Sticker shock!!!!

[jdm61]

I e-mailed a local shop that does wire EDM and asked what it would cost to slice up a 2 x 2 x 15 billet of mosaic steel into 1/8 thick lengthwise slices and surface grind them down to .093. The answer I got back was $425. I thought that was high but not out of control, but then I wrote back and asked if that was for the billet or per slice. they said per slice. OMGWTFBBQAFLCIONCAA!!!!! Is that typical pricing? You could by a used small EDM machine for not a whole lot more than the cost of slicing up one billet!!!!

 

[Drew Riley]

Your looking at about 225" of cut in a 2" thick piece of steel. IIRC, a decent EDM will run about 10 sq. inches per hour, so you're at around 45 hours (give or take) just on the EDM. At around $100/hr shop rate, that's $4500 just for the EDM cuts, or about $300/slice, sans grinding. Now, there's a chance that the billet will start curling up like a pretzel when you start cutting slices off, so add straightening time, not to mention grinding, and $425 starts looking about right.

Now, you might find a shop to do it cheaper, but it's still likely to come out to hundreds per piece, and you still may not guarantee you come out with 15 to 16 "flat" pieces.

 

[butcher_block]

you neeed a roll in saw i have cut slices 1.5x9x1/8 and they held consistent over the length by a few thou. did have to babysit it a hair but if i had a coolent system that woudld not be the case. sure you loos a bit more due to the kerf but .020 per cut is a bunch cheaper then 300bucks worth of edm work

 

[JTknives]

Yeah I ran an EDM for a number of years and it's pricy, we where $150/hr. used it to cut out baffles in titanimum suppressor cores. It ended up being cheeper to burn through carbide endmills then run the wire. Also the cost of the .010 half hard brass wire was not cheep .

 

[jdm61]

Butch, I checked out some of those saws in Youtube. Pretty cool, but the only potential problem that I can see is the length of cut you can make. Is 9 inches the longest "slice" you have made with one?

you neeed a roll in saw i have cut slices 1.5x9x1/8 and they held consistent over the length by a few thou. did have to babysit it a hair but if i had a coolent system that woudld not be the case. sure you loos a bit more due to the kerf but .020 per cut is a bunch cheaper then 300bucks worth of edm work

 

[Salem Straub]

You can just use a larger vertical bandsaw with feed apparatus, on some saws such as old Grobs it's just a sled built into the table surface with a system of various weights to pull it toward the blade. That and some coolant and you're golden. Probably mist would be the way to go rather than flood.

 

[jdm61]

I was looking on eBay and you can buy one of those Pull In saws new for about what this guy wanted to cut up a billet with EDM. The problem is that I don't have that kind of cash and if I did, I would buy a smallish power hammer first. I noticed that people on eBay have kinda figured out that machines like hammers, old surface grinders, pipe threaders and saws are in demand, so the prices seem to have gone up a fair bit in the last couple of years. I was watching videos of those saws in action and figure that to get he maximum yield, you would probity have to just most of the way through so you billet looked like a long fork with a lot of teeth and then just cut off the end to free up the slices.

You can just use a larger vertical bandsaw with feed apparatus, on some saws such as old Grobs it's just a sled built into the table surface with a system of various weights to pull it toward the blade. That and some coolant and you're golden. Probably mist would be the way to go rather than flood.

 

[butcher_block]

i have only cut like 9 inch but i think maybe 14 inch is longest travel i can look next time i walk out to the shop BTW Jet also knocned off the USA made saw and it was liek 1500 new so maybe you can find one of those i got mine used for 2200 picked it up 2 hours from me at a tooling supply house (they opened up on the weekend for me and loaded it onto my truck )

 

[jdm61]

i have only cut like 9 inch but i think maybe 14 inch is longest travel i can look next time i walk out to the shop BTW Jet also knocned off the USA made saw and it was liek 1500 new so maybe you can find one of those i got mine used for 2200 picked it up 2 hours from me at a tooling supply house (they opened up on the weekend for me and loaded it onto my truck )

Nice score!!!! Those higher quality machines can be pricey!!!!!