Over filling EDM

We have a Mit fx20k That keeps over filling on me. It will stop when water levels reach the sensors on rapid fill. As I'm cutting it's not draining any out and over fills. The manual is not much help. Any suggestions?


Steve

Assuming you have the level adjusted correctly are you saying that the water is overflowing the gate and then NOT draining into the tank?

Does it drain properly when you open the drain, or is it very slow?

It sounds like you either have the level gate set way too high or your drain line is silted-up.

The screen at the lower right side of the tank, where it drains, might need cleaned. Our FX20 had this happen and the screen was the cause. Poke the holes of the screen through with a quill pin or something that fit's the mesh.

Bill

on the fluid tank there is a plate with two air cylinders (next to the drain hose coming from the machine) that open and close two flappers that regulate the water level in the machine. On my fx 10 u could hear the machine open the valve but the water wouldn't drain fast enough and over fill. I took the plate off and the pin that holds hte flapper on was half way out cocking the flapper and not allowing it to open. I just pushed the pin back in and it was good as new.

Great advise on cleaning the drain screen, that goes for any EDM! Also check to make sure the drains are opening properly and not stuck. Those would be the two silver air cylinders on the side of the work tank.

Clean the floatless level sensor on the back of the threader. It's the white box with three probes in it. Don't use AC500, clean it with a toothbrush and some soapy water (try and keep the cleaner out of your DI water). Check the float also. Are you getting TC in fluid alarms during cutting? If you hold up that float behind the head for a few seconds, does the machine give a TC in fluid alarm?

wire slave, the FX10 and FX20 use a different drain system

Wire slave... I can't believe I'm going to admit this..
I had the same problem with my flapper doors not opening. I would reach up through the tanks, barely touch the bottom of the flappers and they would release. I felt around and could feel all the sludge that formed on the inside of those lines (of course getting my fingers caught a few times when the tank would drain far enough and would close). I cleaned them up a bit and would manually move the flapper around a bit (machine off this time..). It would work for a day or so but then would start sticking again. I thought it was just some kind of vacuum holding the doors closed because all it took was the slightest touch to get them to open. Here's the embarrassing part... I friggin' glued 4 ounces of carbide on the outside of the flapper door to give the door a little more weight. It worked like a charm for years but had a little hardier THUNK when the doors would open. We later had a tech come in when Mits decided to add the collision protection to the software. I had the machine running when the tech heard that THUNK. He asked why the heck it was making that noise. I told him of my genius fix. He shook his head and then showed me the proper way to do the maintenance on the piston that opens the door.
Here's the real funny part... I stopped back in the old shop the other month and heard a loud THUNK and new exactly what it was. I asked the new EDM guy what the noise was. He told me the drain doors were sticking so he added some weight to get them to drop. Only this cracker added damn near 3/4 a pound.... He said one of the owners said that's the way I fixed it before and somehow the weight I glued on must have fallen off... I didn't bother to correct him. Hey..., I'm just trying my best to make sure MitsTech always has something to do for his day job...
MitsTech, before you judge me and give me a one star rating, lets remember this was damn near 9 years ago... I would definitely come up with something much better than that now that I've matured and am a bit smarter. Probably something involving a small explosion or rodent in a spinning wheel. Maybe both...