Located close to the world-famous Silverstone racetrack in Northamptonshire, it comes as no surprise that EDM Precision Technologies Ltd plays a major role in servicing the Formula One and wider motorsport industries. Since its inception, the company has been machining precision components for a host of sectors that include aerospace, defence, medical and toolmaking.
To carve a niche in the highly-competitive subcontract market segment, the business has a specialisation in EDM technology; it is here that Mitsubishi wire EDM technology from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG) has helped set this company apart from its rivals. Extending the gap between itself and the competition, EDM Precision has invested in four additional Mitsubishi machines in the past four years.
Now approaching 30 years in business, the company has a range of turning and machining centres, but with EDM drilling, spark erosion and 10 Mitsubishi wire EDM machines – it is evident where the expertise of EDM Precision lies. The company now has a Mitsubishi FX10K, QA10, FA20, FA20-S, two FA10-S, MV1200R, MV1200S, an MV1200S II plus an MV2400R, so it is safe to say that EDM Precision implicitly trusts the productivity, technology, reliability, service and support of the Mitsubishi brand.
Discussing the journey, company director Paul Waldron says: “We started as a small general subcontract and toolmaking machine shop in 1992, and quickly noticed our EDM work becoming more prominent. In 1994, we changed the company name to EDM Precision Technologies and bought our first Mitsubishi wire EDM machine, a CX20. Over the years we’ve had numerous CX20 machines. Our philosophy has been to replace old machines with new technology, so we’ve probably had over 30 Mitsubishi EDM machines in the past 30 years.”
Conforming to both ISO9001 and AS9100 Rev D, EDM Precision pays particular attention to the quality of the components it manufactures, which is why the company is trusted by more than five Formula One teams with more than 150 Formula One orders in the past 12 months. Some components for the suspension, gearboxes, wind tunnel and test components are ideal for production by EDM techniques.
Looking at the current machine, which has more than 20 machine tools on-site, Waldron says: “We have a range of machining and metrology technologies on-site and, at present, we have 14 Mitsubishi machines – 10 Wire EDMs, three spark eroders and a Mitsubishi EDM hole drilling machine.”
He adds: “When we bought our first one or two machines, we were impressed with the quality, productivity and service – the complete package. This gave us no reason to look elsewhere. There are three very good reasons for buying the Mitsubishi machines from ETG. Firstly, we now have enough experience to service and carry out repairs on the machines ourselves. But when we do need external service and support, ETG provides us with service engineers that we’ve worked with for almost 30 years. This level of expertise is unparalleled.”
Another factor is quality, as Waldron outlines: “There are only three or four high-quality EDM brands in the industry, and Mitsubishi sits at the top of that tree in our opinion. We’ve got some Mitsubishi machines that have been here 20 years and still work perfectly fine, which is a great testament to their build quality and longevity. Of course, we’ve received calls from other brands with some ridiculously attractive offers, but a different brand would now disrupt our shop-floor synergy.”
The first two reasons for investing dovetail perfectly with the third reason, which Waldron sets out: “Our operators are all very familiar with the Mitsubishi machines. With EDM being the perfect technology for having one operator to run three or four machines, our shop-floor team can easily interchange between the various Mitsubishi models. Although the control systems have evolved incredibly over the years, they retain a familiarity that allows our operators to get the best out of the machines. This experience also positions the team well for undertaking maintenance tasks.”
In the past four years, the 12-employee company has installed an MV1200S wire EDM, an EA12S spark erosion machine, an MV2400R and an MV1200S wire EDM machine – all arriving between August 2019 and May 2022. The MV2400R is a perfect example of the investment strategy.
“Our MV2400R was installed in August 2021 and it replaced a 15-year-old machine,” states Waldron. “With the old machine, the automatic thread system had become unreliable, resulting in downtime. Additionally, the precision we require for Formula One customers can be within microns, and with worn parts after years of service the machine was still precise to within 25 µm – but this is not precise enough for a lot of our work. The new MV2400R is also 60% faster than the old machine and the efficiency is exceptional. From wire consumption through to power consumption and extended running hours, there is a major difference.”
The latest machine installed was the MV1200S, which landed in May.
“This wasn’t a swap-out machine; we went from nine to 10 wire EDMs with the MV1200S,” says Waldron. “We recently won a contract for producing parts for the power-generation industry and the customer started to ramp up production, so we needed extra capacity. With an EDM cycle time of 4 hours per part and 60 parts required each month, we acquired the MV1200S. The MV1200S and another EDM machine are producing four parts each day. If this was an older machine, the cycle times would be extended to the point that it would be a challenge to fulfil the order without introducing shift work. Moreover, we are noticing efficiencies in our consumable purchasing. We’re using significantly less linear metres and kilograms of wire on the new machines, while reducing our cycle times by up to 60%.
“Having a business model developed to suit the fast-paced, short-turnaround, high-quality demands of industry is something that our other customers benefit from,” he continues. “With components ranging from 1-offs to small batches, turnaround time is essential. We use Esprit CAM software from ETG and we program all of our machines offline. A lot of our customers now send us 3D models that we can rapidly convert into CAM files. With large touchscreen monitors offering step-by-step dialogue guidance, work scheduling, 3D depiction and collision detection, the machines are very user-friendly and intuitive.”
In conclusion, Waldron says: “The Mitsubishi brand is everything you could ever want from a machine tool supplier. The machines are high in quality, reliable, productive, user-friendly, and fast to set up and change over, and the technology in the new machines minimises costs, energy and consumable consumption. The service and support have been exemplary and the staff love working on the new machines. In an era where there is a skill shortage and staff retention can be a challenge, the user interface and level of technology in the Mitsubishi machines keep our team engaged and happy, and it makes other engineers want to work in our business.”
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