Makino EDM Matters Blog

Considerations for Adopting Micromachining Capabilities

Your DisplayName here! — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:53:34 GMT

There’s a lot of discussion today around “micro,” “nano” and MEMS, and like any new and emerging market, we hear interest from a number of manufacturers that are considering early adoption of these micromachining technologies to remain on the cutting edge.

Makino offers machines such as WEDM, sinker EDM, and high-speed vertical and horizontal machining centers that can hold or even split microns, but as we explain to many manufacturers, in order to work, compete and succeed in the micro market, you also have to build knowledge and expertise in work holding, tooling and metrology. Even though machines like our EDFH1 fine-hole sinker EDM can repeat location accuracy well within the stated spec of the machine and produce hole patterns in the 1.88 Cpk range, inferior tooling can cause scrapped parts, and a lack of proper measurement equipment can result in returned parts and even lost business. Thus, micromachining technologies are often purchased as turnkey systems—a customized package of machines, tooling and programming that is fine-tuned for a particular application and installed by Makino engineers for simple touch-and-go production.

Makino fields a very knowledgeable staff of application engineers, who work closely with our project engineers, tooling vendors, local tool and die shops, and metrology system providers to ensure that customers’ needs are met. Services can range from stand-alone sinkers to automated cells with metrology stations, rail-guided part- and tool-changing robots, and several varieties of machine platforms. We also have a state-of-the-art metrology lab, where we can quantify the results of these sometimes complex automation cells.

Some of the metrology systems that Makino uses to validate and support its research include Alicona’s Infinite Focus, OGP’s Smartscope Flash and Zygo’s NewView. These units range from exotic optical viewing/measuring devices to white-light interferometers capable of measuring distances, surface finishes and details as fine as 1 angstrom. A few of these measuring devices can exceed the cost of an ultra-precision machining center, but if you want to be successful in the micro market, you must be able to validate your results.

For more details on adopting, applying and evaluating micromachining technologies, I encourage you to watch next Thursday’s webinar, “Micromachining/High-Precision Capabilities from Makino,” where our micromachining R&D team leader, John Bradford, will take you on a tour of Makino’s micromachining facility.

-Jeff

Starting the New Year with New Thinking

Your DisplayName here! — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:42:16 GMT

Hi everyone, and Happy New Year! Back in October I posted some information here about Makino’s new Active Anti-Rust Unit for WEDM. We also showed this technology at our Expo in Auburn Hills in October with great reception from our guests. Most mold makers that saw this technology at the Expo were eager to get more information about it, saying that just a couple of jobs without rust issues would pay for the unit. On next Thursday, January 19th at 11:00 a.m. EST, I will be presenting a webinar at www.makino.com/events covering additional details of this new option. In the webinar I will be talking about how rust occurs, what has been available to date to combat rust in the work tank of a WEDM, and how Makino’s latest solution helps our customers save time and money. Register today and join me next Thursday to learn more! -Jeff

Invest in Your Future with Full Tax Benefits

Your DisplayName here! — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:50:40 GMT

While we normally discuss topics that are specific to EDM technologies and processes, I found it important and beneficial to discuss the upcoming expiration of the 2011 tax benefits under the 2010 Tax Relief Act. I’ve seen and spoken with numerous manufacturers who have taken advantage of this policy, investing wisely in new technologies to grow their business and improve their competitive stance, while saving greatly on investment costs. Unfortunately, this policy is not permanent and full benefits only apply to manufacturers who have purchased AND installed equipment in 2011.

The previously passed 2010 Small Business Jobs Act allows companies to fully expense $500,000 in tangible property purchased in 2011 under section 179. In addition, businesses can also benefit from a 100 percent bonus depreciation deduction on qualified, new machinery and equipment.

These tax incentives provide businesses that invest in new machinery and equipment extensive savings and better cash flow in the year of acquisition. In some situations, tax savings on new investments have even exceeded monthly payments for the first year and more. Below is an example of this positive cash flow from tax savings.

If you would like more information on these current tax benefits, please check out our new webinar “Investing In Your Future,” hosted by Tom Scherpenberg.

For those still interested in taking advantage of this tax break, Makino has inventory available for many of our most popular machines, including the DUO43 wire EDM and EDAF2 sinker EDM – each ready for immediate delivery. Click here to learn more.

