A wire EDM machine designed for micromachining uses negative air pressure to thread the fine wire.
Double Click For Full Screen
Makino’s UPJ-2 wire EDM machine orients the wire horizontally. This facilitates micromachining operations requiring fine wire, because the slug falls easily out of the way. One user of this machine is Hummingbird Precision Machine in Lacey, Washington. This video taken at Hummingbird shows how the machine threads the wire. Negative air pressure allows the machine to reliably thread wire as small as 20 microns in diameter.