Huge machine meets challenges of material manufacturer

The Sodick ALC800G Premium machine at Wall Colmonoy

When global materials engineering group, Wall Colmonoy needed to modernise and upgrade its EDM machining capacity, technical capability and productivity, the multi-national manufacturer instantly turned to Sodi-Tech EDM and the Sodick brand for a solution. As the industry benchmark in the manufacture of Colmonoy surfacing and Nicrobraz brazing products, precision castings, coatings and engineered components, Wall Colmonoy had three key areas of concern in its wire EDM department. The installation of a Sodick ALC800G Premium wire EDM machine immediately resolved them all.

As a company that manufactures components for quality critical industries such as the aerospace, automotive, oil and gas, mining and energy sectors — precision, repeatability and cut quality are a necessity for the Michigan-based company which has is European headquarters in Pontardawe, South Wales. It is this market position that led Wall Colmonoy to invest in the world-leading Sodick brand, a name synonymous with quality, performance and prestige that boasts an incredible reputation in all the sectors the Swansea company operates.

With two ageing EDM machines that both had table sizes of around 300 x 400mm, any large work outside this dimensional envelope either had to be sub-contracted out or turned away. Secondly, like any leading manufacturer, Wall Colmonoy had deadlines and capacity challenges — and to overcome them, it needed a more productive solution that could reliably re-thread wire, run unmanned and improve cutting times. The third challenge was overcoming poor precision levels. With its existing EDM machines over 10 years old, Wall Colmonoy needed precision levels to tolerances within +/-5µm with impeccable levels of repeatability — and it was Sodick that had the answer with its ALC800G Premium wire EDM machine.

Discussing why the company invested in a Sodick ALC800G Premium wire EDM machine, Wall Colmonoy process engineer Kevin O’Connor, said: “Our existing machines were ageing, and the programming side of manufacturing became very dated. We were also facing increasing maintenance costs and machine downtime.”

Pictured right: a Sodick engineer with a Wall Colmonoy machinist

Supporting this opinion, Aaron Patton, EDM machinist at Wall Colmonoy, said: “The programming of our EDM machines was taking too long and the cutting process was extremely time-consuming. Our management was not particularly happy about this, as they wanted parts machined faster. Another issue was capacity, we needed to put large parts on the machine, and we could not do this with our existing machines. We were invited to the Sodick facility in Warwick for a day to look at available options. We were ‘wowed’ by the showroom, the hospitality and the expertise on hand to answer all of our questions.”

It was this visit and a longstanding relationship that were the catalysts for the decision to acquire the new Sodick EDM machine. Mr O’Connor continued: “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. As we produce our specialist alloys, we needed to know if they had a machine capable of cutting our materials. So, we took samples of our alloys to Sodick for the company to prove that the machines could essentially do ‘exactly what they say on the tin’.”

Adding to this, Tony Berry, the business development manager at Sodi-Tech EDM, said: “I have had a long-standing relationship with Wall Colmonoy that probably goes back over 30 years. I received a telephone call from the plant manager telling me that they were looking for a new machine. Because of our relationship, the plant manager came to me for recommendations. From there, I was invited to Wall Colmonoy to discuss options and specifications. They told us what size machine they wanted and stressed that the machine delivery date was also a critical factor. We had a machine coming into stock, so we could offer delivery in four to five weeks, which blew them away completely.”

Complex workpieces
Mr Berry added: “Wall Colmonoy needed a machine with a capacity large enough to accept their ever-increasing 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 x 600mm, more than double the bed size of existing machines. By purchasing the Sodick machine, Wall Colmonoy can manage larger parts, eliminating the need to sub-contract work to external sources or alternately turn work away. This will undoubtedly see the company win more business in the future.”

Another point of concern for Wall Colmonoy was productivity. Mr Berry commented: “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.

He continued: “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. The ALC800G can accept STEP, DXF and Parasolid models files and rapidly check, convert and manufacture the programmes, saving time for the machinist, especially as this can be undertaken while the machine is running.”

Pictured left: the large work envelope of the Sodick ALC800G Premium machine at Wall Colmonoy

Confirming these points, Conor Plaskitt, Sodi-Tech EDM technical sales manager, added: “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 with regards to the service they can offer. Couple that with the programming on the machine and the performance we can push out of it, it is a fantastic machine. We also have the technology to cut all of their exotic materials.”

He continued: “Wall Colmonoy has now had the machine for almost a year and it has performed very well, and I think the company 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 wire EDM, Aaron Patton, EDM machinist at Wall Colmonoy, said: “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.”

Mr O’Connor concluded: “The introduction of the Sodick ALC800G Premium machine means that we can wire EDM more-complex parts than we were capable of before. This will benefit our company financially as we move forward. It was undoubtedly the correct machine to purchase. Technically, it can achieve everything we need it to do. We have had excellent backup from Sodi-Tech — if we ever need anything from them, they are at the end of the telephone to support us.”