Product category:
EDM wire cutting
News Release from: Agie Charmilles | Subject: De-ionisation service for wire EDM machines
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 24 April 2007
De-ionisation increases EDM resin life
up to 30%
A de-ionisation service for wire EDM machine users maximises resin life by up to 30% and ensures that 100% of a customer's resin is able to be accessed and utilised in the EDM process.
GF AgieCharmilles the EDM and milling machine tool specialist has reported huge interest and increased take-up of its Resintech de-ionisation service amongst EDM manufacturers in the UK and Ireland The Resintech System, aimed at wire EDM users, is growing in popularity for a number of interrelated reasons
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 17 May 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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Key amongst these is the significant bottom-line benefits the system delivers to customers which include - maximising resin life (by as much as 30%) and ensuring that 100% of a customer's resin is able to be accessed and utilised in the EDM process.
In addition to these benefits - the Resintech System also creates less waste and removes, from the customer's perspective, issues concerning its safe and responsible disposal - as well as it being a quick and simple system to use and administer.
Almost every wire EDM machine uses water as a dielectric fluid.
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To be effective within the EDM process - water must be treated by special ion-exchange resins (located within a de-ionisation container) to remove minerals and make it non-conductive and ensure its insulation function.
However, with many systems on the market there is an inherent problem associated with their use.
When these systems no longer produce de-ionised water - the assumption is that the resin has been exhausted - and that new resin is required.
This very often is not the case - but is a result of the channelling effect of water as it moves its way through the resin.
Said Brendan Kelly, account manager at Agie Charmilles: "When water flows through a de-ionisation chamber it forms channels".
"Resin beads that are outside of these channels (usually at the outer edges of the resin bed) do not get used - and the volume of this (unused) resin can be as much as 30% which amounts to a significant under use." As well as the channelling effect of water - a further problem associated with contact and compression of the resin beads results in the under utilisation of resin within the de-ionisation chamber.
Continued Kelly: "Imagine a barrel of tennis balls maintained under pressure.
Each ball will be compressed tightly against another with nothing being able to pass between these compressed surfaces.
Resin beads act in the same way - and surfaces that are not/cannot be exposed to the water flow fail to mix and dissolve properly." The Resintech System gets around the channelling and compression problems by agitating and stirring the resin bed - which means that water channels are broken up and fresh/new resin bead surfaces, are exposed.
* The system is 'fool-proof' too - when the EDM machine indicates that the dielectric fluid is out of range (ie under-performing) - the inlet hose from the Resintech System is disconnected and connected to a special pneumatic pump which agitates the resin.
Typically this operation takes no more than a couple of minutes and can be performed a number of times - over time - to ensure that all the resin in the chamber has been used.
The Resintech System is available in 50L containers and includes hoses, fixtures and adapters - making it universally applicable for all wire EDM machines.
Furthermore the System is delivered by Agie Charmilles to the customer's premises with a full charge of resin which, when exhausted, can then be collected, refilled and delivered back to the customer within 24h.
Concluded Kelly: "The Resintech System is popular with customers because it is efficient and hassle-free.
Not only does it deliver substantial bottom line benefits (such as reducing resin consumable costs) - it also removes the problems associated with the safe and responsible disposal of used resin, because this is managed by Agie Charmilles as part of the Resintech service.".
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