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EDM water filter issue

Aerospace Amity

Plastic
Joined
Apr 1, 2020
Hello, i am new here. I am hoping someone can help with an issue i am trying to figure out.
I am a RCRA manager at a company that uses EDM machines for majority of the parts being made.
The issue in hand is that once water filters are being Pulled out and changed, the old filters seem to be getting hot and smoldering. We are having to dunk these water filters into water to cool them off because they get so hot after removal from the EDM machine.
The type of filters being used are Sodick SHF-25E .
Has any else ever had issues with their water filters becoming hot after removal?
 
Never. What material are you edming? Every wire EDM machine I have ever used has a radiator that keeps water temp withing 3 {maybe 5) degrees of ambient temperature. Is your water level correct?
 
Never. What material are you edming? Every wire EDM machine I have ever used has a radiator that keeps water temp withing 3 {maybe 5) degrees of ambient temperature. Is your water level correct?

Im unsure of water levels. I do not run these machines, i dispose of the waste generated. And one of the wastes are these water filters that come to us smoldering and hot to the touch.
 
Hello, i am new here. I am hoping someone can help with an issue i am trying to figure out.
I am a RCRA manager at a company that uses EDM machines for majority of the parts being made.
The issue in hand is that once water filters are being Pulled out and changed, the old filters seem to be getting hot and smoldering. We are having to dunk these water filters into water to cool them off because they get so hot after removal from the EDM machine.
The type of filters being used are Sodick SHF-25E .
Has any else ever had issues with their water filters becoming hot after removal?

I use the same filters on my Sodick and have never noticed them being hot or warm when replacing.
Is your water chiller working? Does the water temp seem warm during a cycle or after the cycle is over?

You also mention that it is after you take them out, they get hot and smolder?

Aluminum does a number on those filters though, but I've never noticed the filters being hot in the past 10yrs.
 
they told me the water is around 70 degrees. When they remove the filters , they place them on a pallet for me to dispose of, and several a week are so hot we can not touch them . we wear gloves and put them into water to cool them off. You can visibly see smoke coming from them.
 
Weird. I know aluminum is hard on filters, they are sharp jagged particles that tend to tear the filters. We like to coat the filters by cutting steel first before using them on aluminum. Could the swarth stay that hot even though they are transported to the filter by 70 degree water? Seems unlikely, but I don't know how else to explain it.
 
they told me the water is around 70 degrees. When they remove the filters , they place them on a pallet for me to dispose of, and several a week are so hot we can not touch them . we wear gloves and put them into water to cool them off. You can visibly see smoke coming from them.

That's wild. Do you know what their filter pressure is holding at while running? I know your in Aerospace, what grade of Alum. is it? Possible reaction with the particles and the filter would be my only guess.Id call Sodick.
 
That's wild. Do you know what their filter pressure is holding at while running? I know your in Aerospace, what grade of Alum. is it? Possible reaction with the particles and the filter would be my only guess.Id call Sodick.
im not sure of the filter pressure without asking on the floor. I will contact sodick and see what they recommend.It definitely has us all puzzled.
Thank you guys!!
 
Sounds like an exothermic reaction. Maybe the aluminum on the filters is pure aluminum, and when removed from the machines it starts to oxidize into aluminum oxide, which would produce quite a bit of heat.
 
From your description and a few searches on google there are a few chemical reactions that could be happening with the aluminum and the water that is left on it when the filter is being pulled. They are exothermic reactions (they give off heat and hydrogen).

Do the filters heat up right after they are pulled, or after they are dry?
 
I am having trouble with smoking aluminum this morning on a cleaning operation. When my solvent gets towards its end of life it reacts with aluminum strongly. It's the only alloy I have issues with. Very reactive metal once you get past the surface oxide layer.

I have not found a way to stop this issue.
 
Powdered aluminum will react with water to form aluminum hydroxide and hydrogen. The reaction rate is temperature dependent and it is unstable. The hotter the water the faster the reaction rate. Storing the EDM filters in a large pot of cold water is a temporary solution.

It would be best to store the used filters outside away from sparks or other sources of ignition and let them dry out. A hydrogen flame produces no visible light.
 








 
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