ABOUT US SERVICES EQUIPMENT CAMPUS MAP
EMAIL US ABOUT US SERVICES EQUIPMENT CAMPUS MAP
EMAIL US Q. How do I need to prep my part before I give it to 4B?
A. If you supply us with a part that already exists there are a couple of things to keep in mind. Make sure that you tell us where you put the start holes. This can be done either on your data base or print. The wire can only come to within .500 of the table edge. Since we often clamp the part directly to the table it is good to have extra stock around at least two edges of the part. If this is not possible we have ways to deal with that here, i.e, special fixtures or extra setups, however, that can add more to the cost. If you supply us with material make sure you give us extra stock around the periphery of the part. .050 to .100 is a good amount. It is also good to add stock for clamping to the table. An example would be cutting a 2.800 diameter circle out of .250 thick steel. It would be good to have the dimensions of the blank be .250 x 4.0 x 4.0. this would give us .500 minimum on two sides to clamp the part down to the table. if more than one part is needed then the blank could be .250 x 3. x 6. We would clamp on one end and cut the first part then turn it around and clamp on the scrap before cutting the second part. Of course you can give us the bare minimum stock when necessary and we will do what we have to do to make it work.
Q. How much material does the process remove when using various wire sizes?
A. Each wire size produces a kerf
which is the result of the the wire diameter plus the the spark gap. These are the
approximate kerf sizes for the following wire diameters:
.004 wire = .006 kerf
.008 wire = .010 kerf
.010 wire = .0125 kerf
.012 wire = .016 kerf
Other factors such as part thickness and
material type can vary these numbers slightly. If it is important call us
and we can calculate the exact amount.
Q. What is our Shop rate?
A. Our shop rate is $60.00/hr when we use standard brass wire and $65.00/hr when we use special coated wire. We use coated wire for most projects because it cuts much faster than plain brass wire does. (NOTE: 4B uses only Mitsubishi machines, which utilize excellent circuitry as well as superior software aplications. This means that the cutting rates we get from the Mitsubishi machines often FAR exceeds that of other machines, making our rates in REAL comparison, far cheaper.)
Q. How is pricing addressed?
A. Time and Materials, or up front quoting. The choice is yours.
Q. What is the turn around time?
A. Typical turn around time is within 3 working days, depending on work load. Rush jobs are accepted when circumstances require quick turn around.
Q. What can I expect for a surface finish?
A. One pass gives you a 32 finish, by adding more passes we can get down to an 8 finish.
Q. What are your hours?
A. 8:00AM - 4:00PM. Our machines typically run 16-20 hours per day, so frequently we can be reached before and after "official" hours.
Q. How should you send CAD files?
A. Convert them to IGES or DFX files, and email to info@4bprecision.com, or place on a floppy disk. Prints or FTP sites are also options.
Q. What is the smallest radius that your various diameter wires can put on an internal corner?
A. One pass radii are as follows: Q. What is the smallest size wire that you can use? A. We can run .004 diameter wire on the FX10K. We only use it when absolutely necessary because it is very delicate
and feedrates are very slow! However it is there when needed.
.008" wire = .005" radius
.010" wire = .006" radius
.012" wire = .008" radius
If we make several passes we can get the radius down to 1/2 the wire diameter +.0002".