High performance cutting machines including an EDM Machine or a laser cutter provide a level of speed and efficiency that allows many industries have come to depend on every day. Without them it simply would not be possible to manufacture that intricate machines that provide us the quality of life we have come to enjoy. These machines are prevalent in nearly every industry that provides manufactured products including aerospace, automobile defense, fabrication, medical, architectural, automation and institutional. At the heart of each of these industries and many others is a need for precise and quick cutting machines that work consistently well over time and are cost effective. EDM machines and several others fill this need.
Electircial Discharge Machines (EDM)
EDM machines are also commonly known as spark, spark eroding, burning, die sinking, or wire erosion machines. These highly specialized cutting machines discharge electrical impulses that can shape or cut through a desired piece of material. The material to be cut is submerged in a dielectric liquid the sparks a delivered between two electrodes. The tool and material never make contact the cutting is done with the sparks occurring between the two.
EDM has become a critical cutting tool in manufacturing and is now as valuable as milling and grinding equipment. This is primarily because of its ability to machine complex shapes in very hard metals. It has many uses in a shop but perhaps its most important use is in machining materials like carbide, high-speed or hardened steel, tungsten and other materials that are difficult to machine by traditionally.
Also because of its unique abilities EDM are perfect for the exotic materials used in the aerospace industries. Technologies today have allowed for machines that can create 3-D shaped objects and polish the finest and most intricate surfaces.
Waterjet Cutters
Waterjet cutters are also used widely in manufacturing. These high precision machines utilize either a high pressure stream of water or one that has abrasive materials added to it to cut through a large number of materials that are sensitive to heat. Materials including rubber, foam, plastics, leather, composites, stone, tile, glass, metals, food, and paper are examples that can be cut by waterjet cutters. These cutters do not have the same level of precision as EDM, but they are fast and can be used in a variety of situations.
Laser Cutters
The use of lasers in cutting machines has steadily grown since the early 1970s and now the industry is completely mature with machines being utilized across many industries every day. There are a variety of types and intensity of lasers available but they all work under the same principals.
A focused beam of light is controlled by a computer to either melts, burn, or vaporize material. Laser cutting is highly regarded because of its ability to create fast, precise, high-quality surface finishes.
Often the most sophisticated or larger manufacturers will have each of these cutting machines in their factory and they are employed for very specific jobs.
