Sodick mixes water and electricity with explosive result

The company unveiled the technology at Chicago's IMTS show, September. The Hybrid Wire machine can rough cut (first cut) at a speed 20 times faster than wire-cutting by employing the waterjet process. Sodick has worked with Flow International to develop the technology which offers: graphite cutting at 10,150 mm² /minute (approx. 203 mm/min for 50 mm thickness); D2 (52 HRC) processing at 14,100 mm²/minute (94 mm/min for 150 mm thickness); while hole-cutting, previously requiring a separate machine, can also be performed on the Hybrid Wire EDM. Furthermore, the core, produced during transfer-press manufacturing, drops naturally, which also helps achieve automated operation. In short, once a hardened steel plate is set on a Hybrid Wire EDM, all the machining from initial hole-cutting, core handling and finishing can be performed automatically without operator intervention. With this revolutionary new wire EDM solution, Sodick is confident that the demand for electrical machining will continue to increase, as it will satisfy both high-speed and high-precision production, and in so doing help re-shape manufacturing processes. The company will be ready to receive orders for the machine at the end of this year and expects initial production to be five units per month, increasing to 10 units per month according to market demand.