FEATURE ON EDM

Sarix unveils SX30-pm micro-EDM hole drill

Sarix says that the release of its new SX30-pm micro-EDM hole drill allows customers to boost productivity at an affordable price. Designed to push the boundaries of what is possible, the SX30-pm combines high micro-drilling speed with extreme accuracy.

Imagine producing zero-deviation, precision, wire-cut free holes in a fraction of existing cycle times, whether working with tough aerospace-grade materials, medical devices or complex watch components. Sarix says that the SX30-pm’s advanced technology ensures superior results, helping users to increase throughput, reduce downtime and stay ahead of the competition.

Offering high-speed micro drilling, the SX30-pm is suitable for jobs ranging from 3.0 mm down to 100 µm. The machine delivers a high depth aspect ratio for extreme deep-hole drilling. It has travel of 300 x 300 x 400 x 400 in the X, Y, Z and W axis respectively, supported by a positioning precision of 0.01 mm (resolution 0.1 µm). An option is available offering positioning position of ±0.003 mm. The machine features automatic axis co-ordinate positioning and depth control.

The new SX-HMI interface streamlines programming and editing tasks with intuitive operating apps. Furthermore, the SX-Pulsar generator employs the latest Sarix ‘Micro-Pulse Shape’ EDM technologies for faster, deeper and more precise holes than conventional machines, reports the company.

Additional features include an automatic electrode re-feeding spindle and continuous production with the high-pressure flushing of dielectric oil or deionised water. An optional SX-MDH micro deep-hole drilling device is available for producing 0.10 mm deep holes in 15 mm carbide (Sarix patented).

More information www.sarix.com

Allied finds recipe for success in Vollmer

In the past six years, Poole-based Allied Tooling has more than doubled its turnover to over £7m. Central to this expansion has been a company re-branding, the introduction of PCD round tools and saw blades, and becoming the UK’s exclusive AKE saw blade partner.

Allied today supplies and services over 6000 tools and saw blades each month. To help facilitate this output, the 60+ employee manufacturer for the woodworking, kitchen, marine, construction, composite, aerospace, automotive and motorsport sectors, has ramped up its investment in grinding and erosion machines from Vollmer.

The first Vollmer machine arrived in the 1990s and the company has purchased more than 20 Vollmer models over the years. The latest tranche of Vollmer machines commenced when PCD tooling went from being an outsourced solution to a serious addition to the product range. Identifying this industry trend at an early stage, Allied invested in two Vollmer QXD250 disc erosion machines with the H5 28-tool automation solution in June 2018 and a VPulse 500 wire EDM in March 2023.

“While the QXD 250 is perfect for TCT saws up to 320 mm diameter, it also has the flexibility to process all our PCD end mills, drills and cutters,” explains Allied’s managing director Wes Hacker. “The arrival of the QXD reduced our lead times by more than two weeks on bespoke tool solutions.”

The same HC5 28 tool external workpiece storage system is also present on the VPulse 500 machine that arrived in March 2023.

“We purchased the VPulse 500 for its flexibility,” says Hacker. “The new VPulse EDM generator significantly improves productivity and this means we can run a batch of 20+ tools lights-out with exceptional efficiency – further supporting our ambition to compress lead times.”

More information www.vollmer-group.com

TEK4 opens US facility in South Carolina

Summer 2024 saw UK-based EDM hole drilling machine manufacturer TEK4 open its US facility in Greenville, South Carolina. The 372 m² facility will support the company’s growing North American customer base.

The new technology centre features the latest TEK4 EDM and laser machines for precision hole development. Customers can also tap into turnkey solutions comprising complete in-house tooling design, programme development and process prove-out for complex parts. In particular, TEK4 is able to provide bespoke tooling packages in support of highly productive solutions.

US-based field service engineers can deliver fast and reliable support throughout North America. Supporting the service team is an extensive Inventory. Over $250,000 of spare parts and consumables, available for next day delivery, ensure high uptime. Notably, the US facility and US personnel enable TEK4 to comply with ITAR standards.

TEK4 specialises in fast hole drill (FHD)/high-speed drill (HSD) EDM hole drilling machines for producing straight and shaped cooling holes in aero and IGT blades, vanes, segments and other components. The company currently has four different machine sizes offering the EDM process.

TEK4 also offers an EDM drill service is for generating small holes in turbine blades and vanes. STEM drilling is another specialist process available from the company. This process is similarly adept at drilling small holes in aero parts for cooling purposes.

According to TEK4, the company says it understands the importance of making informed decisions. That is why it offers comprehensive machine demonstrations and customised trials. The company’s global headquarters is in Leicestershire, UK.

More information www.tek4.co.uk

EDM specialist reports exhibition success

Sodi-Tech EDM, together with Sodick Europe, had its most successful MACH exhibition ever with an eye-catching display at the Birmingham NEC earlier this year. Committing to its largest-ever MACH stand, Sodick Europe presented six machines, including new models.

Among the MACH debutants was the new VN600Q wire-cut EDM machine and the ALC600G iG+E wire EDM machine with iGroove+ technology. These were accompanied by the AD35L die-sink EDM and the AL60G EDM die-sink machine with Erowa Compact 80 robotic loading system and Zeiss DuraMax measurement and probing system.

Commenting upon the UK’s showpiece manufacturing event, Sodick Europe’s digital marketing manager Bal Dulay said: “MACH was a success far beyond our expectations. This was evident by the huge number of visitors we attracted. Everything from our stand design, prestigious brand and component display cases attracted attendees to view our cutting-edge technologies. With a diverse range of wire and die-sink EDM technology on show, our engineers revelled in the opportunity to discuss many different machines, particularly the patented iGroove+ rotating wire technology.”

Added Dulay: “As a technologically advanced and environmentally aware brand, Sodick has incorporated energy efficiency into every facet of its designs and technologies. With our new smart pulse generators, smart pulse wire, intelligent monitoring circuit, energy-saving pumps, iGroove+ and countless additional innovations, our EDM machines can reduce energy consumption by up to 30% with wire savings of 30% or more. As businesses become more environmentally and energy conscious, our investment in this area really struck a chord with manufacturers visiting MACH. It was also a contributing factor in some of the purchasing decisions made at the show.”

More information www.sodick.eu

ONA AV35 Next wire EDM: One step ahead

ONA is introducing its AV35 Next, the evolution of its AV35 wire EDM, incorporating a number of notable improvements. The development and studies carried out for this new model have allowed ONA to offer particular enhancements in precision, reliability and productivity, as well as handling. Furthermore, the AV35 Next offers automation and monitoring options that improve overall machine performance.

This new wire EDM machine brings together the best of ONA’s 70 years of experience with different technologies, to offer users optimal ergonomics, ease of use and precision in the production of parts.

From the perspective of precision, the machine’s structure sees a change of the tank rear closure system in order to reduce both friction and backlash. There is also a wider range of wire tension (from 100 to 3000 kg), with more optimisation of the wire brake wheel’s repositioning capabilities.

Among the features boosting autonomy is filter cartridge status monitoring. The machine notifies operators that the filter cartridges are becoming saturated, so they can plan to replace them with new ones at the most convenient time. There is also an option for an external wire feeder for spools of up to 45 kg, compatible with the existence of the standard feeder for spools of up to 16 kg included on the front of the machine.

As another benefit, the machine is more flexible than its predecessor model, chiefly due to automatic threading with special wires. It is now easy to configure custom wires in order to adapt the automatic threading to other types of wire that do not resemble those which appear in the tables that the machine incorporates.

More information www.onaedm.com