AgieCharmilles EDM machine for Jubilee clip manufacturer

L Robinson manufactures tens of millions of the hose clips (year-on-year) to meet domestic and overseas demand. There are some 580 different product types and it is important to minimise the downtime of the company's automated production lines and process equipment. The CUT 20P is the first investment for the company in wire EDM and prior to the machine's arrival, the specialised production tools were made using an "old" die-sink machine and conventional machine tools. While this production method allowed the company to manufacture the high quality (i.e. high-accuracy and excellent surface finish) tools required – cycle times were long. Managing director Ian Jennings said: "We need to operate at full capacity.To do this we need immediate access to back-up/replacement tooling in case of breakage and/or failure), to maintain high-volume production. We researched new manufacturing technologies and methods to help identify a more effective and efficient way to meet our tooling requirements, and this ultimately resulted in us investing in the latest wire EDM technology from AgieCharmilles." The CUT 20P machine has a working envelope of 350 by 250 by 250 mm in X, Y and Z axes repectively allowing the machining of large parts and/or the simultaneous machining of multiple smaller parts. The machine also has automatic wire thread capability for long, unmanned machining and the latest, high-efficiency digital generator and powerful control system that provides L Robinson with fast cutting speeds and "best-in-class" surface finishes.