GF Drill e 300

The AgieCharmilles DRILL E 300 is GF Machining Solutions' EDM hole-drilling machine, used mainly to burn start holes for wire EDM. It drills with tube electrodes from 0.1 up to 3 mm in diameter to a depth of 200 mm, over 300 x 200 x 300 mm of X, Y and Z travel on a 400 x 300 mm table.

In a wire shop it sits upstream of the wire machines. Every closed contour on a punch, die plate or stripper needs a threading hole before the wire can start, and in hardened steel or carbide those holes are slow to drill conventionally. The 0.1 mm lower end of the electrode range is what GF's "Ready for Micro Applications" highlight refers to, and the 3 mm upper end covers ordinary start holes. A separate electrode guide travel of 100 mm and a rotating spindle are listed alongside the main axes.

The process figures are modest and practical. The generator is rated at 30 A, the pump works at 70 bar to flush the tube electrode, and the dielectric reservoir holds 16 l. Power comes from a 3 x 400 V 50/60 Hz supply with a maximum draw of 5 kW.

It is a compact machine: 1345 x 940 mm of floor space, 2040 mm high and 870 kg, so it can usually stand next to the wire machines it feeds. Workpieces can weigh up to 300 kg. GF's own description stresses easy setup and simple operation for newer operators as well as experienced ones.