Wire EDM machine

[gerritv]

I'd volunteer to house it...but not sure if I could fit it in

I think I'd use it a lot. The home use dynamic is different than commercial. Its slow so is expensive so you only use it when you need to commercially. At home, I could care less if its slow, start it up and go do something else.

Currently I'm making some minature tripan style tool posts & holders. You wouldn't send it out, you'd mill it which is what I'll do, but man, would ever be nice to have a wire edm burn it while I did something else....that sort of thing, you'd use it if you had it.

Can you post a thread? I drew up a toolpost from a snippet of Stefan's from a few years ago. Would be great on the Taig, and the Ellis WW lathe.

gerrit

 

[jcdammeyer]

What's the cost of a reel of EDM wire?

 

[kstrauss]

See https://www.mcmaster.com/edm-wire/
Looks like us$125 to us$280 for a 4kg spool.

 

[jcdammeyer]

See https://www.mcmaster.com/edm-wire/
Looks like us$125 to us$280 for a 4kg spool.

I think one has to have a really good reason to 'need' wire EDM at those prices and machines that start at the price of a small HAAS.

 

[kstrauss]

It looks like there is between 9,600 and 26,800 meters on a spool. How fast is it used? I think that most of us agree that a commercial wire edm is expensive; what about homebrew?

 

[Dan Dubeau]

It's been a while since I've run #'s to try and justify buying a WEDM for our shop, but there's no way around it. It's expensive. And maintenance intensive. We send anywhere from 30-100k/yr of WEDM work out, and as much as I would LOVE to have our own, it just never pencils out. But every 5-6 years (usually after a 100k year lol) I start exploring our options again. I'm due again soon, as it's been a while maybe this will be the year

For the home shop, it's a different story. I don't have to justify ANY of the tools in there. They just have to be interesting, and allow me to make cool stuff.

If I had the power and space at home, I'd buy an older commercial WEDM machine. They still work great, and are very accurate (they don't really "wear out" like mills, and lathes) but a lot of shops get rid of them as technology improves, and the operating cost goes down. If you're a professional shop, you can justify replacing old equipment. For the needs of a home shop, an old, large, quirky machine would probably do just fine. Picking up some overflow work could pay for it in a short period of time. Old Sinkers on the other hand, are DIRT cheap on the 2nd hand market. But limited in what they can do and their usefulness for an average home gamer. Plus you need support equipment to cut trodes. Lots of trodes.

 

[jcdammeyer]

So let's look at it a different way. What hobbies require parts that have been cut on a wire EDM? What hobbies that might have used a wire EDM are now making do with 3D printing. I must admit my 3D printer is now used to make things that I used to do in sheet metal or wood.

I can see for example if you have both you might use the wire EDM to make an intricate pattern in copper. Then use that to plunge EDM to create a negative or positive punch.

Just curious. I realize the power of it but I can't fathom how I'd use one in the home shop for my current set of 42 hobby projects.

 

[kstrauss]

So let's look at it a different way. What hobbies require parts that have been cut on a wire EDM? What hobbies that might have used a wire EDM are now making do with 3D printing. I must admit my 3D printer is now used to make things that I used to do in sheet metal or wood.

I can see for example if you have both you might use the wire EDM to make an intricate pattern in copper. Then use that to plunge EDM to create a negative or positive punch.

Just curious. I realize the power of it but I can't fathom how I'd use one in the home shop for my current set of 42 hobby projects.

So let's look at it a different way. What hobbies require parts that have been cut on a wire EDM? What hobbies that might have used a wire EDM are now making do with 3D printing. I must admit my 3D printer is now used to make things that I used to do in sheet metal or wood.

I can see for example if you have both you might use the wire EDM to make an intricate pattern in copper. Then use that to plunge EDM to create a negative or positive punch.

Just curious. I realize the power of it but I can't fathom how I'd use one in the home shop for my current set of 42 hobby projects.

Perhaps you'd think of a 43 project!

Seriously, ones tools tend to greatly influence how one approaches a project. Or even what projects to tackle.

 

[kstrauss]

I took a quick look for wire EDM goodies on eBay. There are numerous listings for components -- wire guides, vices, rollers and such -- but no listings for complete used machines. I wonder why.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

I'd use one in my home shop to make stuff for work .

I'd also make a lot of nice tooling for my personal use. Knifemakers, and gunsmithing has uses too. Cutting hardened steel for locks etc.

 

[jcdammeyer]

I took a quick look for wire EDM goodies on eBay. There are numerous listings for components -- wire guides, vices, rollers and such -- but no listings for complete used machines. I wonder why.

Same here. Took a while to even find some prices.
I myself have used my shop for building things for work. But for hobbies.
So I can see cutting out steel for knife blanks. How many knives does one need?
If I had one I'd likely use it to cut already hardened steel into tools and dies for stamping or cutting but that's usually again when you want to make lots of something.
So for a hobby what constitutes lots of something.