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Part of the reason HEAT is so effective is due to the WIZARD technology already built into Makino Wire EDMs. Here's an explaination of what that is:

BellyWIZARD: Improves part straightness thru adaptive and mechanical adaptive controls…this technology was originally developed and is part of our standard machining technology library for “optimum” flush conditions (High Speed and Precision settings). It has been incorporated into the HEAT technology and is a critical part of machining straighter parts.

PowerWIZARD: Improves and stabilizes the machining power to prevent wire breaks and to help improve accuracies. For the HEAT technology, this adaptive control has been set to be more sensitive, so that this technology will be more reactive to changes in both flushing and material thickness changes.

CornerWIZARD: Improves the geometric shaped and corner tolerance of the work piece. For HEAT technology, this adaptive control has been modified to accommodate the increases in both machining speed and flushing pressure.

FlushingWIZARD: This includes the two independently monitored and adaptive flush pumps that are each dedicated to the upper and lower machining heads. Each pump will sense and adapt to changes in “flushing dynamics” of the cut more quickly than any of our competitors (our competition only uses one pump), and this aids in maintaining machining speed as well as to prevent wire breaks. For HEAT technology, the flushing pressure has been greatly increased, which is a key factor in reducing cycle time.

Keep your eye out for the next edition of Manufacturing News (SE, SW, Midwest and NE). Intricate EDM, a shop using HEAT on their SP43, is featured on the cover.

They're acheiving amazing results with this new technology!

The general accuracy rating for HEAT at 4.0” tall is:

Accuracy:
±0.0002” (±5µm)

Straightness:
0.0002” (5µm) total – T.I.R.

The general accuracy rating for HEAT at 4.0” (152mm) tall is:

Accuracy:
±0.0003” (±7µm)

Straightness:
0.0005” (12µm) total – T.I.R.

HEAT has been developed for 1 and 2 pass machining. This available process and technology will meet or exceed conventional systems results for both accuracy and straightness. A large majority of job tolerances will be meet or exceeded with this available technology.

An account emailed to me from one of our field guys--

We just did a test cut for a local Detroit company using HEAT. This was a HEAT Technology test cut, and I am very pleased with our results. This customer currently uses a competitor's machine to cut this part. We beat the other machine's roughing speed by about 30%...and the amazing thing is that this comparison is with the other machine using 0.012” brass wire and the Makino using 0.010” brass wire!

Our roughing feedrate was about 0.050” per minute, and the customer has told me that they typical rough at about 0.035” per minute. This customer visited us recently to see the cut, and our estimated time of 8hr 10min using .010 wire was about 20-30 minutes faster than the estimated time on his other machine using 0.012 wire. The estimated time on the SP43 with .012 brass wire came out to 6 hours 57 minutes.  Our actual time using 0.010” wire was 7hr 30min!

HEAT technology has only been developed for steel materials, which include: Tool Steels, Stainless Steel, High Alloy Steels, Titanium, and Exotics. Thicknesses ranging from 1.0” to 12.0” are available (25mm to 300mm).

No. HEAT technology only applies to poor flush conditions, and cannot be combined with the standard “High Speed” optimum flush condition technology. However, a very large majority of jobs do not allow for optimum flushing, so the HEAT technology is very attractive and can be used for a large number of jobs.