Wire EDM machine adds capacity at British shop

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DIPROFIL Diamantprodukter AB

Ramada Acos

Excetek Technologies Co. Ltd.

All the standard range of Excetek wire EDM machines feature a C-frame structure designed using FEA software to provide exceptional accuracy in the linear axes movements and to minimise any thermal influence. The AC servo motor driven C1 class ball screws are cryogenically treated to minimise the thermal effects.

Also developed by Excetek, the automatic wire feed and threading system (AWT), is produced in-house. Designed to provide continuous unmanned operation around-the-clock, the AWT offers the ability to thread the wire at the point of the breakage.

An automated annealing system straightens the wire so that it can be threaded at the break point during machining with almost 100% reliability and without the need to return to the start position.

Unlike the previous machine, that had a PC-based control and screen operated by simple point-to-point co-ordinates, the V350G is fitted with a CNC system that has been developed using Windows-based 64-bit architecture with a 15 inch LCD touch-screen for programming.

The machinist as a digital guide over peaks and ridges

Dies produced by Veker are mild steel between 10 and 30 mm thick as the hot rubber is not harsh, and Kevin Crossley said “the working capacity of the V350G is much larger than we are used to, but we can put a number of dies, or other parts such as gears, on the worktable at a time so we are far more flexible and efficient.”

A bit of metal in the back of the die from the compound

Previously, the mandrels required to support the back of the die and create hollow sections in the extrusion would have been produced on a milling machine and a lathe. It often caused problems because some of the small components would break.

“We had a situation the other week,” Kevin Crossley stated. “We were doing a job for a customer and had an inclusion, a bit of metal in the back of the die from the compound. It bent the mandrels so all the extrusion wall thickness increased. It was easy to stop the job, make new mandrels overnight and put it back together to run the job the following day.” The new Excetek V350G is fitted with Erodex Q Cut 0.25 mm paraffin-free high accuracy brass wire that, according to Kevin Crossley, provides a good sharp definition: “It is beautiful combination of machine and wire, giving a better shape on the tool as well, which is better from our point of view when we are extruding as it provides a nicely defined profile.”

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