The U6i Wire EDM delivers an extraordinary amount of versatility focused on Speed and Accuracy for a large platform machine.  The U6i builds on the machining performance of Makino’s precision U-Series machine family and combines the best of high speed, high precision fitness, and fine surface finish machining capabilities.  The machine is capable of producing surface finishes down to 0.070.1µm (34µinRa), and is equipped with an expanded capacity 4-Filter Filtration System that is designed to extend the life of the filters and reduce operating costs, and contains a built-in filter air purge feature for quick and safe filter replacement.  The machine utilizes Makino’s dual digitally controlled high pressure flush pumps that provide independent dedicated flushing to the Upper and Lower machine heads, and this advanced flushing configuration is integrated into the adaptive control technologies, providing the machine with more intelligence to dynamically adapt to changes in flushing during machining to achieve the fastest and most productive speeds.  The U6i excels at poor and difficult flushing applications and is capable of slashing rough-cut cycle time by up to 50% over traditional single pump flushing systems using Makino’s H.E.A.T. (High Energy Applied Technology) technology.
 
The U6i machine is a high accuracy expansion of Makino’s versatile U-Series product line, and combines all the productive features found in the U6 and U6 H.E.A.T. models while including new developments that further enhance machine accuracy and capability.  The U6i’s hallmarks are its size and flexibility, and the machine is ideally suited for high precision applications with its stricter build construction tolerances. Machine construction enhancements are decisively engineered to deliver a higher level of thermal stability, which directly translates to greater machine accuracy and repeatability over long periods of operation.  The U6i provides generous X/Y/Z strokes of 650 x 450 x 420mm (25.6” x 17.7” x 16.5”) respectively, which are 50mm (2.0”) larger in stroke than most competitors. 
 
The U6i machine includes Makino’s latest developments and comes standard with the HyperDrive Extreme wire path system.  This new Extreme Wire EDM system provides increased precision over wire tension, which helps improve part straightness and accuracy of small geometric details.  The HyperDrive Extreme system features Makino’s unique Tool-less Energizer Indexing system that greatly simplifies machine maintenance, and the wire guides can be exchanged without the need for time consuming wire alignment calibration procedures.  The wire threading capabilities have also been enhanced by offering programmable control of both traditional water column jet threading and jet-less threading, which allows the machine to reliably auto-thread very small start holes and even rethread the wire at the break point during unattended operation.      
 
Installation of the high accuracy U6i Wire EDM is included with each machine along with access to Makino’s 24/7 Technical Support and Customer Portal (www.mymakino.com).  The machine comes generously equipped and ready to run, including many items that many competitors offer as options or not as all, such as an LED work light and Chiller Unit.  The U6i comes outfitted with its own transformer and power line filter that provide stable and consistent power for greater reliability, and contains several operational consumable items such as (x2) spools of wire and (x2) quick-change de-ionization resin bottles.  Makino’s U6i machine is also standard with the unique Pro-Tech Circuit that “protects the work piece” by preventing and minimizing oxidation (rust) from occurring on the work piece while submerged in water for long periods of time.  The results of the active Pro-Tech Circuit greatly reduce or eliminate the need for chemical or mechanical cleaning of the finished work piece, and this part quality and time-savings benefit is accomplished without the need for harmful and expensive chemicals. 
 
To attain heightened precision, the U6i is configured with a high accuracy water chiller unit that maintains the water temperature to an ultra-precise +/-0.1°C (+/-0.2°F).  Like other Makino Wire EDM’s, the U6i design integrates the di-electric reservoir into the base casting of the machine, and this benefits in a smaller machine footprint with greater temperature stability of the entire machine structure. The precisely chilled di-electric fluid is also circulated through internal radiators that create a stable and consistent air temperature inside the machine’s sheet metal covers and also on the work tank seal plate to complete the high accuracy active thermal stabilization system.
      
The U6i utilizes Makino’s exclusive dual 24” wide HD touch screen Hyper-i control that provide the operator with a comfortable and commanding view over machine operation with its streamlined universal EDM graphical interface that is used for all Makino EDM machines (Wire EDM, Sinker EDM, and EDM Drilling machines all use the same control).  The Hyper-i system is designed to support the needs of both novice and expert operators, and contains an advanced E-Tech Doctor help function, integrated machine manuals and videos, and an on-board training tutorial system.  The U6i is also standard with the Athena voice control system that allows direct voice command and interaction with the machine, bringing new advanced futuristic levels of capability and efficiency to machine operation. The U6i come equipped with 0.250mm (0.010”) wire guides, but can operate with wire sizes up to 0.300mm (0.012”) or down to 0.050mm (0.002”) in diameter.  The machine includes a full machining condition database library of all wire diameter sizes and multiple material types (Steel, Tungsten Carbide, Aluminum, Copper, Graphite, PCD, Titanium), and every condition has been developed to provide an optimum mix of speed, precision, and low wire consumption…yielding fast and accurate high quality results with great efficiency.