However, the EDM process is notorious for its inefficiency due to secondary sparking and energy wastage. Taking the Wire EDM process as an example, wire breakage can also lead to a significant increase in lost production time due to wire re-threading and the problems that can subsequently occur.
Tom Cooney, manufacturing engineer at ADM Precision said: “We fitted the Micromag MM20 two months ago and since then have seen a vast improvement in our efficiencies. We have seen an increase in our machine cutting speeds of between 17% and up to 30%, with substantially fewer wire breakages.”
An additional benefit found due to the cleaner fluids was that there were much fewer wire breakages, making the process much more robust. As a result of the decrease in wire breakage, ADM has seen a significant increase in the cutting speed of the machine, with the trial application showing improved results by up to 30%.
As an example of the cost savings that the increased machine efficiency can produce, by taking the average between the increased speed results, 23.5%, and covert that into annual hours, that’s a saving of 2,000 hours a year. Using an example hourly cost of £100 an hour, that’s a £200,000-a-year cost saving. This means the MM20 Micromag unit would offer a return on investment in less than one week.
Speaking of the efficiency of the Micromag MM20, Cooney said: “It takes a couple of minutes to take the magnet out, clean it into a swarf bin, and then reassemble, so it’s easy and there isn’t and consumable parts to replace. All-in-all, it proves that the Micromag units have given us a great improvement, and I’m sure would be a great investment for any EDM machining process.”
Due to the magnetic flux circuit geometry of the MM20 Micromag, it ensures a controlled build-up of contamination meaning the filter can never block. Due to this, there isn’t any significant increase in backpressure, therefore poses no risk to the integrity of the machine and pumps offering complete assurance to those looking to protect their EDM investment.
Jim Lewis, Sodi-Tech sales manager, was equally impressed by the results of the Micromag installation: “At Sodi-Tech EDM we sell and support Sodick EDM machines across the UK, to precision operations and whilst our machines are high specification, one of the big questions we are always asked is how can I improve my machine efficiency by improving cycle times and reducing downtime.
“As part of our R&D programmes in conjunction with Eclipse, ADM trialled the MM20 Micromag magnetic filter from Eclipse Magnetics. Because the Micromag removes super-fine ferrous particles, it means that fluids are much cleaner and due to the cleaner fluid, you get less secondary sparking making the process much more efficient.”
