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Makino SP43 WEDM Ion Exchange System

bigjon61

Hot Rolled
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Nebraska
I am looking for one of the parts for our ion exchange system. It is the round cylinder type filter that goes inside of the resin bottles in the back of the machine, and is held under the bottle lids with another plastic nut. AFAIK it prevents the resin from being washed into machine's dielectric fluid system. Any idea where to source this part, or even what to start calling it? The manual is of no help, and our parts consumables list has nothing listed on it.

On that note, what is the best way to change the resin in these things? I've been working with this machine for 3 years now, and haven't found an easy, clean, efficient way to go about getting the resin out of the bottle without making a mess. Right now I'm just dumping the water out into the sink until the resin almost spills out, and at that point I pour it into a bucket and allow it to dry, and then put it into a sealed keg to ship out for cleaning. Would putting a panty hose over the mouth of the bottles hold back the resin? Or are the resin beads too small?
 
An exchange program would be ideal, but people above my pay grade would have none of it. Apparently when we purchased this machine to replace an old Sodick that burned down, management "did research", and buying our own resin and sending it out to be cleaned was more cost effective. For some reason it is like pulling teeth to get parts and consumables ordered for this machine. We will waste $10,000 on special jigs, fixtures, and home built automated machines to make up for incompetency in our welding department, but when it comes to ordering NEEDED PARTS its like I just asked for a 3000% pay raise.

Which brings up another question. Where does everyone buy their EDM consumables (energizer plates, filters, wire, etc)? My supervisor claimed he tried at first to purchase the consumables direct from Makino, where he was supposedly told to pound sand. But, in my research trying to find this little filter, Makino has an online store of some sort that you have to sign up for. I've googled a few sites and places like SST came up, but once again need a login to get prices and such, which I can't do since I don't have any purchasing power at my workplace. Right now we are ordering our consumables through Productivity Inc, who we bought the machine from, and I get a 3 min rant about how the parts for the EDM are so expensive and blah blah blah. It should be more cost effective to order parts from a dedicated supplier of EDM equipment and supplies, right?
 
bigjon61,

Have you tried calling into Makino Technical Services about the part you are looking for? I suggest that you call in to 888-MAKINO4 (888-625-4664), and ask to speak to someone in the EDM Service group, and they will be able help you.

As others have mentioned, using an external di-bottle system is WAY easier, safer, and faster! These systems allow you to quickly exchange the DI Bottle, and the bottles themselves are sent back to your consumables vendor and are re-filled with regenerated or virgin resin (you can specify what you want). All new Makino Wire EDM machines come with this bottle exchange system, and (2) bottles are supplied with each new machine and are provided by SST-Consumables.

Switching your existing machine over to this new style bottle exchange system is easy, and I'm sure whatever consumables vendor you choose will provide the necessary hoses and connections. On paper, the bottle exchange system will cost a few pennies more than using loose or socked resin like you are using now, but this added cost should be easily justified! The bottle exchange system eliminates the handling of new or used loose resin, which can be a timely and messy process. Traditional open canister DI systems like you are using now require additional time and labor to replace the spent resin (your time is worth something...right???), and this process also creates a safety concern and slip hazard with the water and resin that typically get spilled on the floor! In comparison, swapping a DI bottle is very easy, as the connection points use a quick-disconnect/connect coupler.

Your plight with management not understanding the importance of Wire EDM machine maintenance and the use of quality consumables is not uncommon! Most manufacturing supervisors have a good understanding of Milling and Milling Consumables (cutters and fluids), but many lack basic knowledge and education about EDM (maybe they know how to spell it, but that's about it). Wire EDM in particular can be one of the most maintenance intensive piece of equipment in the shop, and this is due to the electro-mechanical nature of the process. Unlike any other machine in the shop, maintenance on a Wire EDM is performed as a pro-active preventative measure. This the BIG difference with Wire EDM...you perform maintenance at a defined interval to ensure stable, reliable, unattended operation.

...and this is the KEY POINT! Wire EDM is usually the most utilized machine in the shop for unattended operation. From an operational cost standpoint, Wire EDM provides a lower and very attractive per/hour cost of operation. What many supervisors may miss is that (1) EDM operator performs many tasks or runs several machines in the shop. The advantages of the EDM process is that is provides extended unattended operation, which eliminates or dramatically reduces the direct labor cost to manufacturing.

I hope some of this helps you, or at least opens someone's eyes to the importance of using quality consumables and performing timely maintenance to maximize unattended WEDM operation. Good luck!

-Brian
 
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try EDM Tech Center 763-315-9104 they will loan you bottles if you regenerate through them (ABA water systems)
 
Thanks Bryan, I may just print your entire post out and give it to my supervisor. Maybe hearing it from someone else will help him understand the maintenance requirements a little better.

jyd12f, we currently use ABA Water to clean our resin. Do they loan the bottles out? I guess I'm not sure how that works, do you have 2 sets (4 bottles total) sitting in the shop at all times? Two that are hooked up to the machine, and two that are sitting there (clean) ready to swap out, and then ship the other two back?
 








 
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