Trying to make a homemade EDM

 
Hi Guys,
I saw this thread on EDM's so I'll share my EDM project. I was given a Andrews moving wire machine by my shop landlord. I've been eyeing it since I started renting space from him. He said he just shut it down a long long time ago and there it sat. It is totally intact and needs cleaning up than moved to my side of the shop. I'm not sure how to proceed, maybe get the controls fired up then address the hardware side. The documentation is long gone so I'm going to contact the company to see if they still have any material for it. I do have a person who has been really good with working with these old machines so I'll pick his brain, he's going to come over once it's moved and wired up. I'll get photo's to post.
 
Oh boy, oh boy!
I welcome any input from someone with a production-level machine.

Bentley18 said:
I'm not sure how to proceed, maybe get the controls fired up then address the hardware side.
Click to expand...

Just be aware of the voltages used, there can be an open circuit voltage of around 100VDC.
There can also be pulsed high currents.

Photos would be fantastic!

Thanks,
-brino
 
Good evening. Yes Brino, thanks for the advice. You can't be too careful. This is what I've got, I hope to get it moved soon. It's will be a work in progress.
 

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Oh Wow!

That's a wire-EDM system.......like an EDM "bandsaw".
That's a specialty item, used for cutting very hard steels to very close tolerances.
They require such fine controlled feeds that they often need CNC to move the work-piece around the wire.
Not sure if yours moves the wire or the work.

Perhaps you should start a new thread for this beast, so we don't hi-jack @ericc 's thread any further.
Feel free to start a new thread, and add a pointer to it from here.

So many questions........
Is that one of the cutting wire spools behind the open cabinet door?
What kind of wire does it use? (material and diameter)
Can you supply some internal photos too? I'd love to see how it's built!

That is quite a unit that will take some deep understanding to use properly.
Now that's a project!

-brino
 
Go ahead. Don't worry. I'm still chugging along. I have made the second prototype with leadscrew and ball bearing slide. It still needs a stepper motor drive and computer control.
 
Hey there. maybe I should start a new one. I'm new here and I don't want to "high jack" a thread. But for now, I'll at least respond. That spool is the exec tape for the operating sys. The kind with the holes it(old, old school). As far as wire goes, you can use brass and the dia. is .005". I will get some photos when I get a chance. Working for a living is getting in the way of fun. I will admit I have worked with EDM's in the past, just 2D cutting PCD, CBN tips for brazed tool and also carbide.
 
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