Hole popper

I build alot of extrusion dies and am looking for a hole popper. I need to do holes 10 inches deep. I am looking at a new Genspark America T-15 EDM Hole Driller and a used 2000 Charmilles Small Hole Driller HD20, What is a better machine? I don't know much about hole poppers and any information would be helpful. [email protected]

Costomill,

I assume you are going to be drilling hardened tool steel or are you working with something else?

TMD

I will be drilling mainly 420 stainless, but also some hardened materials. Sometimes even spring steel and carbide.

There may be an expert out there somewhere that could answer your question (knowing the difference between all the available hole poppers), but most of us have experience with just one or two. I will relate what I know about mine which is a Sodick K1C. I have had it for about 6 years or so and am very happy. I drill holes with is mainly in the .020-.040 range. I drill into all ferrous metals, moly, carbide, etc. Occasionally I will deep hole drill in aluminum, but try to avoid that if the next operation is going to be wire edm as the hole popping in aluminum creates an oxide layer in the i.d. that is difficult to penetrate with the wire since it is non conductive. None of my drilling exceeds 3" and the machine works wonderful for these things. You could probably do a 10" deep hole on the K1C, but you are pushing the limits as to what you could set up in the machine.

TMD

How small a hole will you be hole popping? 10" is really pushing it on any machine. If a company says they can do it, remember that it is a sales man talking to you and he is trying to sell you a machine.

Like a drill a hole popped hole can start drifting of and the deeper you go the more it drifts. Also the deeper you go the slower it will burn. You might think about going half way through then flipping the block over and finishing from the other side.

If you are truely looking for a quality machine I would go with a Current EDM machine. It will do all size holes from .01mm to 6mm. It is fast accurate and worth the money spent. The 2 machines you mentioned are good from about .7mm and up. They are good for general purpose and wire start holes but thats it. As far as going 10" deep no matter what machine you use you will end up with a tapered hole. As the burnt material goes up and out of the hole the it will spark across the media and open the upper part of the hole. Not to mention the electrode will taper severely so you will need more than one electrode to finish the hole to size.

If money is the issue and these are your two choices and that's it. I would go with the Genspark. It has a better control than the Charmilles.

Remeber that the current will be better than both at this operation and you could contact them to run a test for you. This machine would be able to adapt with your company and give you small hole capability which is very important in todays ever changing market. If you would like to discuss it further PM me with a phone number and I will help you out.

I dont work for Current EDM I just ran all of the above hole popers and more so I know the quality.

I second 6ft on the Current. they are really good hole-poppers, 10" is however a long way to go with a small electrode. expect some leadoff.

What would be a better machine? Charmilles HD20 or a Charmilles HD8, McWilliams EZ-430 Small Hole Drilling EDM, Genspark America T-15 EDM Hole Driller Machine.

still trying to decide. I have a chance to get a 2002 HD20 for $17,500 or a 2005 HD30 for $24,000
I really don't need a CNC machine but the price is good for a machine with 50 hours.

The Charmilles is an asian import painted orange. They have several machines like that...like the ZNC sinker. Look around and you may be able to find the same machine for less.

I had an HD-8 years ago and had more problems than not until I retrofit the machine with a piston pump (the bellows pump is all but worthless) from Belmont. After that, it wasn't too bad. As sold, I would avoid the HD series (and any other EDM drill with a bellows pump) unless you plan to upgrade the high pressure flush. Current and Astec are probably the two most capable EDM drill machines out there if you can justify the cost.