Small part machining R.004"
Small part machining R.004"
(OP)
Ok, I have a potential part which is pretty small, although not microscopic. I need to get a 2d shape cut with corner radii on the order of .004". I'm working in titanium with a part thickness around .050"
Should I be looking into laser-cutting, waterjet, or EDM?
Should I be looking into laser-cutting, waterjet, or EDM?





RE: Small part machining R.004"
part sketch maybe
RE: Small part machining R.004"
It is metal so EDM is possible but my shop is saying our smallest EDM wire is .004" - can waterjet or laser cut smaller shapes than that?
RE: Small part machining R.004"
You can certainly get wire down to 0.05mm diameter (possibly even smaller) so you could go below .004" rads, however this would probably require special guides, wire and settings so cost would increase, unless you find a company that specialises in this type of thing.
RE: Small part machining R.004"
"What other info do you need? .050" thickness, so like a heavy gauge sheet metal, and a 2d shape I need to produce with internal corners around R.004" (Or less if possible) The lowest wall-thickness of the shape itself goes to around .020"
What does your geometry look like?
is it a flat piece with cut outs?
is it bent 90 deg or what?
You know what you want we don't have a clue.
to my experience wire cut is the best method to use for
precise machining very small lots. +/_ .0001
blank & pierce for large lots/production.
+/_ .0005
cnc punch for semi small large runs.
+/_.005
laser is very good for cosmetic designs with very liberal
dimensions. +/_.030 or more.
water jet works great for thick large jobs
also very liberal dimensioning is required.
+/_ .030 or more
so these tolerances can be subjective to the expertise of the shop & the personnel.
MfgEngGear
RE: Small part machining R.004"
I guess you could imagine the shape as a flat, lowercase 'e' - although the fully enclosed boundary could be drilled and I'm more interested in the thin arm across the bottom of the 'e'. No bends.
It sounds like wire is the best assuming we can find some that small, although I'm kind of surprised the laser is so (relatively) inaccurate.
RE: Small part machining R.004"
If you need a bunch of parts, the tooling for powdermetal might be affordable.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Small part machining R.004"
Your requirement is getting close to the limits of wire EDM, but it is possible. Some shops use wire as fine as 0.002 inches in diameter (0.05 mm), so you should probably contact some other EDM vendors, or have your shop investigate finer wire. Personally, I worked with Nitro EDM in Shelby Township, MI (suburban Detroit) to machine tiny grooves into die-cast Mg specimens (2-6 mm thick), where the groove width was 0.34-0.42 mm and the end radius was 0.13-0.18 mm. I agree with the others that laser and water jet will not be capable of meeting this requirement.
RE: Small part machining R.004"
Thomas J. Walz
Carbide Processors, Inc.
www.carbideprocessors.com
Good engineering starts with a Grainger Catalog.
RE: Small part machining R.004"