Contract Medical Manufacturing Company Manufactures Slots, Notches and Cross Holes Facilitating Surgical Procedures
CNC Wire EDM is commonly used when low residual stresses are desired because this process does not require high cutting forces for removal of material. This is especially valuable in close tolerance medical device manufacturing.
In the photograph, a wire is cutting features into 15 fixtured parts simultaneously. Within the CNC Wire EDM process, a thin single-strand metal wire (usually brass) is fed through the work piece while submerged in deionized water. The electrically charged wire, which is constantly fed from a spool, is held between upper and lower diamond guides; the guides, usually CNC-controlled, move in the x–y plane. On most machines, the upper guide can also move independently in the z–u–v axis, giving the ability to cut tapered and transitioning shapes (e.g., circle on the bottom, square at the top). With multiple axis movement capability, CNC Wire EDM can be programmed to cut very intricate and delicate shapes.
CNC Wire EDM at Marshall is often used for the following Medtech applications:
- Prototype and production
- Complex shapes that would otherwise be difficult to produce with conventional medical device manufacturing tools
- Extremely hard material with very close tolerances
- Very small components where conventional cutting tools may damage the part from excess cutting tool pressure
- With no direct contact between tool and part, delicate sections and weak materials can be machined with minimal distortion
- A desired surface finish can be obtained