WEDM and the love/hate relationship with Aluminum

Zahnrad Kopf · Mar 14, 2015

I have to wire some 6061 this week. Only a few pieces, but a lot of cut time. One piece is a 6" x 6" x 6" cube that gets basically cored. There are other pieces as well. The thing that is giving me heartburn is that I recently replaced my filters and resin sock. Normally, that is a good thing. But I am really not looking forward to clogging new filters up with 6061 particles, which is normally what happens. I keep my machine fairly clean and even manage to regulate the amount of steel that actually makes it to the filters by catching it beforehand with magnets in the flow path. Oddly enough, I have misplaced my Aluminum magnets and Google isn't being the normal hotbed of assistance that it usually is, on this item. So... anyone have any ideas for not blasting two new filters with Aluminum debris?

RITCHY · Mar 15, 2015

Our filters are $16 each, a small price to protect the resin. The nasty crust left on everything else is what I don't like. Ever try a panty hose sock?

Zahnrad Kopf · Mar 15, 2015

RITCHY said:
Our filters are $16 each, a small price to protect the resin. The nasty crust left on everything else is what I don't like. Ever try a panty hose sock?

Ritchy, what do you mean "our filters"? Do you mean the ones you use? Or do you mean that you ( or your company ) sell some? The filters in our Mitsubishi are a bit more than that. I actually had thought of something like a panty hose sock but thought panty hose would be far to open structured to be of much effectiveness. Have they worked for you?

RITCHY · Mar 15, 2015

The filters we use.
I've used them in the aquarium but was just trying to think of a very fine mesh for the larger debris.

precisionmetal · Mar 15, 2015

Zahnrad,

In my experience, 30 minutes of cutting some stainless on brand new filters *before* cutting aluminum makes them not only filter better, but they also seem to last measurably longer.

Some of you may remember The Metal Doctor on this forum -- he is the one that told me that trick.

PM

Zahnrad Kopf · Mar 15, 2015

RITCHY said:
The filters we use.
I've used them in the aquarium but was just trying to think of a very fine mesh for the larger debris.

Ritchy - Thanks. I appreciate the effort. There won't be much larger debris. Well, there shouldn't be, anyway... :eek:

I'm mainly trying to control the normal, very fine debris. Hence my desire to locate my ever absent Aluminum magnet.

We're on the right track ( I think ) with a pre-filter filter. I am just not familiar enough with the specifics of sock type filtering to know what kind I can stick into the drain path to catch this stuff without hurting my return flow.

precisionmetal said:
Zahnrad,

In my experience, 30 minutes of cutting some stainless on brand new filters *before* cutting aluminum makes them not only filter better, but they also seem to last measurably longer.Some of you may remember The Metal Doctor on this forum -- he is the one that told me that trick.

PM

Hi PM! Whaaa... ? I've never heard this. Does it matter if it's Martensitic or Austenitic? ( 4XX / 3XX series ) Is one preferable to the other? The only thing in these filters is some Molybdenum so far, and a miniscule amount at that. I will HAPPILY throw a chunk of Stainless in there and cut some pointless tool path if this works! Do I need to stand a certain way or point to any specific celestial body while it's cutting?

Thanks for the tip!

precisionmetal · Mar 15, 2015

In my shop, I just kept a 1" thick scrap of 304 around that was around 10" long, and would take a thin slice that 10" length (any time I put new filters in and was going to be cutting aluminum).

The filters seem to "filter" much better right from the start when I changed to my aluminum cutting.

You might want to make sure the cut is aligned to true north (not magnetic). Ha ha ha....

Seriously -- I have no idea how the Metal Doctor figured this out, but I tried it once on his advice and the filters seemed to work better and longer. I always did it from that point on.

(FYI: on Agie 170 HSS)

PM

vettedude · Mar 15, 2015

Why not put the old filters back in?

Zahnrad Kopf · Mar 15, 2015

vettedude said:
Why not put the old filters back in?

They're gone already. Even if they were not, part of the reason they were replaced was because they would not support good flow any longer.

