Titivating a Wire EDM Machine

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awemawson:
The 'table' on which the work is positioned is an open centered rectangle giving the machine a working envelope of 450 x 650 x 200 mm, (and up to 300 kGs :bugeye:)

This table is moved by servo control from the Fanuc 6 control and attached to the side of it is a 'dry run plotter' that draws a representation of the part on paper without actually cutting metal

chipenter:
You don't do things by halfs Andrew do you ?

awemawson:
"You don't do things by halfs Andrew do you ?"

Well Jeff - if you're going to do something you may as well do it properly :lol:

The machine works - make good parts but is pretty slow - really a 'lights out and leave it' sort of operation.

So far I have got the Fanuc 6 and its operation panel sorted out, managing to beg borrow and steal compatible parts. And I have upgraded its memory so it can store larger programs.

Memory on the Fanuc 6 is 'Bubble Memory', a technology that came and went over a very short space of a few years:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_memory

I have also replaced the tiny bearings in all the wire guide pulleys - a fun exercise as the pulleys in the main are very delicate ceramic with press fit stainess steel bearings.

I've also re-made most but not all the missing tin work panels

awemawson:
So what's triggered this flurry of postings ?

Well glancing through eBay as I'm prone to do, I came across some of the lower contact electrodes and thought it was about time I sorted mine out.

The machine was originally an 'Automatic Wire Feed' variant - ie you positioned the table so that a hole lined up with the wire guides, and it would thread itself. Very handy indeed as threading 0.25 mm brass wire through equally small wire guides standing on your head to get at them is a bit of a pain. Sadly this feature proved to be unreliable and at some time was removed from it.

In the process I suspect that the lower assembly was replaced with one from a similar but different machine and there is no provision for the lower tungsten carbide contact to be mounted. The relevant wire is fixed to the insulated centre of the lower pulley and does nothing at all.

The net result of this is that the machine can only operate at half the current it is designed for without melting the wire.

So my intention is to re-design the layout of that area so that the contact can be in the wire path. Problem is, this machine (like me!) is rather long in the tooth (mid 1980's) and the 'stainless' support arm is badly corroded.

I've avoided delving in before due to the fact things are very likely to break being undone. But now I'm setting out hopefully to fix it and I'll be glad to have you all along with me as I do it. :thumbup:

hermetic:
I.m looking forward to the Journey Andrew. I gather from your description that this machine operates with the wire through the workpiece cutting a bit like a bandsaw?
Phil

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