Manufacturing Magazine Highlights Shift to Automating EDM Processes

In its October issue, SME’s Manufacturing Magazine explored in-depth the move to automate EDM processes. Mark Cicchetti, Absolute Machine Tools’ EDM technical director, was featured in the article.

Before joining our team, Cicchetti had his own shop, so he first-hand knows the difficulties his current customers are facing. His advice on moving toward automation? Perfect your processes first.

“We started by installing the same workholding system on every machine in the shop,” he said. “You can take a part or electrode from the wire to the sinker, the mill to the grinder, the lathe to the CMM, and do so without repositioning it.”

With this standardization, Cicchetti was able to increase his shop’s EDM machine utilization from 3,500 hours to over 5,000 hours annually — without automating.

“You can add machinery, you can add tooling, but if you don’t optimize processes and the responsibilities of everyone involved, you’re never going to be successful,” he said.

Read the full article here.