Orbiting - or vectoring - EDM machines use mostly only one electrode to rough and finish a job, thus eliminating the need for separate roughing and finishing electrodes. The results are also showing a significant time-saving with the polishing and finishing job, because the cavity walls are maintained more smooth and perfectly perpendicular to the part, as well as much less money spent on electrode materials due to the use of less electrodes and smaller electrodes.

Orbiting technology - which basically uses an orbiting head to orbit the electrode around its center point to the desired radial cavity - allows for easier, more precise part control. The cavity size can be adjusted independent of the electrode size. And, NOVICK® orbit II pro technology allows you to do up to 95 percent of all CNC burns at a fraction of the cost of actually other EDM CNC machine. 

A normal burn on a conventional manual/NC/CNC Ram EDM requires you to know the precise overcut, have perfect flush and requires the use of multiple electrodes - generally one rougher and two finishers - and still does not guarantee to eliminate taper. The same burn done on an orbiting machine would use fewer electrodes - generally one rougher and one finisher. The machine gives you the ability to perform a Z-axis burn, and orbit or vector out to the desired size. 

Orbiting (radial movement) or vectoring (angular movement) the electrode, provides better flush conditions, eliminates taper on the cavity walls and lets you control the desired size. During the EDM, material is being removed by the electrical discharge, the debris (molten chips and electrode particles) are traveling up the cavity walls - creating a secondary discharge that causes a taper effect, also known as bell-mouth, as they leave the cavity. Once you reach the desired Z-depth, orbiting or vectoring movement allows you to remove the taper caused by this secondary discharge. The taper will be removed using the same settings used in roughing the cavity. Once the taper is removed, you orbit or vector out until the desired surface finish is achieved by stepping down your power settings. The orbiting or vectoring movement also creates a vacuum : push - pulling clean dielectric fluid into the gap and forcing the molten chips out, which provides a much better finish. The orbiting and vectoring movement is programmable in each axis U and V. or V and W, or U and W 

The High-tech energy saving Pro II-Pulse power supply provides the user with a built-in reference library. This feature allows you to select settings based on your EDM criteria, surface finish, and electrode and work piece material. The edit mode allows you to change the settings on the fly, fully supported by the fuzzy logic of second generation, while burning and to save the modified settings to the program. You have the ability to create and save your own settings to the library to save time on future job setups. 

NOVICK® EDM machines are suitable for just about every application. Any time that you can move the electrode into orbit you are way ahead of the game. To manufacture one electrode, it may take you several hours, whereas with the orbiter it takes about five seconds to edit your program, eliminating the need for a new electrode. That's what EDM is all about – NOVICK® is always looking for a way to take the labor out of the process, which results in saving your time and money. 

The biggest advantage NOVICK®'s orbiting EDM technology offers is the ability to make electrodes one uniform size. Normally, on a Ram EDM machine without orbiting functions, you would start with one electrode that would be much smaller for roughing, then go to a larger electrode for finishing since you don't have the ability to move around. With the orbiting pro-II functions you can make an electrode undersized - you don't have to get your dimensions exactly right on, and if you orbit out you'll have a cleaner wall that will be straighter, which is just much more efficient and faster and cheaper that way. 

Besides needing to use fewer electrodes, there are also increased flushing capabilities due to the increased space between the electrode and the work piece. There also is more flexibility and convenience. If you happen to have electrodes from a previous job that might be smaller, you can always use them and orbit out because you have the ability to orbit bigger. Also, just because the machine has Orbit—II on board, doesn't mean that you have to use it all of the time - you can still burn straight up and down when necessary. 

We see real time savings in electrode manufacturing with Novick’s Orbit – Pro-II functions. The vectoring machines orbit quickly and burn well in all axis. Close tolerance work - as far as seal areas, etc. - are much easier orbited. You get a uniform wall because you have full contact instead of coming from the top down where you would get electrode wear. Corners also are much better orbited. The quality is so much better than standard EDM machines because when the debris and particles don't have a way to get out it tends to leave a rougher finish. 

The consensus of the users is that NOVICK® orbiting and vectoring EDM machines are a vast improvement. The advantages of orbiting and vectoring are significant - enabling you to control part size accuracies, reduce polishing and finishing times, and allow you to save time and money by using fewer electrodes.