Seeking Recommendations for a Sinker EDM

[Charlie Gary]

I have a question for those in the know. In your opinion, who makes the best sinker EDM for what we want to do?

Type of material:
Tubes made from inconel, copper nickel, titanium, admiral brass, 304 SS, 316 SS, ZIRLO (Zr-Nb Alloy), ZIRCALOY 4

Size of material:
.375"-1.0" O.D., up to 60" long

Type of work:
internal flaws up to 13 inches from end
concentric external grooves
offset external grooves
slots, both through and flat bottomed
flat bottomed holes
through holes
flat surfaces

ID / OD transitional notches .005 wide +.001/-.002 from 20% depth of wall thickness to through.

ID / OD Linear / circular sectional notches .005 wide +.001/-.002 from 20% depth of wall thickness to through.

Features that need to be clocked to various degrees in relation to other features.

We currently outsource this type of work.

Drawings showing the details of what we're up to can be provided upon request.

Thanks for reading, and any input you may give.

Charlie

 

[Plastikdreams]

Sorry for the late reply.

That's going to be a large sinker to swallow a 60" part. I've worked with newer Mitsubishi sinkers and the did a very good job. You can program it from the controller, and they had 10 station auto tool changers and c axis (rotates the electrode, which allows positioning and also more efficient plunging when making holes. But...they aren't cheap. And one big enough for a 60" tube is going to run probably north of 750k new.

 

[Charlie Gary]

Than

Sorry for the late reply.

That's going to be a large sinker to swallow a 60" part. I've worked with newer Mitsubishi sinkers and the did a very good job. You can program it from the controller, and they had 10 station auto tool changers and c axis (rotates the electrode, which allows positioning and also more efficient plunging when making holes. But...they aren't cheap. And one big enough for a 60" tube is going to run probably north of 750k new.

Thanks for the reply. I have the same impression on cost and machine brand. I know we could get creative and make some modifications to a smaller machine to accommodate a longer tube, so we could probably cut the required part length in half or even more to bring the cash outlay more in line with what the corporate overlords would be willing to spend.
Anybody here familiar with ONA edms? That's the brand being repped by a local machine tool distributor.