ONA QS500

The QS500 wire EDM cuts any electrically conductive material: hardened tool steel (H13, D2, M2, A2), stainless steel (304, 316, 17-4 PH), titanium alloys (Ti-6Al-4V), Inconel and superalloys, copper, brass, aluminum alloys, carbide (cemented tungsten carbide), and polycrystalline diamond (PCD) inserts with appropriate generator settings. The material is cut by electrical discharge regardless of hardness — hardened H13 at 52 HRC is cut as easily as annealed steel. Wire diameter and generator parameters are adjusted per material and desired cutting speed.

Taper cutting uses the U and V axes to tilt the wire at an angle relative to the workpiece, producing tapered walls rather than straight vertical cuts. The QS500 achieves ±30 degrees of taper. Common applications include: punch and die sets with draft angles (helps part ejection in stamping dies), tapered die sections for aerospace structural connections, beveled windows in precision tooling, and graduated throat openings in thread dies. Taper programs require specifying top and bottom contours separately in the CAD/CAM program, which the ONA control translates into synchronized U/V axis motion.

Both control systems provide EDM-specific programming assistance for setting up wire EDM cutting strategies. GF AgieCharmilles Expert Guide is widely regarded as the most sophisticated generator parameter optimization system, drawing on a database of millions of cutting cycles to automatically recommend optimal generator settings for any material/wire/finish combination. ONA IntuWire provides similar parameter guidance at a less extensive database level, with a more manual parameter entry approach for fine-tuning. For shops with experienced EDM operators, the IntuWire is fully capable. For shops with less experience, the Expert Guide's automation may produce more consistent first-time results.

The QS500 is compatible with standard 0.07–0.33 mm brass wire (the most common), gamma-coated and diffusion-annealed brass wire for improved cutting speed and reduced wire consumption, and high-performance coated wires (zinc-coated, poly-coated) for faster roughing or finer finish. Wire diameter selection depends on the application: 0.25–0.33 mm for general cutting and roughing, 0.20–0.25 mm for finer slots and tighter internal corners, 0.07–0.20 mm for fine-detail cutting and small internal radii. Wire is supplied on spools — standard 5 kg or 10 kg spools from major wire suppliers (Bedra, Charmilles, Fanuc Hana Wire) are compatible.

The QS500's minimum internal corner radius is determined by the wire diameter — a 0.25 mm wire produces a minimum 0.125 mm inside corner radius (half the wire diameter) plus the spark gap (approximately 0.03–0.05 mm), giving a practical minimum internal radius of approximately 0.15–0.18 mm. For smaller internal radii, use 0.10–0.15 mm wire. External corners can be perfectly sharp in wire EDM because the wire can change direction instantaneously. This is one of wire EDM's major advantages over milling, which is limited by cutter diameter.