Ohio-Based Tool & Die Company’s Arsenal of Mitsubishi EDMs Gives It Competitive Edge
“Having so many Mitsubishi machines makes it easier across the board, from training to making good parts on a consistent basis without having to work around machine types.”
John Stiles, McAfee Tool & Die senior programmer
How Mitsubishi EDMs are Integral to MTD’s Success
McAfee Tool & Die Inc. is known for producing intricate, highly accurate prototypes and parts for the automotive, medical, HVAC and aerospace industries. The company’s MC Machinery CNC machines and wire EDMs are integral to its success.
Founded in 1977 by Gary K. McAfee, the company has been located in Green, Ohio since 1987. Long considered a leader in the metalworking industry, it specializes in tool and die stampings, reverse engineering, concept design, prototyping, and permanent tooling services.
McAfee’s Mitsubishi machines include five wire EDMs, a four-axis CNC machining center and a five-axis CNC.
The wire EDMs allow the company to produce parts with a wide range of size and complexity, from very small gears to complex four-axis wire cutting in large parts.
“Having so many Mitsubishi machines makes it easier across the board, from training to making good parts on a consistent basis without having to work around machine types,” said MTD Senior Programmer John Stiles. “Similar machine controls and program code allow machinists to focus on the parts made and not which machine they are running.”
McAfee’s newest EDM is the Mitsubishi FA30V, a submerged wire EDM capable of providing the power for high-speed, high-accuracy machining of large work pieces (Z=675mm [26.5”] max guide clearance under the head) with network interface and fully utilized CAD/CAM data.
The wire EDMs are especially useful in cutting conductive material, including tungsten, carbide and exotic aerospace materials, Stiles said.
Because wire cuts are programmed and stored on the network, exact interchangeable parts with tolerances of less than 0.0002 inch can be produced without lengthy setup time. The latest revisions are updated to allow repeat parts to be made to customer specifications consistently. All machines are networked with live connections to the latest revisions, ready to run new or repeat parts 24/7.
“It frees up our operators to do other things, improving productivity” Stiles said. “Our wire EDM department can be run by only two people because of this.”