Zahnrad Kopf · Mar 15, 2015

precisionmetal said:
In my shop, I just kept a 1" thick scrap of 304 around that was around 10" long, and would take a thin slice that 10" length (any time I put new filters in and was going to be cutting aluminum).
The filters seem to "filter" much better right from the start when I changed to my aluminum cutting.
You might want to make sure the cut is aligned to true north (not magnetic). Ha ha ha....
Seriously -- I have no idea how the Metal Doctor figured this out, but I tried it once on his advice and the filters seemed to work better and longer. I always did it from that point on. (FYI: on Agie 170 HSS)

PM

Okay... Austenitic it is then...

I'll try it. Certainly can't hurt anything but my wallet for wire consumed and watts used. And if it does indeed work ( and I very much take you at your word on this ) then it will be worth not bricking the filters with Aluminum. I do admit to being skeptical about the True North part though. Everything about this points to magnetic North being more attractive.

Feel free to groan ...

EDM JOE · Mar 15, 2015

I've heard of this trick before. The person who described it to me said that aluminum particles would lay flat when trapped by a new filter. On a filter that had been "used" to cut steel the aluminum particles would stand on edge when trapped by the filter. This allows more filter surface area to trap aluminum particles.

I have not tested the practice myself. Good call on the Austenitic SS.

RJT · Mar 16, 2015

I'm not sure why stainless is recommended, we have seen similar results by just cutting tool steel with new filters before cutting aluminum. Any reason stainless is preferred? Our experience was that new filters would tear easily if the first thing you cut was aluminum.

Space Wolf · Mar 16, 2015

I have been quoted an Ebbco filtration unit for aluminum cutting. It comes highly recommended by people who cut a lot of aluminum. It is far too costly for occasional use.

jmullett · Mar 16, 2015

I put a #4 bag filter housing in front my cartridge filters and run a 10 micron filter bag in front of them when doing aluminum. They cost like $3-4 dollars from McMaster-Carr. Cheap enough to pitch often vs. my $70 cartridges.

NodecoMachine · Mar 16, 2015

I haven't done any WEDM but going off the panty hose idea... You could use coffee filters?

Zahnrad Kopf · Mar 16, 2015

jmullett said:
I put a #4 bag filter housing in front my cartridge filters and run a 10 micron filter bag in front of them when doing aluminum. They cost like $3-4 dollars from McMaster-Carr. Cheap enough to pitch often vs. my $70 cartridges.

Dammit. Another case of me not being smart enough... I know you have mentioned that before and I did not recall it! Thanks, jmullett. I'll go look one up, now.

This might be a stupid question, but you are putting it in the free flow side. Correct? So no need for pressure driving the flow...? I'm looking to go from my work tank drain to the filtering. Thanks.

Zahnrad Kopf · Mar 16, 2015

NodecoMachine said:
I haven't done any WEDM but going off the panty hose idea... You could use coffee filters?

Hi NodecoMachine. No, it's a fair bet that coffee filters can't sustain the flow necessary for use in WEDM machines. Thanks though.

Space Wolf · Mar 16, 2015

jmullett said:
I put a #4 bag filter housing in front my cartridge filters and run a 10 micron filter bag in front of them when doing aluminum. They cost like $3-4 dollars from McMaster-Carr. Cheap enough to pitch often vs. my $70 cartridges.

A bag full of aluminum may be able to be changed. Be careful if you also cut carbide, that would probable be too heavy to remove. Our filters weight a ton when we change them.

dsergison · Mar 16, 2015

How many hours do you get on a set of filters? I've only ever once replaced my robofil 290 when I got it. I have put a few hundred cutting hours on it, but I have not seen any flow loss yet. Any idea what replacement schedule I should expect? My robofil has about 6 or 8 big ass round cartriges so I imagine pretty long life?

also, whats a normal life for a 1.4cu ft resin tank? I have had to to replace them maybe every 60 hours. I don't keep good track of hours, but "too often", it seems like.

Zahnrad Kopf · Mar 25, 2015

Well, I ran the Austenitic Stainless for 1 hour in 1.5" square Stainless stock before running the Aluminum job.

Have no idea how to tell if it actually did anything, save to watch my pressures and longevity to see if I gained anything. Aluminum job ran for 9 hours solid. All in all, my DI/Resin levels look good/normal and there's no noticeable affect on filter pressure. I hesitate to say it aloud, but the ol' girl is running like a TOP!

Thanks for everyone's input. I appreciate it.

WEDM and the love/hate relationship with Aluminum

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