Bottom of the Work Tank Durability

AGMantz · Dec 20, 2022

Hey all,

I was cutting a 6 x 8.25 x 4 Beryllium block out in our Mits WEDM, long story short the game plan I had to remove this block from the machine didn't go to plan and it fell hard to the bottom of the work tank, from visual inspection nothing seems damaged and I had moved the bottom head to the opposite side of the machine just in case this did happen so the head is fine. From the loud bang and the eruption of water from the tank I was pretty worried about damaging the bottom of the tank, so my question is how much abuse can the bottom of the tank take? I obviously don't plan on having anything else fall like that again but mistakes happen. Can a block falling like that cause irreparable damage? Is there anything other than the obvious that I should look for damage wise when something like that happens?

Thanks,
-AGMantz

Also if anyone has any good consistent methods for taking big blocks like that out of the tank when magnets aren't an option please share.

Milland · Dec 20, 2022

No answers to your questions, but at least it was beryllium and not steel. And I hate to guess how much that much Be costs...

SteveEx30 · Dec 20, 2022

If they are anything like the Mits sinkers they are extremely robust and can take a lot more abuse than that trust me. Shouldn't have anything to worry about...

Small block like that, I have a heavy duty C clamp with an eyebolt welded on it. Picks up blocks that size no prob.. Prefer this to slings when magnets are not an option..

Your safety guy won't like it so keep it in a bottom drawer lol

Strostkovy · Dec 23, 2022

Was it straight beryllium? Shouldn't that block only be 13 pounds?

SteveEx30 · Dec 23, 2022

I'll go ahead and assume his block size was in inches.....
Over 60lbs!

Milland · Dec 23, 2022

SteveEx30 said:
I'll go ahead and assume his block size was in inches.....
Over 60lbs!

Nah, we're talking Be, not steel. A rough weight of a steel block that size is ~56lbs, if pure Be then it's closer to 13lbs as Strostkovy said.

plastikdreams · Dec 23, 2022

Most edm tanks I've seen are pretty robust castings.

SteveEx30 · Dec 23, 2022

Milland said:
Nah, we're talking Be, not steel. A rough weight of a steel block that size is ~56lbs, if pure Be then it's closer to 13lbs as Strostkovy said.

You think he's asking how to safely remove a 12lb block? I think not.

plastikdreams · Dec 23, 2022

I usually use my hands...when I have heavy stuff to cut I leave 20k on the cut and knock it off outside the machine. Or in the machine if I can control its fall.

Milland · Dec 23, 2022

SteveEx30 said:
You think he's asking how to safely remove a 12lb block? I think not.

In the spirit of the season I'll be nice: read his post again. Carefully.

plastikdreams · Dec 24, 2022

Milland said:
In the spirit of the season I'll be nice

Gtfo lol

wdevine · Dec 24, 2022

Once I was loading a 2500lb round piece in one of our big wires, and it tipped off the table into the tank. It didn't move very fast but actually busted a hole in the sheet metal. Sealed it up with some jb weld and went on my way.

Milland · Dec 24, 2022

plastikdreams said:
Gtfo lol

Hey, I can be nice. It just takes a lot of effort...

HS70A Brother · Dec 26, 2022

AGMantz said:
Hey all,

I was cutting a 6 x 8.25 x 4 Beryllium block out in our Mits WEDM, long story short the game plan I had to remove this block from the machine didn't go to plan and it fell hard to the bottom of the work tank, from visual inspection nothing seems damaged and I had moved the bottom head to the opposite side of the machine just in case this did happen so the head is fine. From the loud bang and the eruption of water from the tank I was pretty worried about damaging the bottom of the tank, so my question is how much abuse can the bottom of the tank take? I obviously don't plan on having anything else fall like that again but mistakes happen. Can a block falling like that cause irreparable damage? Is there anything other than the obvious that I should look for damage wise when something like that happens?

