Die-Sinking EDM with Part- and Electrode-Changing Robot
The AgieCharmilles FORM X 400 with System 3R WorkPartner 1+ from GF Machining Solutions speeds output by bringing all production technologies together in one process chain. Users also benefit from the updated control interface’s advanced levels of logic, speed, and safety.
Posted: February 10, 2020
Three GF Machining Solutions (Lincolnshire, IL) brands enable manufacturers to ramp up output and reduce time to market by bringing all production technologies together in one automated process chain.
Like all AgieCharmilles die-sinking EDMs, the FORM X 400’s Intelligent Speed Power Generator (ISPG) is the world’s most powerful die-sinking EDM generator. The discharge circuit provides spark erosion power modulation for high flexibility and maximum material removal. For example, the system optimizes micromachining processes so that fewer electrodes are needed to machine sharp internal corners.
System 3R’s compact WorkPartner 1+ (WPT1+) robot for part- and electrode-changing maximizes magazine capacity in minimal floor space, making it easy for manufacturers to start with a single magazine and add one or two as required. Nine models meet the needs of a broad range of milling, grinding, EDM, and laser micromachining equipment.
With its flexible one-, two-, or three-magazine capacity and fully integrated pneumatic control for gripping devices and table chucks, the robot can serve one or two machines in a production cell. Generously sized magazine doors for loading and unloading and rapid change cycles make the unit equally efficient for one-offs or serial production.
With its central database, System 3R’s WorkShopManager (WSM) control software keeps production running with standardized procedures and manages the automation process while making it easy to add new machines in the future.
WSM allows job lists to be interrupted so an urgent part can be machined; upon completion, the cell automatically returns to the list of jobs to be executed. Additionally, WSM helps eliminate the need to have all parts and electrodes 100% ready before executing a job. Machining can start while parts and electrodes are being measured and loaded into the robot magazine, and WSM seamlessly updates the information about the running job as parts are loaded.
The AC FORM human-machine interface (HMI) is logically organized with a single menu level containing all icons in chronological order of use. TECFORM EXPERT module allows the machine to quickly and safely produce the desired results. For further process optimization, industry-specific technologies free the operator from the task of adjusting generator parameters.
A thermal control system uses temperature-stable dielectric fluid to cool the machine’s X, Y and Z-axis glass scales, and Z-axis ball screw. The machine body is thermally isolated from the high-speed Z axis and all moving parts are fully disassociated from the loading and machining area to ensure temperature variations and particularly heavy or light workpieces don’t affect machining and measuring accuracy.
GF Machining Solutions, 560 Bond St., Lincolnshire, IL 60069, 847-913-5300, Fax: 847-913-5340, www.gfms.com/us.
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