Sodick, Inc. hosted their Smart Technology Event on Oct 3-4. The event was located at their corporate headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois, and brought in over 200 attendees. The event aimed to introduce visitors to a new range of Rigid Linear Motor Driven Wire EDM Machines and a new Electrode Machining Center. An SL Series Wire EDM machine was launched at the event.  The SL Series features four models in two specification levels SL-G and SL-Q.  The SL600G Wire EDM was displayed during the event.  This machine is a Rigid Linear Motor Driven EDM that is coupled with glass scales on the X, Y, U and V axes, ensuring the highest possible precision and positioning accuracy.  The rigid linear motors have the optimum flat design and come with a 10-Year Positioning Accuracy Guarantee.  

The SL600G has an X, Y, Z travel of 23.62” x 15.75” x 13.78” (600 x 400 x 350 mm). Wire diameter can range from .002” to .012” (.05 to .30 mm).  The machine can accommodate workpieces up to 2,204 lbs (1,000 kg). Amongst the many new enhancements on the SL Series is the new Sodick Control SPW (Smart Pulse Wire), which uses the Windows 7 operating system and functions similar to a tablet.  The operation screen can switch between the traditional Sodick screen and the new tablet style screen to suite the operators preference. Additionally, a new Smart Pulse Generator reduces the number of cuts and time it takes to achieve the target surface finish.  Resulting in up to a 40% time savings compared to previous models.

The new TT1-400A was also introduced at the Smart Technology Event. Although the TT1-400A concept was first shown at IMTS 2012, the latest version of the machine was highlighted during this event, and is now available to the US market.  The TT1-400A is a High Speed Electrode Machining Center designed for precision graphite and copper electrode machining; it uses a 40,000 rpm high toque high speed HSK-E25 spindle.