Edm sinker for moldmaking

Hello,

im buying a EDM for moldmaking. Currently im looking for Mitsubishi EA12 V. Does someone have some experience with Mits. for small molds (~ trodes 2mm and some VDI3400/18 surface).
I know that some sodics shuld be better (Doe to the linear motors, also Makinos.......but the $ is the big factor.
Any advice is welcome.

Currently im using some old Taiwan made sinker/stinker..... any new EDM will be big update for me.

Best regards,
Franc

Hi Konstrukter1:
Mitsubishis are well made machines and they have a loyal following.
The one you've chosen to look for is a reasonably new model, and should still be well supported.

But, the prices Mitsubishi charges for support of any kind are apparently very high, and you must spend money on a membership fee just to be allowed to ask for help or buy parts, even before you have problems.

That, to me is a big problem; I would always resent such extortionate behaviour and would not buy this machine just because I don't like to be hostage to this kind of bad business policy, especially not knowing when they might behave even worse.

Of course any machine builder can turn on you in this way, so I am probably foolish to exclude Mitsubishi from consideration just because of this.

The other thing that strikes me though, is that you are looking for a machine to do small work.
The EA12V is a mid-sized machine with a table almost one meter long and a table capacity of 500 kilograms.
It uses a lot more dielectric fluid, it takes up a lot more space, and it's more cumbersome to work with on small molds.

Agreed, you can do small work successfully on a big machine, but you might want to consider these drawbacks before you make a final decision.

As a point of price comparison, a slightly smaller and slightly newer linear motor Sodick (the one my neighbour has) cost him about $120,000.00 Canadian dollars brand new, and for general purpose burning, it is a very nice machine: I like it even better than the Charmilles machines I have the most exposure to because the Sodick has the ability to burn difficult details with no sophisticated flushing.

This is what I would buy if I was doing general mold work and didn't want to spend what it costs to get a Makino:

AG4L - Sinker EDM | Sodick

Cheers

Marcus
Implant Mechanix • Design & Innovation > HOME
www.vancouverwireedm.com

Hi Marcus,

thank you for your answer.
Perhaps I was a little confusing regarding mold sizes; Im making molds from 75*75 (BabyPlast) to 400*400. Sometimes there are hardened mold inserts, sometimes whole core/cavity plates to erode, so i need 400*300 machinable surface on EDM. Im buying new, so its better to buy a little bigger than buying a new EDM and work on my old one on the end for some jobs.

Regarding spare parts and maintenance; On the end you need to pay for maintaining to company, i suppose that if you dont change parts on your machine by youself, there is no big difference to the other manufacturer. But i understand your statement.
I have Fanuc WEDM (Apha 0iB), it works like a charm. To bad that Fanuc dont produce Sinker EDMs.....

Best regards,
Franc

The fee for registering a used Mits is annoying. We bought our machines from them new, the service is reasonable, similar to other OEMs. We have an EA8. Good value for the money, fairly capable. Desirable options are C axis, tool changer (7 station shuttle is common), and a chiller. Do that and you should be quite happy with it.

Framc,

You might also want to take a look at the Makino EDGE3 machine that we recently reintroduced...you will be surprised with the combined performance and price point of this machine! Makino brought this machine back to be more competitive in the precision Die/Mold market, and it has an X/Y Stroke of 450mm x 300mm. The machine has been configured smartly with all the items necessary for reliable and safe unattended operation, and includes the Transformer, Power Line Filter, 8 Station ATC, and an integrated Flame Sensor and Fire Suppression system. Good luck with your search and future machine purchase!

EDGE3 Sinker EDM | Makino


-Brian

I just order an EA12v Advance with 10 tool changer, c-axis, chiller(I dont think that i could buy with out this option). Ilook at Makino (great machine) but the price is way to high for my budget....