-Jeff

No More Rust on Your Steel WEDM Parts

Your DisplayName here! — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 22:05:09 GMT

The reason rust occurs on steel parts in deionized water is a simple chemical reaction. Positive iron ions from the steel workpiece dissolve in the water and react with oxygen molecules to form iron oxide, or rust, on the surface of the workpiece. This issue has plagued wire EDM shops since the beginning of commercial wire EDMs. Chemical rust inhibitors have been used as additives to the dielectric fluid, but these inhibitors require monitoring to maintain concentration and can shorten the life of the deionizing resin.

Makino has recently addressed this issue in water-based wire EDMs with a simple circuit added to the work tank that gives the workpiece a negative electrical potential. The circuit causes the workpiece to attract positive iron ions, preventing them from dissolving in the water and forming rust. Machines equipped with such a device have been shown to eliminate rusting of steel parts for up to 24 hours, even after machining has stopped. The pictures below illustrate steel parts that have been submerged in the deionized water of a DUO machine with and without the anti-rust unit. The part submerged in the machine without the anti-rust unit is fully covered with rust, whereas the other part is clean and rust-free.

This electric anti-rust unit was demonstrated at Makino’s Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Expo in Auburn Hills, Mich. It garnered a lot of interest from those looking at wire EDM technologies, and it should prove to be a tool that saves time and increases profit for Makino customers performing long run-time, submerged wire EDMing of steel workpieces. New machines can be ordered with the option, and the anti-rust unit can be retrofitted to currently installed machines.

For more information on this new technology, you can contact me at Jeff.Kiszonas@makino.com or by calling (248) 232-6208.

-Jeff

Both pieces were submerged in dielectric water for 24 hours. No machining was performed during this time.

Without Electric Anti-Rust Unit

With Electric Anti-Rust Unit

Tech Tip

Your DisplayName here! — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:22:44 GMT

If you are having difficulty manufacturing or burning small/thin rib electrodes or tapping electrodes, give copper-impregnated graphite a try. You still need to use the standard graphite machining conditions, but the copper that is infused into the material makes it easier to machine the electrode to form and prevent chipping during the milling/turning process. The copper also gives added rigidity to the graphite, thus reducing flexure of the electrode during orbiting. This flexure can cause uneven surface finishes and inaccurate cavities or parts. Copper-impregnated graphite is available from several manufacturers, including Poco, Toyo Tanso, Ibiden and others. For information on copper-impregnated graphite materials and applications, contact Single Source Technologies (SST) at www.singlesourcetech.com.

-Jeff

The Expo is coming, October 12-13!

Your DisplayName here! — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:50:41 GMT

Makino in Auburn Hills, MI welcomes you to attend the Advanced Manufacturing and High-Precision Technology Expo. During this two day event on October 12 and 13, we will have seven EDM machines on display among a total of 17 machine tools. These EDMs will represent Makino’s diversity in the field, from the workhorse DUO-Series wire EDMs, to the ultra-precision UPJ2 horizontal WEDM. If its super fine finishes you require, especially in carbide and PCD materials, we will be demonstrating the new UPV-Series WEDMs that operate with oil instead of dielectric water.

Our newest sinker EDM, the EDAF-Series with ArcFree Technology, will be sporting the latest in on-board program generation, Makino Program Generator (MPG). The larger EDAF3 will be outfitted with our extremely precise Fine Hole option for drilling of holes as small as 11 micron, and L:D capabilities of over 100:1. At the pinnacle of accuracy for Makino sinker EDM technology are the EDAC1 and EDFH1. We will have an EDFH1 machine in our controlled environment room. This machine can be used as both a standard sinker and a precision EDM hole drill, just like our EDAF machines with Fine Hole option. The big difference is that the EDFH1 can achieve the finest of finishes and the smallest of details with ease.

It’s going to be one of the premier manufacturing technology events of 2011. If you’re in the Detroit area, stop in and see what Makino has to offer. Register now at www.makino.com/expo.

-Jeff

Makino at imX 2011

Your DisplayName here! — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:43:18 GMT

If you’re planning on attending imX next week at the Las Vegas Convention Center, I’d like to welcome you to stop by the Makino Experience Zone (#2348) to see the ArcFree Technology and fine-hole finishing capabilities of the EDAF2-FH sinker EDM, as well as the mirror-like surface finishing capabilities of the oil-dielectric based UPV series wire EDMs. Our skilled team of EDM engineers will be on hand to address your manufacturing challenges and discuss the latest solutions in sinker and wire EDM technologies.
You can also “learn more to earn more” at Makino’s micromachining learning lab, where my colleague, John Bradford, will discuss the latest EDM techniques and technologies that are continually expanding the horizons of micromachining.
Stop by and say “Hi.” We look forward to meeting with you and helping you hone your EDM skills and technologies.
-Jeff