Thanks,
-AGMantz

Also if anyone has any good consistent methods for taking big blocks like that out of the tank when magnets aren't an option please shape

I will never EDM Beryllium. Please research Beryllium Toxicity. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK585042/

Brian Pfluger · Dec 26, 2022

AGMantz,

From a "Best Practices" standpoint...the work piece or slug should NEVER be allowed to drop directly in the machine on its own! It is always BEST to hold & contain, clamp, and support a drop away section. Having a part accidently fall to the bottom of the work tank shouldn't result in any major damage to the machine, but you may want to be mindful of painting or sealing up any digs in the bottom of the work tank, as any exposed machine casting material might begin to rust.

The biggest NO-NO with allowing parts or slugs to drop freely within the machine is the potential damage that can occur to the machine's Lower Head. At a minimum this will disrupt your vertical alignment and taper cutting accuracies, but dropping parts freely might also damage the Lower Flush Cup, the Lower Arm Bellows, or result in a machine crash all together.

It is quite common to drop smaller sized slugs (1/2" square or smaller) freely in the machine, but these slugs should ALWAYS be removed at the end of each and every cycle! I have seen several production applications where an operator drops multiple slugs and ignores and leaves them to collect in the bottom of the work tank. This gross operator negligence has resulted in machine alignment issues (scrapped parts) and machine component damage because the slugs have been allowed to build-up to the point that the Lower Head is hitting, pushing, and running over slugs as the machine moves around the work tank! So don't be THAT guy!

HS70A Brother has also identified a key critical safety item! While Beryllium is an easy material to EDM, exposure to its debris is a safety hazard to the operator. The biggest item is to avoid breathing in any dry debris, but you should also minimize exposure to skin as well, as Beryllium is a well-known carcinogen that causes cancer. Your spent filters are also considered a hazardous waste and should be disposed of properly according to your local EPA regulations.

- Brian

AGMantz · Dec 27, 2022

Just to clear up some things the dimensions I gave in the original post were in inches, the material is BeCu, and it was well over 13lbs.

Thanks,
-AGMantz

Milland · Dec 27, 2022

Yeah, BeCu is different than Be. Worked plenty of BeCu when I was making microwave rotary joints, back in the late 70's/early 80's. At least it wasn't osmium you were cutting...

AGMantz · Dec 27, 2022

Milland said:
Yeah, BeCu is different than Be. Worked plenty of BeCu when I was making microwave rotary joints, back in the late 70's/early 80's. At least it wasn't osmium you were cutting...

yea.... it dawned on me during x-mas dinner that I may have miscommunicated the material type.

Adam Splitter · Jan 1, 2023

AGMantz said:
Hey all,

I was cutting a 6 x 8.25 x 4 Beryllium block out in our Mits WEDM, long story short the game plan I had to remove this block from the machine didn't go to plan and it fell hard to the bottom of the work tank, from visual inspection nothing seems damaged and I had moved the bottom head to the opposite side of the machine just in case this did happen so the head is fine. From the loud bang and the eruption of water from the tank I was pretty worried about damaging the bottom of the tank, so my question is how much abuse can the bottom of the tank take? I obviously don't plan on having anything else fall like that again but mistakes happen. Can a block falling like that cause irreparable damage? Is there anything other than the obvious that I should look for damage wise when something like that happens?

Thanks,
-AGMantz

Also if anyone has any good consistent methods for taking big blocks like that out of the tank when magnets aren't an option please share.

I'd have to take a look at the program drawing to be sure, but with the dimensions you are speaking of i would have used some good clamps like cantwists. Add an M01 near the end of your slug break off so you can drain the tank, drop the door and secure the slug. To prevent a pinch, clamp feom top to bottom of you entry point. I have clamped a 30 lb. D2 steel slug using just 1 Cantwist clamp and it held very well. Would have held 50 lbs easily. I use to use iridium mags and have found that they're over rated. They'll also cause your wire to flutter with the strong magnetic current giving your part an odd finishand possibly out of spec readings depending on how tight your tolerances are.
The bottom of your work tank should be very ridged and able to handle lots of abuse if the machine has been properly taken care of. If there is a lot of corrosion in the bottom though, you may want to drape a saftey net around the work surface to catch wild getaway slugs lol!

Good luck buddy!

Bottom of the Work Tank Durability

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Diamond

Diamond

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AGMantz,​

Aluminum

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AGMantz,