[charger19690]

Hello,

I have a small machine shop and have been mostly in the whole machining centers side of machining.

I am looking at possibly getting an older Mitsubishi DWC-90SB for burning a production aluminum job, just wondering if burning aluminum is something special or not.

The part is 2" think and 7075.

A couple shops that I talked to about EMD'ing aluminum said the worst thing about it is that you go through alot of filters.

Any other insight?

Thank you,

Mike in MN

[jmullett]

Aluminum cuts fast 20+ sq. in./hour but makes a lot of "smut" whch dirties the machine and like you mentioned plugs up the filters faster.

I installed a housing for $3 size 4 bag filter prior to my cartridge filters to catch most of the smut before it even hits the cartridge filters which cost much more. It has saved me much over the past 8 years.

[charger19690]

Aluminum cuts fast 20+ sq. in./hour but makes a lot of "smut" whch dirties the machine and like you mentioned plugs up the filters faster.

I installed a housing for $3 size 4 bag filter prior to my cartridge filters to catch most of the smut before it even hits the cartridge filters which cost much more. It has saved me much over the past 8 years.

That's a good idea. I will have to keep that in mind if I get into one...

Have to learn how to use it first....lol

Can run the crap out of a machining center but don't know much about EDM's other than they burn material away...lol

Mike in MN

[Chopit]

Here comes a whole lot of negative reading, But don't worry, There's a positive section at the bottom :-)

Aluminum and Zinc are probably the only types of material i can honestly say that.. I hate to W-EDM!! And this is why:

• The negative:

The "dust" from machining it will be all over the place (work tank, water tank, pipes, vents, filters), Mostly because it floats and doesn't drop to the bottom of the work tank. As the other guys said, It stuffs filters like nothing else (except for zinc) and it screws up the resistivity level of the water so if you forget to:

1. Set the resistivity to 10
2. Shut off the vents to your deionizer

-You will have to exchange your deionizer or resin faster than you can say (insert a really short word here).

Something else to think about is the wire offset, W-EDMs eat Alu like nothing i've seen before, Add a few points to your wire offset here and you will probably end up with a decent piece, But if you don't have any tight tolerances to try to squeeze in between then you won't suffer much of this little problem.

A common problem when trying to W-EDM Aluminum for the very first time is that you will have the machine ring "the bell of wire breakage" over and over again and you are not really sure whats causing it, A tip: Lower the value of ON-time and increase the value of OFF-time. Polish the surface of where the wire is set to start machining to make sure that the surface hasn't begun to alu-oxide (Else the wire will break immediately when it touches the part).

• Positive:

The only positive thing about Alu is that it's pretty fast to machine.


Good luck and have fun!

[Chopit]

That's a good idea. I will have to keep that in mind if I get into one...

Have to learn how to use it first....lol

Can run the crap out of a machining center but don't know much about EDM's other than they burn material away...lol

Mike in MN

If you're blessed with the perk called "Patience" then you don't have anything to worry about. I'd suggest you snatch the operator manual and read it until you get to put your hands on the machine, Search the web for articles about EDM in general, It's pretty interesting actually and it should teach you a little on how EDMs work and why it works the way it does.

Take care!

[charger19690]

Thanks for the comments.

It will definitely be a learning curve, and I won it so it will be here in short order(auction special).

So I suppose I will be doing what any good programmer does... put the operator manual by the bedside and hope there is some sample code in the machine when I turn it on.....

Otherwise I will be around the net begging for sample code from others...

Mike in MN