Sixty Years of EDM
GF AgieCharmilles has been involved in EDM technology for some 60 years now. Its recent International Technology Show in Losone, Switzerland was a good place to sense the history and current status of this technology.
GF AgieCharmilles hosted its International Technology Show at its main building in Losone, near Locarno on Lake Maggiore in Switzerland
EDM (electrical discharge machining) got its start in 1952 when the Russian scientists, Boris and Natalya Lazarenko, first used electrical energy emitted by an energized electrode to remove metal in a controllable fashion. Two years later, a Swiss company introduced the earliest commercial machine tool using this metal removal process. Six decades later, GF AgieCharmilles (today’s corporate entity rooted in the original Swiss company) is still building die sinking, wire and hole-drilling EDM machines in Switzerland.
In addition to EDM, GF AgieCharmilles provides high-speed/high-efficiency milling and laser texturing technologies, as well as related customer services and support for these technologies. This range of technology is important, because the current state of EDM is best understood in a context where these technology components are combined in an automated, integrated manufacturing solution.
GF AgieCharmilles’ recent International Technology Show in Losone, Switzerland, commemorated the 60-year history and evolution of EDM, from its inception to its culmination as the critical process in advanced mold, die, toolmaking and high precision production. View this slide show to see what this event was all about.
Related Content
-
Buying a Lathe: The Basics
Lathes represent some of the oldest machining technology, but it’s still helpful to remember the basics when considering the purchase of a new turning machine.
-
Understanding Swiss-Type Machining
Once seen as a specialty machine tool, the CNC Swiss-type is increasingly being used in shops that are full of more conventional CNC machines. For the newcomer to Swiss-type machining, here is what the learning curve is like.
-
Choosing Your Carbide Grade: A Guide
Without an international standard for designating carbide grades or application ranges, users must rely on relative judgments and background knowledge for success.