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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.

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.

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.

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 - 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.

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