Is your project a fit for wire electric discharge machining (more commonly known as wire EDM)?
Many people outside the world of precision machining don’t understand the intricacies and efficiencies achieved with wire EDM services. Some even perceive it as expensive or slow, when in reality, wire EDM machining is faster and more cost-effective than traditional CNC machining methods in certain situations.
What Is Wire EDM?
Ricaurte Precision Inc. (RPI) is a leader in Wire EDM machining, a highly precise manufacturing technique ideal for achieving complex shapes, tight corners, and precise geometries.
Wire EDM leverages electricity from a copper or brass wire submerged in water to remove material from a workpiece. While this technique isn’t a good fit for plastic parts, it works on all conductive materials, including hard-to-machine hard alloys.
4 Key Benefits of Wire EDM Services
Wire EDM machining offers many benefits for applications where precision, accuracy, and efficiency are critical. RPI often uses wire EDM to create parts for the medical and aerospace industries, though it’s also an excellent solution for many other sectors.
Here are four key benefits of wire EDM services:
1. Tight tolerances
Wire EDM’s ability to hold tight tolerances on precise features is unmatched. RPI consistently achieves tolerances as close as +/- 0.0002″ with wire EDM. This precision is particularly critical when working with hard alloys where methods like laser cutting or waterjet cutting fall short.
2. Intricate part geometries
Customers are often thrilled to learn that wire EDM allows them to create more complex and intricate designs. That’s because wire EDM machining can achieve sharp corners and intricate geometries beyond conventional machining’s capabilities.
Standard CNC machining tools are restricted by the tool’s radius when removing material. Wire EDM does not have the same spatial limitations. The wire that emits electricity in the EDM process enables the formation of incredibly sharp corners and tight-tolerance features.
3. Hard-to-machine materials
RPI routinely uses wire EDM services to machine challenging materials like carbide, tungsten, Inconel, titanium, and other hard alloys known for damaging conventional CNC machining tools. Wire EDM machining is well-suited to these materials because it is a tool-less machining technique that relies solely on electrical charge, not physical cutting tools.
4. Lights-out manufacturing efficiency
Wire EDM machines can run 24/7. Leveraging lights-out technology, we can set up multiple parts at a time on our EDM machines, just like our five-axis pallet systems and multi-axis lathes with 12 foot automated bar feed systems allowing for greater efficiency and shorter lead times.
Wire EDM Services at RPI
RPI has the right equipment for your job and the expert team to provide counsel.
We currently have three EDM machines in our shop, alongside a robust collection of other precision equipment, which is unique to a California machine shop of our size.
We’re proud to serve as expert partners to our customers. You can always count on us to offer suggestions on how to achieve your desired results with the utmost efficiency.
Request a quote to work with us today!
