Se 36 | Ep 9
Sodick meets the challenge

When Wall Colmonoy needed to modernise its EDM machining capacity, the manufacturer turned to Sodi-Tech UK and the Sodick brand of wire EDM technology. As the industry benchmark in the manufacture of Colmonoy® surfacing and Nicrobraz® brazing products, precision castings, coatings and components, Wall Colmonoy had three key areas of concern in its wire EDM department. Installing a Sodick ALC800G Premium wire EDM machine resolved them all.
The Michigan-based company with European headquarters in Pontardawe, South Wales had two machines with table sizes of around 300 by 400mm, so any large work outside this envelope either had to be subcontracted out or turned away.

THE CHALLENGES

Wall Colmonoy had deadlines and capacity challenges – it needed a more productive solution that could improve cutting times. The third challenge was overcoming poor precision levels. With existing EDM machines over 10 years old, Wall Colmonoy needed precision levels to within +/-5 microns. It was Sodick that had the answer with its ALC800G Premium wire EDM machine. Looking at why the company invested in a Sodick ALC800G Premium wire EDM machine, Wall Colmonoy Process Engineer Kevin O’Connor recalls: “Our existing machines were ageing, and the programming side of manufacturing became very dated. We were also facing increasing maintenance costs and machine downtime.”

Supporting this opinion, Aaron Patton, EDM machinist at Wall Colmonoy says: “The programming was taking too long and the cutting process was extremely time-consuming. Another issue was capacity, we needed to put large parts on the machine, and we couldn’t do this with our existing machines.”

As Kevin O’Connor continues: “Sodick has had a relationship with Wall Colmonoy dating back 30 years. We went on a fact-finding tour of Sodick as well as other manufacturers to see if they could supply us with a suitable machine. We needed to know if they had a machine capable of cutting our specialist alloys. So, we took samples to Sodick for them to prove that the machines could do ‘exactly what they say on the tin’.”

Adding to this, the Business Development Manager at Sodi-Tech, Mr Tony Berry says: “Wall Colmonoy needed a machine with a capacity to accept their diversity of parts in both dimensions and complexity. The existing machines were too small and the Sodick ALC800G Premium wire EDM machine has a worktable of 800 by 600mm, more than double the bed size of existing machines. By purchasing the Sodick ALC800G Premium wire EDM machine, Wall Colmonoy can manage larger parts, eliminating the need to subcontract work to external sources.”

“The new ALC800G Premium has replaced one of the previous EDM machines and it is more productive than the two previous machines combined. This is a credit to both the productivity increase and the ability to run unmanned for extended periods overnight due to technology like the Smart Pulse electrical discharge power supply unit, Sodick’s Smart Linear technology, the fixed Jet AWT wire threading and the iGroove Plus wire rotation technology. From a programming and operational perspective, Wall Colmonoy can now process up to four different parts simultaneously in a single set-up – and even multiples of those parts.”

Confirming these points, Sodi-Tech UK Technical Sales Manager, Mr Conor Plaskitt adds: “The reason Wall Colmonoy decided to invest in the Sodick ALC800G Premium supplied by Sodi-Tech is to increase the capacity of what they can cut on the machine and take on larger components. This is one of only two machines of its type in the UK and from a market perspective, it really gives Wall Colmonoy an edge over their competition.”

Tony continues: “They have now had the machine for almost a year and it has performed very well. I think Wall Colmonoy are now ready to progress. As part of the free packages that we provide, we can offer advanced training that incorporates things like angle cutting, cutting compound angles, machining unusual shapes and moving on to the machining of specialist alloys, which is exactly what they do here at Wall Colmonoy.”

Looking back at the installation of the Sodick ALC800G Premium wire EDM, Aaron Patton, EDM machinist at Wall Colmonoy says: “When we took delivery of the machine there was quite a steep learning curve, but now we are running the machine confidently, the benefits are impressive. There is still an advanced course that we can undertake to further enhance our capabilities as well as maximise what we can get out of the machine.”