New Sinker Control Software

Your DisplayName here! — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:32:53 GMT

In our efforts toward continuous process improvement, Makino has released a new version of MGH5 sinker control software. This latest release provides enhancements to the Makino program generator (MPG) system. New burn strategies are now available, such as pin-gate and rib-machining functions. The MPG system replaces the old single-page screen, and it has been designed from the ground up by application engineers working closely with software development engineers. The MPG system enables anyone, from novice to experienced user, familiar with Makino or not, to quickly create an NC program using a conversational control interface. Once a program is created, it can also be viewed and edited using the model plan system quite familiar to long-time Makino users. All Makino sinkers ordered new will have the MGH5 control with MPG.

Q&A with Jeff Kiszonas: Swapping deionized with reverse osmosis

Your DisplayName here! — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:02:03 GMT

Q - Can Reverse Osmosis water be used in place of Deionized?

A – This would not be feasible. Reverse Osmosis (RO) removes particulates to a sub-micron level, but really does not control pH or conductivity levels. The machine could be filled or “topped off” with RO water, but it would still need to go through the de-ionizing resin system for pH and conductivity control. RO systems are also somewhat slow in filtering. The best practice is to fill or top off the water levels in the machine with whatever clean water supply is at hand, and use the resin system for operational control.

-Jeff-

Lowest Price vs Lowest Cost of Ownership

Your DisplayName here! — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:50:55 GMT

When looking at new machines today, whether milling, turning, EDM, or any other piece of capital equipment, there are a number of factors that people will consider before making a final purchase decision. These range from the manufacturer and their product models, to operational costs, financing and more. In many cases, the decision may come down to a question of price. “Who can provide me the cheapest machine that meets my requirements?” Some shops will buy strictly on price, thinking that the lowest priced machine will save them the most money. In many cases, however, the lowest priced option may cost more in consumables, maintenance, and support fees.

Many of today’s machines are built with consideration of power consumption, and how the machine can conserve power when they are out of the cut. This is usually accomplished with software that allows the machine to shut down certain power consuming circuits when they are not required or in use. For example, the Makino EDAF series sinker EDMs can be programmed to shut down several circuits and functions, such as dielectric pumps, certain cooling fans, etc, after a job is completed. This can result in as much as a 69% reduction in power usage when the machine is in an idle state. By doing this when using unattended burning, the machine can finish a job at 3 a.m. and go into Power Save mode until someone comes into the shop the next day to restart the machine’s systems for normal operations. Without something like Power Save mode, the machine will continue to feed pump motors and cooling fans in the generator that are not really required after the burn is complete. Not only does this save energy that would otherwise be used for no reason, it lowers the overall cost of operation, and allows shop owners and machine operators to rest assured that they need not make a special trip into the shop in the wee hours of the morning to turn things off. With today’s push for more green technologies, these machines meet the challenge to decrease power usage, and thereby cost less to operate.

Another thing to consider with WEDMs is the rate at which they consume wire. Plain brass wires today cost about $6/pound. Most machines sold in North America spin off wire at a rate of about 1-1.5 pounds per hour, with factory settings. Makino customers have reported that their DUO machines save them up to 60% in wire cost, compared to other machines they have used. This is because Makino WEDMs consume wire at a rate of about 0.5-0.7 pounds per hour with factory settings. This can result in $10,000 - $15,000 per machine, per shift in wire cost savings compared to other WEDMs on the market today.

Even wire selection can have a big impact on operational costs. One Makino customer was hesitant to switch from brass to coated wire because of the 2.5 times price difference from brass to coated. This particular customer was cutting parts that had a cycle time of about 57 hours using brass wire. With simple math equations, the customer was educated to understand that by changing to coated wire, they would incur an additional $150 per part in wire cost, but they could shave the cycle time to about 45 hours per part (coated wires typically cut about 20% faster than brass wires). This was a “no brainer” to the customer, as the trade off of wire cost ($150) for cycle time (12 hours x shop rate) made them more competitive, more efficient, and allowed them to delay the purchase of another machine to add capacity.

Contact Makino today to see how we are meeting the requirements of ever increasing performance, while using less of our planet’s finite resources. You can also get more details here:

Wire Consumption Rates Impact EDM Profitability
Faster Burning, Lower Wire Consumption with 0.012-inch Wire
EDM Wire Consumption Calculator

As always, you can also contact me, Jeff Kiszonas, EDM Product Manager at Makino, for further discussion or comment.