Wire EDM

[Bancroftjo]

Here is one of my youtube videos, I just thought some of you may find it interesting.

[onemilimeter]

What's the price tag of this machine? Thanks.

[Bancroftjo]

This (from "Charmilles") machine new was $114,000 USD in 1994, we got it last year for $6,000 at auction. Mitsubishi also makes these machines for a little cheaper but not as high of quality as a Charmilles.

[onemilimeter]

This (from "Charmilles") machine new was $114,000 USD in 1994, we got it last year for $6,000 at auction. Mitsubishi also makes these machines for a little cheaper but not as high of quality as a Charmilles.

It's really worth to buy it at $6,000 only. By the way, do you find any "performance" degradation or drift from the specs of a new machine?

I also wish to buy one in future. It will be used for prototyping (down to 0.1mm) and therefore do not require a high speed one. Any recommendation?

By the way, is the cutting wire expensive?

Thanks.

[Bancroftjo]

     If I were to buy a new machine I would buy a Charmilles. If all you are doing is prototyping then a Mitsubishi may work for you, but they have some little quirks which make them undesirable for any type of production work. Charmilles also has some of the best customer service I've ever seen, the service center is based in Chicago and you only talk to experts when you call. There are other brands of EDM machines, but I am only familiar with Charmilles and Mitsubishi because they are the industry standards for production work. Charmilles is now owned by another EDM company called Agie and they are essentially the same thing.
     I would also get a machine which features a submerged part tank, rather than a flushing style machine like the one in my video. You would get a much higher cutting speed with a submerged tank (therefore less wire would be used).
     As for the wire it really depends on the thickness of your part, the speed of your machine, the type of wire, the shape of your parts, the material of your parts, your dielectric (water in most cases), ect. The amount of wire you go through really depends on all kinds of factors and for me to predict a cost for you would be useless. If you are only doing a couple prototypes every month then I don't see you spending that much on wire.
     When you say that you could get a machine for $6,000 I'm assuming that's a used machine, right? If so check out the third link.

http://www.gfac.com/
http://www.mcmachinery.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=234
http://www.hgrinc.com/

[smackaay]

You can get a pretty good new wire machine from CHMER for like $60,000. Charmilles/Agie used to rebrand CHMER ram EDM's and their wire machines are actually pretty good all things considered. Buying a used machine can be a pain since all kinds of things can go wrong both on the control/electrics and the seals/servos/ways on a wire.