Hi BOB-OO:
There are a couple of fundamental things about sinker EDM to bear in mind when you choose:
1) Modern is way way WAY better than old school...the differences are vast, primarily in ease of use, efficiency and precision.
These are not trivial incremental improvements...they are game changing.
Let me say this again: Do NOT buy a manual machine or ZNC machine with an orbiter if you wish to be competitive in the modern EDM world.
It doesn't matter how attractive the price is.
It doesn't matter how pretty the machine is.
It doesn't matter how many gadgets it comes with.
2) Orphans are bad in this world...service and support mean a lot because they break, and when the screen stays black after the green button gets pushed, you need help.
The magical mystery of how they work is a pretty closely guarded trade secret for pretty much every manufacturer...DIY schematics are impossibly hard to come by, so when it shits the bed... yeah,you need help.
Some brands and models are impossibly hard to get parts for...on the other hand, there is a thriving second hand market for some other brands, so if you buy a used machine; don't buy an orphan...you'll never get it fixed the first time it craps out.
The quality of the support is a first tier buying decision...much more important than the bells and whistles it has or the cute graphics on the screen, or the pretty colours it's painted with.
3) Most brands can do most things pretty well, but there are some specialty applications where it matters what you get.
The poster child for this is the micro EDM space...there are a few players in this domain who are standouts for precision and finish with ridiculously small burns under low power.
If this is your need, a conventional machine will be a fundamentally poor choice you really cannot work around.
I am a Makino and Sodick fan...not because I've owned or run them, but because I know people who do own them and because of the quality of the things they were able to do for me when I subbed work out to them.
There are others who swear by Mitsubishi, and others who swear by Agie or Charmilles.
All are good brands that make top of the line machines but they are all pricey compared to the Asian offerings like Chmer, and Gromax and others.
If you have the coin to spend and can justify it, the premium price buys you a better service network, a more robust machine and a nicer user experience.
I own a Chmer wire EDM...it's a solid working Chevy, but it's annoyingly crappy in the small execution details...things like sharp edged buttons that hurt your fingers until you file them smooth, and crooked lettering on the control. and poor operation manuals written in Chinglish etc etc.
None are show stoppers and I've made good money on my machine, but if you really like nice things you'll hate one of these.
The other thing is the service costs...Sodick was conspicuously good to me when I owned one: so is the Chmer I own now...contrast that with buddies of mine who owned Agie or Charmilles.
All I can say, is be sitting down when you get quoted for a new monitor (or anything else) for an Agie or other high end Swiss machine.
"Reasonable" is not in their vocabulary when it comes to the price of ANYTHING around these premier machines.
So that's it in a nutshell; reach out to the tech reps for the various brands and let them make their pitches.
If it was small, super high precision stuff I'd buy a Makino.
If it was run-of -the-mill stuff I'd buy a linear motor Sodick, but I'd be blissfully happy with a Makino too.
I currently own a Hansvedt MS4 Foreman from 1996...You'd HATE it as soon as you ran a more modern higher end machine.
Others will have different preferences.
Cheers
Marcus
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