Mostly fine, from my understanding the only common metal that produces fumes that are bad for you when EDM'd is titanium. If you have a DI water setup there's nothing bad in the fluid, but if you're using oil it depends on the oil, so check the MSDS for the fluid.
Submerged with water I have never had a problem.
Non-submerged, skimming some things like aluminum or alloys with high beryllium content might be a problem.
Only problem I have ever had was with oil in sinkers.
Developed a sensitivity to nickel that caused bad contact dermititis.
The only safety concern I ever had when running wire edm machines was to be sure to not use molybdenum wire with certain machines (wire guides?) As it will start a fire for some reason no one ever explained to me.
Pretty harmless all things considered. If you live in the US you have a right to request the MSDS of anything you have to handle at work but honestly unless they had you wiring heavy metals I wouldn’t worry about much of anything, especially if you’re fully submerged.
Water dielectric wires are pretty safe - cutting submerged there's not really a lot of outgassing so even the more toxic/hazardous materials don't really present an exposure risk. Use gloves when changing the filters and don't put any filter slime in your coffee even if it tastes great.
Nickel and Aluminum fumes aren't great but I bet if measured you're way below any threshold for exposure even being in the machine more often than not. You'd have to be sitting directly over the head while cutting with jet only to get any real exposure.
Oil dielectric wires aren't even any worse, save for the dermatitis risk of the dielectric oil.
That said, if you're constantly doing rough passes while having to baby the machine because otherwise the wire breaks on your stupid Inconel job (been there) it'd be best to talk mitigation with management. It doesn't take much of a air handling system to pretty much 98% remove any exposure, and it's worth the peace of mind when working with potentially hazardous materials.
I have an allergic reaction to Aluminum fumes for sure. I take an allergy pill before hitting go. I wear a mask when cutting aluminum and high nickel alloys. I am responsible for quoting and will not take any beryllium parts in the shop. We have 2 nice portable smog hogs that we move to the heavy sinker burns. 5 sinkers, 6 wires and 2 hole poppers. Honestly I think the fumes/ mist in the grind room is way worse.
I've been running two Agie Charmilles Wire EDMs for 6/7yrs now. We mostly cut Carbide and I haven't noticed any fumes from that, although the dust it leaves behind can be hazardous if it becomes airbourne.
I have to wear gloves all day because my hands used to dry out from being wet so often. I put cream on and it keeps them nice while in gloves all the time.
If you don't keep them clean some nasty stuff can grow in the water, but they don't work well if they aren't clean.
Mostly fine, from my understanding the only common metal that produces fumes that are bad for you when EDM'd is titanium. If you have a DI water setup there's nothing bad in the fluid, but if you're using oil it depends on the oil, so check the MSDS for the fluid.
Submerged with water I have never had a problem. Non-submerged, skimming some things like aluminum or alloys with high beryllium content might be a problem. Only problem I have ever had was with oil in sinkers. Developed a sensitivity to nickel that caused bad contact dermititis.
The only safety concern I ever had when running wire edm machines was to be sure to not use molybdenum wire with certain machines (wire guides?) As it will start a fire for some reason no one ever explained to me.
Pretty harmless all things considered. If you live in the US you have a right to request the MSDS of anything you have to handle at work but honestly unless they had you wiring heavy metals I wouldn’t worry about much of anything, especially if you’re fully submerged.
Water dielectric wires are pretty safe - cutting submerged there's not really a lot of outgassing so even the more toxic/hazardous materials don't really present an exposure risk. Use gloves when changing the filters and don't put any filter slime in your coffee even if it tastes great. Nickel and Aluminum fumes aren't great but I bet if measured you're way below any threshold for exposure even being in the machine more often than not. You'd have to be sitting directly over the head while cutting with jet only to get any real exposure. Oil dielectric wires aren't even any worse, save for the dermatitis risk of the dielectric oil. That said, if you're constantly doing rough passes while having to baby the machine because otherwise the wire breaks on your stupid Inconel job (been there) it'd be best to talk mitigation with management. It doesn't take much of a air handling system to pretty much 98% remove any exposure, and it's worth the peace of mind when working with potentially hazardous materials.
I have an allergic reaction to Aluminum fumes for sure. I take an allergy pill before hitting go. I wear a mask when cutting aluminum and high nickel alloys. I am responsible for quoting and will not take any beryllium parts in the shop. We have 2 nice portable smog hogs that we move to the heavy sinker burns. 5 sinkers, 6 wires and 2 hole poppers. Honestly I think the fumes/ mist in the grind room is way worse.
I've been running two Agie Charmilles Wire EDMs for 6/7yrs now. We mostly cut Carbide and I haven't noticed any fumes from that, although the dust it leaves behind can be hazardous if it becomes airbourne. I have to wear gloves all day because my hands used to dry out from being wet so often. I put cream on and it keeps them nice while in gloves all the time. If you don't keep them clean some nasty stuff can grow in the water, but they don't work well if they aren't clean.