Sparky961
Cast Iron
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2008
- Location
- Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
I have been tasked with attempting to make this wire EDM machine into a useful piece of equipment. Everything seems functional for the most part, and I was able to cut a small "wrench shape" from 0.270" 4140HT. I have virtually no experience running an EDM so I was pretty thrilled with that outcome.
However, I have quickly discovered that this in no way makes me an EDM expert. Hell, it doesn't even make me a novice. Fortunately I'm a quick learner.
For those of you who consider yourself experienced, where would you start with an unknown machine after verifying basic functionality? I'm waiting for some new wire guides and I expect that I should be checking/setting the vertical wire alignment. I do NOT have the wire alignment gauge/block that plugs into this particular machine. If one could be purchased for a somewhat reasonable price, that's an option. If someone can give me pointers on doing this manually without the gauge that could be even better. I expect that I can make a test cut and indicate it, but I wouldn't know where to start changing parameters to compensate.
Auto-threading doesn't yet work reliably (ok, doesn't really work at all) but I'm expecting (hoping like hell) that new guides are going to magically fix this. The existing lower guide is pretty beat up. The upper doesn't seem too bad but the wire usually doesn't feed through automatically. I've noticed that when the wire is cut by the machine there's a pretty significant curve on the end of the wire. Should this be completely straight after cutting, and if so where would I start to remedy this? Of course, I've gotten quite good at threading it manually because I'm a certified expert at breaking the wire....
What else, in order of priority, do I need to consider before attempting to make parts with any sort of precision and repeatability?
Finally, am I completely insane to agree to this task? Have I bitten off more I can chew?
However, I have quickly discovered that this in no way makes me an EDM expert. Hell, it doesn't even make me a novice. Fortunately I'm a quick learner.
For those of you who consider yourself experienced, where would you start with an unknown machine after verifying basic functionality? I'm waiting for some new wire guides and I expect that I should be checking/setting the vertical wire alignment. I do NOT have the wire alignment gauge/block that plugs into this particular machine. If one could be purchased for a somewhat reasonable price, that's an option. If someone can give me pointers on doing this manually without the gauge that could be even better. I expect that I can make a test cut and indicate it, but I wouldn't know where to start changing parameters to compensate.
Auto-threading doesn't yet work reliably (ok, doesn't really work at all) but I'm expecting (hoping like hell) that new guides are going to magically fix this. The existing lower guide is pretty beat up. The upper doesn't seem too bad but the wire usually doesn't feed through automatically. I've noticed that when the wire is cut by the machine there's a pretty significant curve on the end of the wire. Should this be completely straight after cutting, and if so where would I start to remedy this? Of course, I've gotten quite good at threading it manually because I'm a certified expert at breaking the wire....
What else, in order of priority, do I need to consider before attempting to make parts with any sort of precision and repeatability?
Finally, am I completely insane to agree to this task? Have I bitten off more I can chew?