EDM Technology
“The hot button for EDM drilling right now is shaped cool- ing holes for new engines in the aircraft industry,” said Bob Ianitelli, president, Belmont Equipment and Technologies (Madison Heights, MI). “I’ve also seen an increase in requests for very small holes in the 0.003–0.004" [0.08–0.10-mm] diameter range in production applications for new fuel-saving aircraft engine designs that require cooling holes for fan blades that are increasingly more complex. There isn’t one shape that everyone is using, some are trapezoidal looking shapes. Some are double angle 'V' shapes compared with conventional tapered shapes,” said Ianitelli.
EDM. You’re dealing with something the size of a hair that has to be loaded into a machine. Sometimes just the heat from your fingers can distort what you’re handling. We have the burning technology and are able to drill those in one-offs, but produc- tion is a different story, especially for fuel injector applications.” Developments in small-hole EDM drilling are shrouded in mystery to a certain degree about the exact machining techniques that are being used. “Even at trade shows,” said Ianitelli, “Nobody really shows how they are putting shapes in with their EDM drilling processes.”
On another note, Ianitelli said that there is a definite increased need in the market for large sinker EDM machines. “We’re seeing a big uptick in larger EDM sinkers for making the smaller cuts that are going into large tools. Where in the past, the mold for an entire instrument panel or fascia would have been EDMed with one large electrode, now our large two-headed sinkers are EDMing smaller cuts for the clips that are holding them on,” said Ianitelli.
Drilling Smaller, Deeper, and More Precise Holes EDM holemaking technology is being driven by demand
Small-hole EDM drilling.
“Right now what’s up for discussion is how to create the dif- ferent shapes,” said Ianitelli. “Some are done on sinkers, lasers, and EDM drills. Which shapes are the most efficient is still up for discussion, as it is application based.” Selecting the right process for the application is very much Belmont Equipment’s approach to designing a machining solution matched to its customer’s application. “We talk about the application first and are able to partner to the level that our customer wants. We can supply just the machine, or provide a total engineered turnkey process with the part, and proven on our shop floor before being shipped to the customer.”
Where two methods of EDM are used, an EDM drill in con- junction with a sinker or high-speed mill, a palletizing system (whether it’s from EROWA, 3R, or Hirschmann) allows moving parts from one machine to the other without any mismatch. “Palletizing is our recommended way of doing it if you’re using a two EDM machine process,” said Ianitelli. Not only do holes vary in size for aircraft engines, and automotive injectors, but medical implants continue to chal- lenge the limits of small-hole machining with EDM. “If you look at drilling a hole the size of 0.004", it’s a really difficult hole to
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ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com | November 2013
for smaller, deeper and more precise holes produced as fast and as consistently as possible. “What essentially started with conventional EDM hole-popper machines has evolved into advanced EDM drilling systems that further enhance the capabilities of their predecessors in terms of hole size, depth, surface finish and accuracy, as well as in process speed, reli- ability and simplicity,” said Ken Baeszler, product manager at GF AgieCharmilles (Lincolnshire, IL).
“In the past, it was a truly significant accomplishment to drill a 0.006" [0.150-mm] diameter hole 0.125" [3-mm] deep in hardened steel using a 0.004"-diameter electrode on an EDM hole-popper machine. Today’s technology makes it possible to drill the same hole upwards of twice as deep or drill one that is 0.040" in diameter 6" deep and varying in size and straightness no more than 0.001" [0.025 mm] from its entrance to exit. Plus, being able to do it using only one elec- trode and little, if any, operator intervention,” said Baeszler. Present EDM drilling systems are fundamentally a merging of EDM hole-popper technology with that of die-sinker EDMs. At the heart of these precision machines is the latest digital generator technology adapted from the die-sinker side of the family. “These state-of-the-art digital generators are much more efficient with higher output that delivers speed, consistency and precision. And they consume less energy,” said Baeszler.
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