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We were posed with a good question the other day - Why does Makino EDM take such interest in aerospace?

We have a long history of working with the aerospace industry.  As a supplier to all tiers of aerospace manufacturing, we have provided machine tools, spindles, machining centers, customized machines, turnkey systems, and part processing development to this industry.  It was only natural for us to want to help bring the aerospace community the latest information available concerning the use of EDM in manufacturing parts for critical aeronautical and aerospace applications.  

If today’s EDM machines leave little or no recast, HAZ, micro-cracking, or change in surface hardness, then secondary operations after EDMing, like milling or grinding, can be eliminated.  This would mean that the aerospace industry could now change their restrictive usage specifications for EDM that date from the 1970’s, and reduce time and expense related to these secondary operations.

As you may or may not know, I presented a webinar on www.makino.com last July concerning the effects of the EDM process on surface integrity of titanium.  The data and photo micrographs were supplied courtesy of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.  Based on the test results that LMA provided to Makino, we decided to do some of our own testing.  These tests included 1, 2, and 3 pass machining on aluminum, stainless steel, and titanium, with brass and coated wires.  Metallurgical tests performed included recast layer and HAZ thickness, micro-cracking, and micro hardness of the various samples.  The results we saw were pretty amazing!  Check it out for yourself here. 

I wanted to let you all know that there will be a change coming in the format of this blog. Until now, it has been pretty much devoted to HEAT. From now on, this will be more of a general EDM blog. I will be posting topics related to HEAT, Surface Wizard, new technology developments, and customer success stories. Enjoy the new format and new site, www.EDMmatters.com!

We had a request for some images illustrating SurfaceWIZARD, so here you go.

This diagram illustrates the flatness that can be achieved with SurfaceWIZARD in two machining passes.

This sample part shows how SurfaceWIZARD virtually eliminates lines at transition points.

Makino is proud to announce its latest Wire EDM technology development, SurfaceWIZARD, which virtually eliminates witness lines.

SurfaceWIZARD is the newest control technology development from Makino’s EDM R&D. This technology provides exceptional surface quality in applications where the part has variable shape thickness or sudden changes in thickness, such as a stepped part. It will be an invaluable tool for shops manufacturing parts for the aerospace, medical and injection mold markets

Witness Lines

Historically, when stepped parts have been Wire EDMed the process would leave a “witness” line at the transition from one step thickness to the next. Many times the part would have a taper with variations in straightness across the machined surface. SurfaceWIZARD virtually eliminates these lines and has been shown to maintain part straightness within 5 microns in one pass and within 2.5 microns in two pass machining.

SurfaceWIZARD technology has been developed for tool steels up to 4 inches (100mm) thick, and will support 0.008” (0.020mm) and 0.010” (0.025mm) diameter wires with one and two pass conditions. This technology was developed specifically for use in poor flushing conditions where the nozzles cannot be sealed on the work surface. The technology is available as a standard technology on all Makino SP and U series Wire EDMs with the MGW-S5 control.

Demonstrated at Die/Mold Expo

The new SurfaceWIZARD control will be demonstrated at the Makino Die/Mold Expo and EDM Forum to be held September 25 through September 28, 2007 at the Makino Die/Mold Technical Center in Auburn Hills, Michigan.