Do you clock the same insert in every tank? On many mold and die floors, yes. Wire EDM cuts the profile. Sinker EDM burns the cavity. A coordinate measuring machine (CMM) then checks the job. Each station often gets a new indicate.
That indicate is not free. Shops commonly spend 45 minutes to two hours inside a tank, clocking a face or sparking to an edge. That range is shop talk, not a NEXTAS time study. The wire sits. The dielectric waits. A new clock can also stack error on the last one.
The practical move is one physical origin. Mount the blank or electrode once on an E-Series holder. Put a matching chuck on the wire machine, the sinker, and the CMM table. Drop the holder in. Clamp. Run. You do not indicate the part again.
Use this split:
Keep one ITS-style interface from wire EDM to sinker EDM to inspection. Listed E-Series Model 100 bodies reseat closer than 0.003 mm on the selected chuck. That figure is catalogue reseat, not a finished-part tolerance. Prove the chain on your machines before you freeze the route.
What “one datum” means here
A datum, here, is the physical origin the machine uses. On an E-Series chuck, that origin lives in the chuck and holder, not on a freshly indicated part face.
Wire EDM (WEDM) is the wire-cut station. Sinker EDM is the cavity-burn station. The CMM is the inspection room. If each of those uses the same chuck family and the same holder, the part keeps one origin as it travels.
If you mix an ITS-style E-Series chuck with a System 3R-style R-Series chuck on the same job, you have two origins, not one. Confirm the holder family first. The ITS-50 tooling guide covers EROWA-style holders. The System 3R-style chuck guide covers the other fork. Do not translate one name into the other.
The E-Series product page is the catalogue source for the numbers in this article. ITS 50 / ER-036345-style fit is a drawing check, not a family-name promise.
Which body sits on which machine?
The family name is not the layout. Four listed bodies share the same ITS-style idea. They do not share the same outline.
Values below come from the current E-Series catalogue page. Confirm the selected model drawing before you freeze tank clearance or air.
| Code | Listed body | Mass | First-pass station |
|---|---|---|---|
| NT-S100P100V1 | Model 100 pneumatic | 5.3 kg | Flat mill, sinker table, CMM plate |
| NT-S100P100V2 | Side vertical | 7.1 kg | Side plate, rotary, or wire rail |
| NT-S100P100V3 | Right angle | 17.7 kg | Heavy hang over a wire drop |
| NT-S100P80V1 | EDM pneumatic | 2.0 kg | Tight EDM space |
All four list reseat closer than 0.003 mm. V1, V2, and V3 list more than 6,000 N clamp. P80 lists 4,000 N and a 15 kg clamping load. That 15 kg figure is not a robot payload or a cutting-load rating.
Air to open is 0.5 to 0.8 MPa at the chuck. Springs hold when air vents. Confirm the selected drawing, holder, and spigot. The catalogue spigot code is NT-S200P55V2. The exact match still comes from the drawing.
V3 is heavy because it hangs a job out over a wire rail. Do not pick it from a photo. Check the moment, the rail, and the wire guides.
Wire water, sinker oil, and a clean CMM
The same chuck has to live in three rooms. Treat each room as a different dirt problem.
Wire EDM. The chuck can sit in deionized water. Unprotected steel pits. The listed E-Series bodies use hardened stainless steel. Still wipe the seat. Water plus sludge will hide a chip.
Sinker EDM. The threat is graphite dust and oil. A flake on a Z pad cocks the holder. Where the selected model has an air blast, use it as one clean step. Then look. Then wipe. Air alone does not prove a clean seat.
CMM room. Wash and dry the holder before it enters the granite room. Do not unclamp the part to wash it. The holder is the origin. If you reclamp after wash, you just added a new stack.
How do the numbers get to the machine?
The chuck can put the holder back in the same place. The part on that holder may still sit a few microns off the chuck centre. Shops often measure that offset on the CMM, then send it to the cutting machine.
A common sequence looks like this:
- Mount the blank or electrode on the holder at a bench, not in the tank.
- Clamp the holder in a matching chuck on the CMM.
- Probe the features against the chuck centre. Record shift in X, Y, and Z, plus rotation if you need it.
- Send those numbers to the wire or sinker control. Some cells write a chip on the holder. Some merge a file into the program header. Some still type G54. Typing is the usual keying risk.
- Clamp on the machine. Load the offsets. Close the tank. Start the burn.
Chips on the holder and CAM file merge are cell methods. They are not a NEXTAS catalogue extra on this page. Ask your control vendor what the machine can read.
Because the mechanical reseat is already close, you are trimming a small leftover. You are not finding the stock from zero in the tank. For what <0.003 mm does and does not prove, use the reseat guide.
