tube diameter, which restricts or prevents through the tube flushing. To prevent this flushing restriction and any altered machine performance, it is recommended to trim the electrode tubes using a straight razor blade. Using light pressure, gently roll the razor blade and electrode tube together back and forth on a flat hard surface. This will provide an evenly cut edge around the entire diameter, and allow for optimal flushing.

Makino has just released a new machine software version (version Wx.017-6) for the EDAF-series sinker EDM machines. This new update provides further enhancements to the MPG (Makino Program Generator) system, as well as additional controls to complex orbit patterns, such as half-shape machining or undercut machining. New cutting conditions and model plans have been added that support special alloy machining, and also specific conditions used for producing ultra-small inside corner radii. Please contact Makino’s Technical Services at 1-888-625-4664 for more information.