EDM/ECM MOULD TOOL MANUFACTURE
P20 high tensile tool steel and
copper beryllium. To keep pace with
requirements, Numatic makes
regular investments in its toolroom
capabilities, with EDM the latest
process to receive attention.
Numatic’s existing manual sparkerosion
capacity was coming up to
20 years old and the gap in
capabilities, compared with a new
CNC machine, was plain to see.
“We looked at various spark-
eroders, but for us it was more
about service and support,” says
Connett. “So, even though the
AD55L was our rst Sodick,
we chose it because Sodi-Tech EDM
came top of our assessments, in
terms of aftersales service.”
Installed in December 2019, the
Sodick AD55L offers X-, Y- and Z-axis travels
of 600 by 400 by 400 mm, respectively.
The machine comes with all the latest
technologies, such as linear motors,
ceramics, a motion controller and a discharge
unit. Sodi-Tech EDM supplied Numatic with a
ve-day training package.
“Even our most recently appointed
apprentice, who had no previous EDM
experience, quickly learnt how to use the
New Sodick high precision EDM die-sink
machines - the AL40G and AL60G - boast
artifi cial intelligence amongst many
innovations (see p27)
Sodick,” Connett highlights. “This is more
impressive when considering that all of our
work in the toolroom is one-off parts.
Importantly, our team – and the AD55L –
seem to handle everything that comes up.
We’ve certainly noticed the
difference since it was installed.
With our previous manual machine,
we would need three or four
electrodes to achieve our desired
end result, whereas on the Sodick
we just use a roughing and nishing
electrode. As you would expect, the
machine is also much quicker.”
Numatic, which is accredited
to both ISO9001 and ISO14001,
is independently rated as the UK’s
most reliable vacuum brand, with
longevity, ef ciency and
serviceability at the core of its
product design. These factors
also apply to the company’s
investments, including its latest
one, the Sodick AD55L.
“We’re really pleased with the
machine and the capabilities it brings,”
concludes the toolroom supervisor. “We’ve
only had one minor issue since it was
installed, but that was resolved the next day
by Sodi-Tech EDM. This level of response is
exactly why we opted for a Sodick.”
ECM skills shortage initiative
Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) is to lend its
expertise to an engineering company in a bid to
address a sector-wide skills shortage.
GCU researchers will work with Precision Tooling
Services Ltd (PTS) as part of a £211,000 Knowledge
Transfer Partnership (KTP) to increase the company’s
understanding of electrochemical machining (ECM) –
an effective process for cutting metals that are
unyielding to traditional methods.
Despite ECM’s effectiveness, its wider use in
industry is limited, due to perceived drawbacks, such
as high energy consumption and the generation of byproducts
that may be toxic and cause environmental
damage. Therefore, PTS has identi ed that research
and development work is urgently needed so that
ECM’s bene ts can be more widely exploited and the
company’s staff better trained in using it.
Commercial ECM expertise in the UK is limited,
so the GCU team, with its extensive R&D experience
in advanced manufacturing, aims to develop a smart
and sustainable process for using ECM and embed a
working knowledge of this process in house at PTS,
thus increasing its offering in the aerospace,
automotive and renewable energy sectors.
The GCU team running the 30-month project is
made up of Professor Anjali De Silva (pictured) and
Dr Ares Gomez, both of the School of Engineering and
Built Environment. Says Professor De Silva: “Our
research team has several decades’ experience with
industry collaboration and possesses globally
recognised expertise. We are delighted to be able to
help PTS address a UK-wide skills and capability
shortage in advanced manufacturing processes,
particularly in Scotland, which will enhance future
growth in this sector.”
A KTP is a relationship between a company and an
academic institution that facilitates the transfer of
knowledge, technology and skills to which the
company partner currently has no access. The KTP
scheme has been helping companies big and small
innovate for growth for more than 40 years and is led
by Innovate UK.
Professor Anjali
De Silva from the
Glasgow Caledonian
University is one of
the academics helping
Precision Tooling
Services better exploit
ECM
28 November 2020 | www.machinery.co.uk | MachineryMagazine | @MachineryTweets
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