Seat check and air-loss hold
Unattended burns fail when the holder is not down, or when air is lost and nobody knows.
On the listed pneumatic models, shop air at 0.5 to 0.8 MPa opens the chuck. When air vents, springs pull the drawbar. That hold is a process hold. It is not a safety-rated stop unless the full cell safety design says so.
Some circuits also watch the seat with a small air port on the Z pad. If the holder is flat, pressure builds. If a chip lifts the face, air leaks and the switch stays open. That signal can block Cycle Start. It is a process check, not a safety function.
Do not treat a green light as proof the job is safe to run with nobody in the bay. Guarding, stop logic, and recovery still belong to the cell builder.
Where the hours go
The waste is rarely the spark. It is the wait for a clock.
This is planning talk, not a customer case. If a wire machine waits 90 minutes a day for indicate, and you run 220 days, that is 330 hours a year of tank time with no burn. Cost that at your shop rate. Compare it with chucks, holders, and a CMM program. Do not use a catalogue reseat number as a payback claim.
The times below are common shop ranges and a target after a proven install, not NEXTAS test data.
| Item | Manual clock in the tank | One E-Series holder |
|---|---|---|
| Time in the machine | Often 45–120 min (shop talk) | Drop, clamp, and run after the chain is proven |
| Who holds the origin | Operator feel and the last indicate | The chuck and holder |
| How offsets enter | Typed | File, chip, or typed — pick one and lock it |
| Night running | Hard, because a person has to indicate | Only after seat, air, and recovery are proven |
“Drop, clamp, and run” is the target after factory and site tests. It is not the day the crate arrives.
How to roll it out
Do not bolt a chuck into a tank and hope.
Fit and clearance. Weigh the job. Check wire guides, tank rims, and travel. Decide V1, V2, V3, or P80 from that envelope, not from a family name.
Mount and air. Use a ground plate. Clock the chuck to the machine axes. Keep total indicator runout under 0.002 mm if that is your install spec. Plumb dry air at 0.5 to 0.8 MPa with a filter at the chuck.
Prove reseat. Use the catalogue master spigot NT-S200P55V2 only if the drawing says it matches. Clamp a master. Measure. Release, clean, reload. Repeat 10 to 20 times on every station. Record shift across wire, sinker, and CMM. Stay inside the agreed limit. Use <0.003 mm only as the catalogue comparison, not as the installed pass unless you agreed it.
CMM program. Write one probe routine against the chuck centre. Decide how offsets travel. Stop typed entry if you can.
Daily habit. Wipe seats. Check seals. Log drawbar force on a calendar. Replace wear seals on a set interval. Air blast is not a substitute for a wipe.
What to send for an E-Series review
NEXTAS can review the chuck body, holder family, and open stack questions. We cannot sign off a CMM program, a robot safety plan, or a tank rebuild from this page.
- Machines: models for wire, sinker, mill, and CMM. Write “unknown” if a field is open.
- Holders: photos of current chucks and holders, plus any drawing.
- Job: part or electrode size, mass, and how far it hangs past the seat.
- Fluid: water, oil, or both.
- Target: the reseat limit you will measure, and the method.
- Air: pressure you can hold at the chuck, not only at the compressor.
- Family: whether you already run ITS-style or System 3R-style holders.
Ask for the body, matching holders, and the open questions. The process owner still has to prove dirt, probes, and first-part checks on the mix.
Questions before you freeze the WEDM-to-CMM route
Does <0.003 mm mean the finished part will match the CMM?
No. That figure is catalogue reseat on the listed chuck. Finished-part transfer also depends on the holder, the mount, dirt, temperature, and the probe plan. Prove the full chain on the agreed test.
Can I mix E-Series with a System 3R-style chuck on one job?
Not if you want one origin. E-Series follows an ITS-style interface. R-Series follows a System 3R-style route. Pick one family for the whole path, then confirm the holder drawing.
Is the air-seat check a safety stop?
No. It is a process check that can block Cycle Start when the holder is not down. It is not a safety-rated function unless the full cell safety design says so.
Which body should I shortlist first?
Start with tank clearance and hang. V1 is the flat-table body. V2 is the side body. V3 is the heavy right-angle body. P80 is the compact EDM body with a lower listed clamp. Send photos if the envelope is tight.
What can NEXTAS review from this page?
The chuck body, holder family, and open stack questions. Send the brief above. Your control vendor still owns offset files or chips. The cell builder still owns guarding and recovery.
WEDM to CMM review
Send machine models, holder photos, and tank clearance
Send the brief above and name V1, V2, V3, or P80 if you already lean one way. NEXTAS can review the chuck, holders, and open questions for your quotation.
Discuss your E-Series route