Large EDM keeps 3D sharp
The pressure die cast tools produced by 3Dimensional are used to make large, critical automotive components such as gearbox housings and door panels
A new wire EDM installation at 3Dimensional Ltd is reducing setups for large pressure die casting tooling – speeding throughput and demonstrating best practice to its automotive customers.
Pressure die casting is a process where metal is melted and forced into steel die cavities through a channel by movement of a plunger. Due to the pressures involved, tight tolerances and impeccable surfaces need to be maintained on the tooling.
3Dimensional is not dependent on subcontractors for tooling manufacture and therefore deploys a progressive programme of investment. Last year the company spent around £200,000 on enhancing its manufacturing technology portfolio. This year, investment also runs into six figures, with its most recent acquisition being a Sodick AQ537L CNC wire EDM with linear motors from Sodi-Tech.
Around 80% of revenue at 3Dimensional is driven by the automotive sector. Companies supplied include Aston Martin, Borg Warner, BMW, Dura, Ford (Germany), GM, Landrover, Nissan, Perkins, Renault, Saab, and Toyota. Although the company deals mainly with tier one foundries, 3Dimensional has to liaise directly with automotive OEMs on a regular basis. Key to these relationships is the ability to demonstrate best practice manufacturing.
“Until recently we operated a wire EDM with a small working area of 320 x 220mm,” explains the company’s managing director Jason Callaghan. “As we make die casting tools up to 15 tonnes in weight, some of the inserts are quite substantial. Using our small EDM would sometimes require four or five re-positions to get a job finished. However, with our Sodick AQ537L, which has a working area of 600 x 570mm, we can leave a job running unattended overnight safe in the knowledge that one set-up is enough to find it complete in the morning.”
The pressure die cast tools produced by 3Dimensional are used to make large, critical automotive components such as gearbox housings and door panels. All of the tools are 1-offs and are manufactured typically from H13 tool steel up to 50HRc. Tolerances can be as tight as 0.012mm in some instances, and with certain billets costing up to £5,000 each, scrap is not an option.
“Machines such as the Sodick AQ537L provide a real competitive advantage,” concludes Mr Callaghan. “Although there aren’t many other companies in the UK that can handle pressure die cast tools up to 15 tonnes, China and the Far East will eventually find a way into this kind of work, so it’s important to stay sharp.”
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