Monthly Burn Time

Just curious as to how many burn time hours are put on a wire edm in one month?

My best machine gets 544hrs. Part cycle is 67hrs.

That's 18 hours a day for 30 days? That's impressive.

I'd love to take credit, but honestly the part is what it's all about. Only requires one slug drop and was absolutely born to be made on a WEDM. All three shift know how to load, unload, change wire, rotate contacts, and pull slug. The pager on the weekend is worth it's weight in brass (anyone buying wire lately knows what I'm talking about) and I only live 3 minutes away. Frankly, anyone could do it. And believe me... the bean counters here are constantly asking what the heck is going on with those other 5.86666 hours a day...
Here's the best part... Holding +/-.0002 on a part that is approx. 9" X 6"... all day every day... Again, wish I could take credit. It's all machine... That's what you get for $289,000...

The pager on the weekend is worth it's weight in brass

Click to expand...

Jay-I'm curious, how does your pager help save wire?

From what I have heard, the pager is activated when you have problems, but shouldn't the machine automatically shut down and not be using wire?

Eric

"Worth it's weight in brass" was a play on "worth it's weight in gold". I meant that having the pager on the weekend was a great thing. No, the pager doesn't save any wire. I tried to be funny by referencing the insane price of brass lately. I forget sometimes that I'm not funny... My apologies for the confusion.

Ahh, I see, now that I understand it, it is funny!

I haven't bought any expensive wire lately, (except if you considor $1.83 a pound expensive) so I guess I don't know whats going on.

Eric

$1.83!!!!!!! WHAT, HOW , WHEN, WHERE, WHO?????? C'mon Machinery... Hook a fellow Ohio boy up will ya?? I'm shelling out huge money up here for wire. The cheapest of the cheap plain old brass wire is going for $4.15 a pound!!! I currently have 4 different suppliers on line just to keep them competing with each other. I'm paying $10 a pound for stratified!!!
Here's the deal, you hook me up, I get a big raise and a promotion, then I come down/over there (not sure where St. Clairsville is) and take you and yours out for a steak dinner. With the salad bar and desert!!!! Deal???

I hate to disappoint you since you seem so excited but-

Since my one machine sits more than it is used, I don't use much wire. It gives me the luxury of looking for cheap wire to stockpile.

The $1.83 stuff was the most expensive that I have bought so far. It came from Mataco in Broadview Heights. They sold it as a surplus item. (They told me that they don't normally carry it.)

Now the better deals on wire are the ones where I'm going to be making money as its going into the wire collection box. (Ie. the scrap value of the wire is more than what I paid for it.) Now thats how you make money.

BTW You'd have to come down, St. Clairsville is about 10 miles west of Wheeling, West Virginia, though I'm sure the steak dinner is out of the picture now. Of course you're welcome to stop by to see my low overhead operation if you like.

Eric