| A
Fortune 100 company contracted with us to
manufacture this special machine. (We
can't show you the machine with it's enclosure,
or tell you what it does, as it would disclose
our customer. We have completed this
project under strict confidentiality agreements.)
A previous
vendor had not been successful in developing
a satisfactory prototype, but had used
up months of lead-time. A world
wide market research test had been scheduled,
and the deadline was immovable. In
less time than the previous unsuccessful
vendor consumed, we designed, prototyped,
tested and built 25 machines to be used
in consumer market testing.
This machine
is a point-of-purchase machine to be
used by the consumer. The machine
included electronic controls, electro-mechanical
assemblies, machined and fabricated parts
and metal and plastic enclosures.
In
the coming months, our customer will
allow us to disclose the full details. Check
back soon for the rest of the story!
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We
needed to cut some thin elements from .003" thick
soft copper sheet, a perfect application
for wire EDM, as the parts had to be burr
and distortion free. Sandwiching 100 layers
of copper between aluminum sheets allowed
handling of the dead soft copper without
bending or wrinkling, and greatly reduced
the unit cost. One problem remained. A
wire EDM machine that could handle parts
100" long was not available, so we modified
our Charmilles 310 to accommodate. After
removing all of the electronics from the
control housing, we cut openings and fitted
ducts to allow the work piece to pass through,
while protecting the electronics from the
cutting environment.
 
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