Machining an IMPOSSIBLE Copper Electrode

追加: 2026-05-21

[00:00:00]Today we're on our Sodic UX 650L. We'll be machining a piece of copper into an electrode for our Sinker ADM.

[00:00:12]This mill is one part of a three-step process. First, we machine the electrode here. Then, our robot seamlessly transfers it to the Sinker EDM. The robot ensures that transfer is hands-free and perfectly timed. When machining copper, it's gummy and abrasive. Machines like this are purpose-built for electrode manufacturing. When surface finish and accuracy matter this much, this is the kind of machine you want making your electrode. One tiny flaw or one tiny imperfection on the electrode can completely change the outcome once it reaches the sinker EDM.

[00:00:47]All right, now that we have our stock loaded in our machine, we're going to go ahead and load our program and get ready for our first cuts. Now, since we're cutting copper, it's really not that much different from cutting 6061 aluminum, though it does tend to grab your tool a little bit more. For the first cut, we're going to be cutting this dry so that you can see all the roughing. For the next two cuts, the pre finish and final finish, we'll be cutting with coolant so we can get the best possible surface finish out of this part.

[00:01:16]All right, so we have our program loaded into our machine. We have our tools loaded into our machine. Right now, the tool is about to do its probing. The probing cycle right here enables us to just load our tools straight into the machine and not have to worry about probing all of our tools before we start our program. All we have to do just put our tools in, hit go, it'll do all the probing for us, and then we can start our operation. So, right now, we're getting ready and the probing is all complete. We'll go ahead and start our roughing operation.

[00:02:04]Now, because we're doing this on our SOD, we're actually going just a little bit under 15,000 RPM right here, 150 in a minute. And as you can see right here on our graphic, we have a real-time display on what is actually happening to the part right now. So, we're able to check our roughing, make sure that everything is going smoothly. And since we're running in copper, we really don't have to worry too much about running it with coolant right now. We'll be running it with coolant once we do the uh pre finish and finish.

[00:02:42]What's really nice about this machine is that all the noise you're hearing right now, 90% of it is just from the cut itself. This machine is so quiet because of those linear motors. It makes almost no noise whatsoever.

[00:03:02]The other thing that's really nice about this is that since it's running on linear motors, even though it has a little bit of slowdown once it goes into a corner or goes to a spot where it has to stop, for example, that cut right there, it's almost going 100% at its optimal feed rate. Meaning that when it has to go into a corner or a pocket, once the tool comes in and hits those edges, it's really not slowing down hardly at all. So, we're running a 6 millm endmill from OSG. This tool is absolutely fantastic. Running it dry, I've already ran it a couple times before. This has absolutely no issue running through copper or aluminum or anything like that.

[00:03:44]So, we just finished our roughing. The part looks really nice for just being roughed out. All these ridges here are obviously going to go away as we uh continue to finish the part out, but so far looks really good.

[00:03:57]Originally, we were going to use coolant for the uh second operation, but because we want you guys to be able to see what's going on, we're actually just going to be using through air. You can use through air or spindle oil. I'll show you how we can do that later on. Uh it's a really simple adjustment on the machine, and uh that gives you the option to either use air or spindle oil.

[00:04:27]Now, those hoses on the side right there are just putting in some air on the tool to push the chips away so nothing gets bound up. You can see that we have coolant flushing everything down just so that we get all the chips out of the way and so nothing binds up. But other than that, it's looking good. So, our 6 mm tool came in and did all the roughing.

[00:04:46]This right now is just doing a pre finish. Just getting all those ridges taken down so that our next tool can come in and do a final finish and get everything absolutely smooth and perfect on this electrode. What's really great about this machine is that since it's using linear motors, everything is so precise and so accurate. And you really need that, especially when making electrodes like this, whether they're out of copper or out of graphite. You need that absolute precision. whatever your part looks like when it comes out of the machine, it'll make that same exact imprint into the next part in your Sinker ADM. Because this machine has linear motors and a 40,000 RPM spindle, you can go up to 150 in a minute on your prefinish with absolutely no issue. So, what's actually pretty cool is that this machine has two separate nozzles where you can run either your regular coolant or oil, but it also has a secondary nozzle where you can run oil mist. You can change it from oil mist to just running straight air, which is what we're doing right now. So, if we come over here, we can check this out right here. This little dial right here is currently at zero, which means we're running no oil. Before it was at a three, but because we want to be able to see what we're doing. We want you guys to be able to see all the machining, we dialed it down to zero, so we're just running straight air right now.

[00:06:08]All right. So, that's it for operation number two. Uh, it's done all of its prefinish. We can actually check it out here if we want to. So, next we're going to just move on to our final finish. For that, we will be using coolant. So, we're going to try and get you in there to see as much as possible, but more than likely you'll see everything after the machining process is totally complete.

[00:06:43]This is why I love running parts on this machine. It gets everything just absolutely so clean. Such great finishes on this part here. And again, whatever your surface finish is here is what it's going to reflect in your sinker. So, if you have a bad surface finish here, you're going to get a bad surface finish in your sinker. So, it's really important that we get an absolutely beautiful finish, which we did with this part. One of the cool things about the UX 650L is that it's available with a dedicated graphite package. And what you're seeing on your screen right now is that package in action. This video comes to us courtesy of Jandler, one of Sodex's customers. This package provides pristine dust control, clean electrode machining, and flawless precision. This is graphite work at its absolute finest.

[00:07:24]If you want to learn how to program machines like this one, be sure to head over to titansofcnc.com and join our free online academy. We have over 700,000 students already enrolled in our academy where you can learn CAD and CAM, all 100% free, and learn how to program and operate machines from threeaxis mills to multiaxis Swiss. And if you're interested in purchasing a machine like this, be sure to reach out to Keith at titansofcnc.com.

[00:07:49]Be sure to like and subscribe and we'll see you in the next one. Hey, if you haven't already, make sure you check out our app, MFG Connect. It's on Apple and Android. It's pretty sweet. You can upload your projects, show off cool tool paths, and connect with other machinists like me and Barry. You can show off your work, upload your projects. I hope to see you there.