Sodick wire and sinker EDM repair in Illinois

Linear-motor EDMs, headquartered in Schaumburg

Sodick is best known for EDMs built with linear motor drives, and its machines are common in Illinois tool and die shops, moldmakers and precision job shops. Sodick’s North American headquarters is in Schaumburg, so it’s no surprise that you’ll find Sodick wire EDMs, sinker EDMs and small hole drills in toolrooms across the Chicago area, alongside Sodick high-speed mills and, in some plastics shops, Sodick injection molding machines.

LocalSpindle techs work on Sodick wire and sinker EDMs, including the generator, motion system, auto-threading, filtration, dielectric system and controls.

Linear motor drives

Most machine tools use a rotary motor and a ballscrew to move each axis. Sodick EDMs use linear motors, with no ballscrew, which allows very smooth, precise motion and fast servo response for the EDM process. Linear motors don’t wear like ballscrews, but they have their own needs: clean scales, good cooling, correct servo tuning and protection from contamination.

Linear motor problems usually show up as position errors, servo alarms, or poor cut quality. We check scales, motor cooling, cables and connections, and servo settings, and we look at the mechanical guides and bearings.

Wire EDM problems

Wire EDM problems include auto-threading failures, wire breaks, poor surface finish, accuracy problems, filtration and resin issues, and dielectric temperature and conductivity problems. Auto-threading failures are common and usually come from worn guides, the annealing system, the wire path, the cutter, water jet alignment or a dirty start hole.

Wire breaks can come from flushing, power settings, wire quality, worn guides or poor conductivity. We work through them systematically and fix the actual cause.

Sinker EDM problems

Sinker EDM problems include servo instability, arcing, slow burn rates, poor finish, electrode wear, flushing and dielectric oil issues, and generator faults. On sinkers with tool changers, the changer itself can cause problems. We check the generator, servo, flushing and oil system, and the mechanics.

Filtration and dielectric systems

EDMs depend on clean dielectric: deionized water on wire machines, oil on sinkers. Clogged filters, exhausted resin, a failing chiller or a leaking pump affect cutting and accuracy. We service and repair filtration, resin, chiller and pump systems, and we can help you set up a maintenance schedule so they don’t fail in the middle of a long job.

Older Sodick machines

Many Illinois toolrooms still run older Sodick machines that have been in service for many years. Their controls, generators and power supplies may be aging. We support them, back up their data, and tell you honestly when a machine is getting hard to support.