OT: Wire EDM Electromagnetic Interference

I am in the process of buying a "new to me" wire EDM Machine. It is a Mid 90's Fanuc Robocut.

It occurred to me that some of these older Wires are known for causing some Electromagnetic/Radio interference.

How much of a problem might this cause? the machine will be sitting approximately 10 feet from my cnc mill. Is there a way to calculate the effected range? Or is the interference put out by these newer EDMs negligible.

If It is a problem, can I drape a wire mesh curtain in front of the edm to block some of it?

Hi TheBigLebowski:
I have a vintage 2011 wire EDM and a 1996 sinker EDM right next to a Haas Minimill (the sinker is 2 feet away and the wire is 10 feet away).
I had a vintage 1996 wire EDM right next to a CNC lathe for years, separated only by a sheetrock wall.
I never had a problem with either setup.

Cheers

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

Same here.
( still positively amazes me to this day how similar Marcus' and our shop are, over the years, and even the exact same equipment in many instances )

That said, you can forget about good cell reception while it's running. Then again, that might just be a Mits thing.

Zahnrad Kopf said:

Same here.
( still positively amazes me to this day how similar Marcus' and our shop are, over the years, and even the exact same equipment in many instances )

That said, you can forget about good cell reception while it's running. Then again, that might just be a Mits thing.

Click to expand...

Zahnrad, that's Odd!!!
I've got 2 older Brothers, a 4 year old Makino for Wire and a 50Amp EDM drill, and have noticed absolutely no interference whatsoever with either cell or Wifi.
I may have some distance between the EDM-s and the rest of the shop, but 9+ years ago the only thing separated both Brothers and myself was a tall file cabinet.
I've never had a true landline, always Cell and VOIP, never noticed anything.

I have 3 sinkers and I get increased interference as the settings get finer. My shop is inside a steel building next to my house and at finishing settings my wife cannot watch the antenna tv in the house 200 ft away. At rough settings there is no noticeable interference. Cell phone is also subject to increased interference at finer settings. There does not appear to be any interference with my shop wi-fi, which I find curious.

Here you go:

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That's all you need.



Seriously, other than the experiences of others who have used the same apparatus, there is little you can do to predict this type of problem. Happily, if you do have it there are some simple things you can do to help.

First make sure all the equipment is well grounded. This means a heavy conductor going from the metal frame of the equipment to a solid, earth ground. The ground connection in the power cord may or may not be enough. You may need to run a separate one. And make sure that all the ground and other power connections are tight; low resistance.

Yes, a metal shield between and/or around one machine or the other can help. Again, well grounded. This can be screen wire, but include a frame or grid of heavy gauge wire or buss bar as screening can have a higher resistance. For more on this look up "Faraday Cage".

Those would be the two biggies.

I've personally never had any problem with the wire EDM affecting the performance of other machine tools, but I did replace the EDM's CRT monitor with an LCD one requiring a custom cable from the EDM PC to the new LCD, and proper shielding and grounding of the shield on one end was an absolute must. Without it the new LCD would not sync. the video signal.

Now listening to the game or talk radio on AM band anywhere within a hundred feet or more while the EDM was operating was a big fat no.

I've never had EDM “noise” interfere with other shop machines, but as jmullett mentioned, they will tear up an AM radio signal. Which takes me a bit off-topic, but I don’t think you’ll mind.

When I had my shop in the ‘80’s, the EDM’s were in their own temperature-controlled room, which meant I would have to stop grinding or whatever I was doing, to check on the machines. To eliminate this, I learned to put the shop radio on AM. Now I could hear the quality of every pulse out in the shop on my “audible oscilloscope”. Steady and crisp, no problem. Random and noisy, go check.

Fast-forward… When “bird-dogging” for new prospects, most machinery salesmen have learned to drive behind new industrial parks looking for chip-bins and listening for cutter-chatter and air hoses.

This doesn't work for EDM, so when training a new EDM salesman, I had them turn on their AM radio and drive slowly around the back of the shop. If you approach a wire EDM running nearby, a fuzzy, static noise will gradually increase until it totally drowns out the signal. As you drove away, it will diminish, almost pinpointing the machine's location. Likewise, if a sinker is running anywhere, you can hear its definite, intermittent peck-cycle.

Now… go park the car and introduce yourself.

I run a pair of Sodick AG600L WEDMs and at night I have surfed the internet on my cell phone and made phone calls without issues when sitting right next to the machines.