Pentron start hole drilling unit

EDM die-sinking machine - PENTA CNC

Hi!
Has anyone of you guys got any experience with this start hole drilling unit? It's an "add on" to Fanuc robocut, looks really nice.

Hi hfo:
This is pretty cool in some senses, but there is a major shortcoming, and that is that when the machine is tied up drilling start holes it's not wire cutting.
That's OK if your machine is not all that busy , but if it is, that's an awfully expensive machine to have tied up doing low end tasks.
A real hole popper is not that expensive and is a lot faster too.

There IS an argument to be made that you gain something by not having to line up your workpiece twice on two separate machines, but you lose too in that you can't run your tasks in parallel anymore.
I suspect these devices are not popular because they don't make economic sense except under special circumstances.

Also, the website doesn't reveal a lot about how the accessory actually interfaces with the machine and nothing at all about whether it can run on anything other than a Fanuc wire EDM.
Cheers

Marcus
Implant Mechanix • Design & Innovation > HOME
www.vancouverwireedm.com

To me it makes only slightly less sense than combining a wedm with a waterjet ...

If you want a start hole, by any and all means drill a start hole.

Just don't do it in your wedm with some half-a$$ed after market add-on.

A dedicated hole popper was one of the best investments we have made here.

Hi,
old thread but I thought I would add some more info. As far as I know this system is only for the newer fanuc machines. It integrates fully with the fanuc system. I think it looks quite good and the price is ok. For us it would work out as we make small accurate parts with many wire start holes and setup once is an advantage. We will at some point go and see these guys to check it out. I add more info then..

cheers, James