Milling Machine's Oil Curtain Captures Fine Graphite Particles
Dust-free graphite mills eliminate graphite dust while milling graphite electrodes.
EDM Network and Chmer EDM are offering a series of dust-free graphite mills to eliminate graphite dust while milling electrodes. These mills are available with ballscrew drives and three-axis linear motor drives with precision glass scales for optimum precision and speeds. Fourth and fifth axes are available with Siemens 840D CNC controls and drives.
EDM-compatible oil in the oil shroud surrounds the 30,000-rpm spindle, capturing all of the fine graphite particles in the oil curtain thus produced. The particles are then filtered through two 30-micron filters before the system returns the particles to the oil reservoir to be reused. The use of the oil during high-speed milling can also prolong cutter life, reduce graphite chipping and improve electrode surface quality, the company says. The graphite electrode does not experience any detrimental effect after being soaked in the oil. Larger models can mill hardened metals up to HRc 63.
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