OK just an FYI question

So I was thinking this morning as I was powering up the machines in the shop... I have almost universally ran a warm up program in a mill, sometimes lathes, but never EDM. Is it because edm is typically moving slow, or no bearings/oil issues...

Thoughts?

Maybe you just don't love your EDM as much

Hi Mike1974:
I do the same as you...I've never given it a lot of thought, but here's a rationalization if you feel you want one:
A sinker gets warm only when you burn with it and so does a wire.
As you pointed out, both move at a "stately" pace compared to chip making machines.
So "warming up" a sinker or a wire means cooking something with it, not zinging it around...it can't "zing" anyway.

Does that sound convincing to you...I'm going to go with it because I just can't bring myself to embrace gustafson's notion...we love ALL our machines EQUALLY!

Cheers

Marcus
Implant Mechanix • Design & Innovation > HOME
Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining

gustafson said:

Maybe you just don't love your EDM as much

Click to expand...

LoL

No, we run our wires day in and day out and overnight when needed. Was just curious as we can get a part dialed in, then just run again the next morning without size issues (at least within tenths)

I love my machine even though it's old and it has told me many times not to let it warm up too much or it will do some crazy thing and not work for the rest of the day. So we sort of have an agreement. Now I pamper it with cool fans and no running over night more than day at a time.

Tvalen1432

when I ran Wire machines regularly,I ran a grease distribution program on Monday mornings just to keep everything lubed up. I had a habit of setting parts up in the same general area and mostly used 1/2 to 1/4 of the table travel. the cycle took all the axes to their limits 10x. that was the extent of my "warm up". In my opinion, making sure all the fans and cooling devices were functioning properly to keep the electronics from overheating is critical. on another note, while i loved all the machines equally, i think they knew i had some favorites.

Question "A" would be do you have solid and verifiable proof that the empty part warm up cycles help on the mills, lathes or grinders or is this a feel good thing?
Some of machines machines seem to care, others no difference.
If shut down for lunch break do they need an empty warm up?
How much time not in cycle to need such?
Some of my stuff very unhappy with 5 to 10 minutes of out of cycle, others will go days or weeks.
Bob

Good morning CarbideBob:
You wrote " ...do you have solid and verifiable proof that the empty part warm up cycles help on the mills, lathes or grinders or is this a feel good thing?"
You make an excellent point, and your premise is both logical and correct, however:

For many of us who've sweated bullets to acquire our toys, "Feel Good" is a necessary part of the experience of having a Man Cave filled with goodies we can play with in our old age.
I know I'm guilty of it, and from the tone of many, I suspect we're not all the cold hearted logical businessmen we pretend to be.

So yeah, I warm up my machines because it feels good...will I have to surrender my "Business-Man" badge now?
I am quite possibly bullshitting myself that it makes a difference...I never even bothered to verify that it does, but it's a soothing part of the daily ritual...sort of like a cup of coffee and a bit of PM time in the morning before I get my fat ass in gear.

Cheers

Marcus
Implant Mechanix • Design & Innovation > HOME
Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining

Don't some mills make you run them before you can run the machine, or is there a by-pass trick on those ones and they just make you think you have to?

Tvalen1432

On our sinkers we burn 90% of our stuff on a magnet. After the part is dialed straight and the location is stored We fill the dielectric up to just below the mag face and let it normalize the magnet for several minutes. Programs are loaded, burn locations double checked and electrodes are loaded. This process has really helped in improving accuracy. Its amazing how much thermals move a laminated magnet.

Not technically warming the machine as far as moving the axis but definitely getting the tank , mag and dielectric to temperature.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

implmex said:

Good morning CarbideBob:
You wrote " ...do you have solid and verifiable proof that the empty part warm up cycles help on the mills, lathes or grinders or is this a feel good thing?"
You make an excellent point, and your premise is both logical and correct, however:

For many of us who've sweated bullets to acquire our toys, "Feel Good" is a necessary part of the experience of having a Man Cave filled with goodies we can play with in our old age.
I know I'm guilty of it, and from the tone of many, I suspect we're not all the cold hearted logical businessmen we pretend to be.

So yeah, I warm up my machines because it feels good...will I have to surrender my "Business-Man" badge now?
I am quite possibly bullshitting myself that it makes a difference...I never even bothered to verify that it does, but it's a soothing part of the daily ritual...sort of like a cup of coffee and a bit of PM time in the morning before I get my fat ass in gear.

Cheers

Marcus
Implant Mechanix • Design & Innovation > HOME
Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining

Click to expand...

Make no doubt, some of my machines are very pissed if one goes to lunch for an hour and wiil need warm up cycles from this
Knowing the if is the key.
Some care about spindles or coolant left running, others not so much. Some need the ways moved around and screws worked, others do not care
On some of my machines a warm up cycle with no part in place is a NEVER DO THAT.
Bob

Hi again CarbideBob:
Yup, when you actually have to verify that you are working to tenths, these things matter, and the whole exercise improves with a logical and disciplined approach as you've pointed out.

I get a chuckle when I see engineers specifying features to micron tolerances that are extraordinarily ambitious to achieve and when the engineer shows up at the shop with a cheap import digital caliper and wants to do an in-process inspection, it can be difficult at times not to laugh out loud.

In the realm of sinker EDM, the art of getting it accurate needs attention to many factors that are unique to the process; not the least of which is temperature control; much of it traces back to the quality of machine maintenance, much traces back to the environmental conditions, much traces back to the quality of every step in the electrode fabrication, inspection and mounting process.

Ditto for wire EDM, without the burden of having to deal with electrodes.

The machines themselves are designed and built for thermal stability at the micron level; that's a good part of why they cost what they do.
They typically have comprehensive training and big operator's manuals associated with them; I've never seen a warm-up protocol written down for a sinker or a wire, but that doesn't mean they don't exist, and of course there would be a big benefit from knowing the quirks of the machine intimately and compensating for them logically and consistently.

So yeah, if you routinely work in the micron and sub micron precision domain as I know you do, it certainly pays to be alert to these things.

Cheers

Marcus
Implant Mechanix • Design & Innovation > HOME
Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining