Sodick Provides More Speed and Nano Wear, Die Sinking with Just One Electrode
2008-12-01
The new SGF Generator from Sodick dramatically reduces electrode wear, while enabling EDM Die sink users to achiever sharper edges and cleaner corners. In addition, electrode costs are reduced as fewer electrodes are required for each job, usually only one, which also reduces the chance of error, particularly in setting up.
The SGF Generator is just the latest in a long line of productivity-enhancing developments from Sodick, the world’s largest manufacturer of EDM systems, a direct result of the company’s focus on creating solutions to solve its customers’ everyday manufacturing problems.
This uncompromising approach means that Sodick’s engineers insist on providing the best solution, even when that is a radical departure from the accepted norm. It was this determination that led to Sodick being the first mainstream EDM company to replace ball screw mechanisms, with their inherent problems of wear, inaccuracy and maintenance, with linear motor drives - a strategy which has made Sodick a market leader, with over 100,000 linear motor machines already installed across the world.
In exactly the same way, when Sodick looked to improve the performance of its die sink machines it went to the heart of the matter – and the heart of an EDM machine is its generator.
As Sodick Europe President, Jan van Egmond, explains; “When it comes to die sinking, customers are looking to increase their competitive edge. That means increasing the speed of the machining operation, of course, but they are also looking to achieve ever tighter tolerances, thinner ribs, sharper corners. In the past this led to rapid wear on the electrodes and the use of several electrodes for each job - a practical but less than ideal solution.
“The Sodick solution to these machining challenges has been to develop a new controller, the SGF Generator, specifically designed to achieve high speed machining with a single electrode, so shortening the machining process, eliminating the problems of multi-electrode positioning and increasing machining speed.“
The improved SGF generator or SGF II is based on the LP1G controller, announced in 2007, which had already reduced graphite electrode wear to less than 0.1% and increased machining speeds by as much as 20%, but for Sodick engineers, and their customers, that was just the start.
The development of the SGF generator has been made possible by use of linear motor drive mechanisms and their highly responsive performance. The SGF unit relies on a servo control and electrical power supply both developed to provide stable machining, while a high speed processor has also been incorporated into the electrical power supply unit.
The SGF generator provides greatly improved machining speed, at up to twice the previous rate with graphite electrodes (significant increases are also obtained even when used with copper electrodes) as well as ensuring the creation of a uniform surface, virtually eliminating burring, so improving corner cutting performance in comparison with the use of a conventional power supply.
Controlled tests with the SGF generator have provided impressive results, including the deep machining of rib shapes with virtually no wear on the electrode (0.03%) achieving high precision, high speed machining which would be impossible using milling operations, similarly “no wear” machining of sharp corner edges, turbine blades have also been achieved. In real-life example cases machining times have been reduced by as much as 40% at the same time as using a single electrode in place of two electrodes.
Jan van Egmond sums up; “With its astoundingly low graphite electrode wear rate of less than 0.06% (defined as “Nano Wear”) the SGF generator has changed the die-sinking process forever. In today’s tough economic climate those benefits make the difference between success and failure.”