!8: H13 Tool Steel Get It Now!: October 2011

!±8± EDM Machining Using an Automatic Tool Changer and Pallet Changer

Some years ago I worked at a very highly regarded, Swiss owned plastic injection mold making shop. The owner was considered to be one of the top men in the field and I felt privileged to work there. This was when CNC EDM machines were just hitting the market and our shop was one of the first to invest in a brand new Sodick CNC EDM machine.

It came complete, with a System 3R precision tooling package and an automatic tool changer. As it turned out, however, the owner did not consider it important to fully equip the machine with enough electrode holders to use the automatic tool changer. In fact, we soon found ourselves using the very antiquated vee-blocks and angle plates that were used on the manual machines!

The only justifiable reason I could come up with was because the owner was wary of spending more money (these things are very expensive), and he was not the one who had to use it.

Eventually the sons became involved in the management of the business and soon there was an entire wall of new CNC EDM machines, all with automatic tool changers, a huge amount of System 3R precision tooling, and a bit later on: pallet changers.

The head of the CNC department was a very clever man who could turn a hand held calculator into a full blown computer, well, almost. He was one of the first programmers who mastered the new CAD/CAM programs that revolutionized the industry.

He connected all these machines with the software so that everything worked as it was intended. The high speed milling machine made the Poco graphite or Telco copper electrodes, and the 3R WorkPartner pallet changer moved the workpieces and electrodes from the mill to the CMM, then to the EDM.

From my experience, most shops think about this process, but few actually accomplish it. This is probably due to the very high cost, huge amount of planning and up front organization.

This shop also had every kind of carbide end mill or cutter you could imagine. Every size, every coating, ball end mills, micro cutters, Sandvik inserts, Iscar face mills, Ingersoll cutters and even some ceramic inserts for the turning center.

The tool crib contained the carbide cutters, plus all the EDM supplies required. If you needed an EDM filter, dielectric fluid or WEDM wire, it was there. The same held true for the tool steel: we had every size of S7, H13 and P20 you could imagine. For some reason, we only had 420SS in rounds, which was really annoying!