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CONTRIBUTOR
Dale McCartney is general manager and vice president of business
development for Ohio Carbon Blank.
EDMs with toolchangers demonstrate the technology standardization
common among machinery and tooling suppliers.
everything in its right place and maintaining high standards
of workplace organization.
Technology standardization is quite apparent among
machinery and tooling companies that support CNC EDM
technology (see Figure 7). For example, the evolution of
electrode holders into reference sizes (50, 100 and 200 mm)
allows designers to establish process standards for any size
EDM electrode or part requirement. These holders precisely
position each tool within an EDM, making them integral to
productivity improvement. Automation, toolchangers, robot-
ics, flexible workpiece holding systems and palletization are
other forms of standardization that allow precise placement
of multiple parts, reducing operator input during electrode
milling, EDM or inspection.
CAM systems then integrate the standard workholding
and palletization systems with the movement of tooling,
electrodes or probes, acting as the "glue" to hold all the pieces
together. CAM dramatically reduces design time for EDM
processing, enabling the designer to choose preset standards
and apply a best-practice solution from a previous effort.
No matter what stage of continuous improvement your
mold shop is in, or what lean tools you use, the concepts of
sort, set in order and standardize are philosophies to live by
in your EDM operations.
FIGURE 7
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Ohio Carbon Blank
800-448-8887 x101 / 216-403-2251
dale@ohiocarbonblank.com / ohiocarbonblank.com