Friday, January 30, 2009
Amazing EDM Fine Hole comparison

Makino has recently done testing for a customer in the medical industry for EDM Fine Hole machining.  Part of this testing compared Fine Hole EDM to Laser and conventional mechanical drilling techniques.  The results of the tests were pretty amazing.  The photo micrographs below show the results of all three processes.  As the demand for smaller holes in medical devices, telecommunications and fiber optics, and aerospace applications increases, Makino continues to develop and refine our Fine Hole EDM machines to meet these demands.  Requirements for many of these projects include accuracy of size and shape, consistency in dimensions and locations of entry and exit, and straightness through high L/D ratios.  Check out these pictures and decide for yourself which process produces a better result in tight tolerance, high accuracy hole drilling.  These photos were machined into 316 Stainless Steel, 0.250mm thick, and captured on a scanning electron microscope.  Magnification levels are indicated on the photos.

This 0.015mm hole was developed using using a PICO second laser. Notice the deformation of the entrance hole and splattering of the exit hole.



The following 0.090mm hole was produced using conventional drilling. Notice the differing entrance and exit hole diameters and inaccurate roundness.



The next 0.020mm hole was produced using Makino Fine Hole EDMing. Entrance and exit holes were of the same quality with little to no deformation occurring to either one.




Makino fine hole EDMing was used to produce this 0.100mm hole as well. Once again the entrance and exit holes were virtually of the same quality. As you can see, little to no deformation resulted.


Accuracy | High Speed Burning | Surface Finish
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 Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Makino's newly developed Titanium booster technology
FW: Ti Booster technology
Makino has recently developed Titanium booster technology for Makino sinkers at the request of a major aerospace manufacturer.  In order to use it, the EDM machine must have a generator booster that provides an additional 60 amps to the existing standard generator.  What's new is the technology, or machining conditions, that provide the burn parameters for the machining - On time, Off time, Servo, Amperage, etc.  The new technology is currently for high speed roughing only, and provides material removal rates of about 2 grams per minute.  This is about 70-80% faster than previous technologies.  Makino is currently developing finish settings for this new technology that are expected to be able to achieve finishes down to less than 2 micronRa, or 75 microinchRa.  This technology will be available for most Makino sinker EDMs. We'll be broadcasting an online seminar on our Titanium booster technology this Thursday, January 22, 2009. If you'd like to attend and learn more about these advancements in titanium machining, you can register for free here. Thanks for reading everybody, hope to see you at this weeks seminar!

Accuracy | Cycle Time Reduction | High Speed Burning | Surface Finish
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 Thursday, January 08, 2009
Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all you EDMers out there.  Now that the holidays are over, and we get back into the swing of things, I want to thank everyone who has visited EDMMatters over the last 27 months.  I will be posting several new items in the coming weeks, touching on Wire EDM, Sinker EDM, Fine Hole EDM, and a new Topaz EDM wire from SST Consumables, developed exclusively for Makino and SST by Birkenhoff.  Pretty much anything EDM.  Welcome back to the grind, have a safe and hopefully prosperous New Year, and visit EDMMatters regularly to get new and updated information on Makino EDM products, services, process ideas, and customer experience.  Please feel free to post questions, comments, or new thoughts on the blog as you visit.

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