Page 70 - Fall 2023 EDM Today

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EDM Today Magazine Understanding wear adjustment slide control on the
AC FORM HMI EDM description page

The priority slide lets an operator select
whether a burn will be executed using:
• Minimum wear - strategy to preserve
the electrode.
• Compromise strategy - allows a
combination of lower wear and
speed mix.
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• Speed strategy - allows a faster
paced burn at the expense of some
electrode wear.

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What’s in a setting?
Below is a chart of three power settings. The middle two digits of a 4-digit power setting identifi es the VDI surface
fi nish. An example of each setting below has the same surface fi nish of 36 VDI. The energy for each spark to create
a crater with a 36 VDI is common to all three settings while the mixture of amperage to on time changes.

The fourth digit of power setting identifi es this strategy.
4 - Maximum speed – highest amperage, lowest on time.
3 - Compromise – lower amperage, higher on time.
2 - Minimum wear - lowest amperage, highest on time.

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Where I is amperage, T is on time in microseconds, and P is off time in microseconds. Please note these are
examples and not necessarily used for different applications and material combinations. Algorithms are applied
based on spark gap, depth and individual applications.

Gary Guertin
EDM Applications Engineering

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Q: How do I check the status of the Auto Grease System on my U6 Wire EDM, and what are its
intervals for greasing?

A: The main way to check the status of the Auto Grease System is to view the Consumable Health Status List
from the [Machining Prep.] screen on the [Preparation] page of the Hyper-i Control. You can expand the information
and detail on the Auto Grease System by pressing the [Procedure] button underneath the “Grease” topic on the left
side of the screen. This view provides detailed information on the consumable status of the grease cartridge and
the current greasing interval, and this screen also includes embedded detailed instruction information and buttons
for testing and resetting the grease alarms. A visual check of the Auto Grease Unit in the rear of the machine is also
recommended.

The Auto Grease Unit is set up and controlled by the machine, and its greasing interval is established via a param-
eter set by the Makino factory. The unit is set up by default to grease the main X- and Y-axes every 300 hours, and
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each grease cartridge (part # Y111Z0000669 – 400g tube of Shell Alvania S2/Gadus S2 Grease) provides 300
greasing intervals.
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