4 Axis Wire Erosion
Slide fits and tapered profiles are achievable using wire erosion. Our wire erosion facilities allow us to machine profiles through parts up to 400mm high and, using 0.25mm diameter wire, we can produce internal corner radii of as little as 0.13mm. This capability enables us to produce components such as "up and away" cores with greater accuracy and repeatability. New for 2022, our Makino U6 H.E.A.T. is coupled with Visi PEPS wire programming software. PEPS allows us to program in 4 axis working with any 3D model or 2D data.
We can also cut the profiles with tapered sides (up to 30° depending on the height). This enables us to produce mould tool "up and away" cores with minimal fabrication.
The accuracy is dependant on the amount of skim cuts we take. For fast non-critical jobs we can use a single cut and have a tolerance of ±0.03mm. We can then add more passes to get to tolerances within ±0.004mm. These are obviously more time consuming, but necessary where high accuracy is essential.
We can wire erode steel (hardened and soft), aluminium, copper and carbide. In fact we can cut just about anything that conducts electricity.