What's new
What's new

How clean should sinker fluid be?

Leviathan

Aluminum
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Location
Canada
Hi all,

Going to ask another noob question:

How clean should my dielectric fluid stay when roughing a cavity? I know there are some variables there like amperage and electrode size, but any general guidance?

I'm sinking a cavity right now that is about 1.5 sqin frontal area and the fluid in the tank is black. Flushing is through the trode and the flushing fluid looks clean. But in spite of the fact that I have oil circulating into and out of the tank it still stays very dirty. I'd like to know if that is normal or evidence that I need to change filters.

On smaller burns the tank usually stays pretty clear as long as the fluid is circulating, but I can't see anything through the stuff today.

Thanks.

Leviathan

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
 
A smaller tank will become dirty fairly quick with mild to heavy ruffing. You should see it clean up by the time your electrodes are into the final orbits.

Find your manual and find your gauge on the machine to know when your filters should be changed.

When your flushing line is coming out black you probably should have done it a month back.
 
A smaller tank will become dirty fairly quick with mild to heavy ruffing. You should see it clean up by the time your electrodes are into the final orbits.

Find your manual and find your gauge on the machine to know when your filters should be changed.

When your flushing line is coming out black you probably should have done it a month back.
Thanks, that helps a bit.

Unfortunately we bought this machine used and there isn't a machine manual, only a programming manual, so I won't know the filter type until I pull the old ones (first thing on the list once through the current job).

There is a pressure gauge on the top of the filter housing, would that be to indicate the pressure on the filter? I would assume the higher the pressure the more clogged the filter? If so any thoughts as to what would be considered typical?

Thanks!

Leviathan

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
 
Levithan,

What machine make and model do you have? I'm sure the PM Community can jump in and help on what filters your machine requires.

As for the amount of debris you are seeing during Roughing, this sounds correct under heavier cutting conditions. As long as the oil cleans up and the debris is removed by the filters within a reasonable amount of time after the Roughing cycle, you should be good! It is also good that you confirmed that your thru-electrode flush looks clean, so everything you've described sounds normal.

-Brian
 
"I won't know the filter type until I pull the old ones (first thing on the list once through the current job)."


Do yourself a huge favor and buy a spare set of filters ... or two. Really sucks to be in the middle of a job and have to wait a day, or two, or ...
to finish your job because of clogged filters.
 
"I won't know the filter type until I pull the old ones (first thing on the list once through the current job)."


Do yourself a huge favor and buy a spare set of filters ... or two. Really sucks to be in the middle of a job and have to wait a day, or two, or ...
to finish your job because of clogged filters.
Yeah, I kind of overlooked that originally as I was just messing around figuring the process out. Now that I'm running jobs on it more regularly spares are a must.

How long does a set of filters usually last? (Tons of variables obviously, but rough ballpark?)

Thanks.

Leviathan

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
 
Levithan,

What machine make and model do you have? I'm sure the PM Community can jump in and help on what filters your machine requires.

As for the amount of debris you are seeing during Roughing, this sounds correct under heavier cutting conditions. As long as the oil cleans up and the debris is removed by the filters within a reasonable amount of time after the Roughing cycle, you should be good! It is also good that you confirmed that your thru-electrode flush looks clean, so everything you've described sounds normal.

-Brian
It's a white elephant unfortunately, it's an EDM Solutions Vanguard CNC sinker. 150amp generator. No red zone on the filter guages either.

Doubt anyone has one, I don't think they sold that many before they shut down. A more mainstream machine would have been better from a maintenance perspective but considering that the amount of 3R tooling that came with it is probably worth 2-3x what we paid for the machine it wasn't a bad deal.

If anyone does have one I'd be grateful for any maintenance info you can provide.

Thanks.

Leviathan

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
 
Ran a Solutions years back. I believe they came branded under several names... Those Filtration systems are almost sub par to begin with. Change your filters 2x a year if you use that machine daily. Heavy usage do it 3x.
 
Ran a Solutions years back. I believe they came branded under several names... Those Filtration systems are almost sub par to begin with. Change your filters 2x a year if you use that machine daily. Heavy usage do it 3x.
Thanks very much. I will do. The machine doesn't see heavy usage or real tight tolerance work in our shop fortunately. But it is frustrating how little documentation we have on it. Makes preventative maintenance difficult.

If you have any other things of note that you remember from running one I would appreciate it.

Thanks

Leviathan

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
 








 
Back
Top