Hi David:
Old beater machines regardless of brand are a real crap shoot especially if either or both of two things are true:
1) You're not an electronics guy
2) You don't have time and resources to fart around fixing one of these things up.
I recognized early that both constraints apply to me, so I went with a re-seller of repaired equipment and invested around 40K for a reconditioned Sodick A320.
I gained the following:
1) Training to make me productive right out of the gate.
2) A machine that was known to be running when it was delivered, had a warranty, and was supported.
In spite of those advantages, I still had my share of breakdowns resulting from the fact that it was a machine run for a very long time (since 1996) in the harsh environment that wire EDM's must operate in.
BUT: whenever the old girl crapped out, I had a way to get her fixed; reasonably promptly, reasonably inexpensively, and reasonably reliably.
I also had a guy (Larry Wetmore) to help me with questions about programming, machining strategies; the whole nine yards
That to me was worth every penny of the high purchase price.
I ultimately knocked up against the limitations of that purchase (accuracy mostly, but also limited capacity, increasing breakdown frequency, and no autothreader).
So I pulled the trigger on a new machine, swallowed my terror and dropped the cash.
What I have now is an order of magnitude better than what I had then, so again, it's been worth it by my calculus for my situation.
Moving on to other aspects of the machine:
The single biggest reason I have to NO BID on wire work that comes to me is insufficient Z axis capacity.
I didn't have room for anything bigger than what I bought and I specialize in small complex stuff anyway, but if you're jobbing, your capacity will be a real advantage.
Lots of guys can do 8", a quite few can do 11", few can do 15" and I can think of only two who can do 24" or bigger.
So I, like many others, must refer tall work out, and you could be one of the few to capture that kind of work if you invest in the capacity.
It's a great way to generate business, and there are no workarounds; if the stuff is too tall to go between the wire guides, it can't be wirecut on that machine, no way no how.
For jobbing, buy lots of Z axis capacity...more than your competitors have; it's worth it!!
Cheers
Marcus
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Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining