GF Machining Solutions AgieCharmilles CUT P 1250

The CUT P 1250 at 14,000 kg requires a reinforced concrete floor slab — typically a minimum 250-300 mm thick slab with appropriate rebar reinforcement, though your GF dealer will specify exact requirements for the installation. You need overhead crane capacity of at least 6-7 tonnes for workpiece loading and machine service. The machine's footprint (approximately 5.5 x 3.5 m plus clearance) requires significant floor space. Electrical supply is three-phase industrial. The deionized water system requires plumbing connections. GF provides an installation guide specific to the CUT P 1250 that covers all site preparation requirements.

When a die plate exceeds a machine's work envelope, shops must section it — cut it into pieces, wire each piece separately, then assemble. Every section cut introduces potential positional errors: fixtured alignment, datum transfer, and accumulation of tolerance across sections. Features that must align across section boundaries (such as guide pin holes relative to punch and die openings) accumulate error from each setup. A single-setup cut on the CUT P 1250 eliminates all of these errors — all features reference a single coordinate system, achieving the tightest possible alignment between die openings, guidance features, and trim edges.

Automatic wire threading on the CUT P 1250 works the same as on smaller machines — the AWT system lowers the wire guide head to the pre-drilled start hole in the workpiece, threads the wire through, and establishes tension for cutting. The wire is threading through a small hole (typically 1-3 mm diameter) regardless of how heavy the surrounding workpiece is — the workpiece weight is irrelevant to the threading mechanism. On thick die plates, the threading takes slightly longer due to the length of wire being fed through the hole, but GF's AWT system handles this reliably. Broken-wire re-threading is equally effective — the machine backs up, re-threads through the cut kerf, and resumes.

Yes. Wire EDM cuts any electrically conductive material, and carbide (tungsten carbide/cobalt) is a standard wire EDM workpiece material. The CUT P 1250's technology database includes cutting parameters for carbide. Carbide cutting generates conductive debris (tungsten particles) that requires careful dielectric management — filtration and conductivity control — to prevent contamination from affecting cut quality. Carbide workpieces at the scale the CUT P 1250 handles (large carbide forming die sections, extrusion die matrices) are among the most common large-frame wire EDM applications.

Large-frame GF wire EDMs — CUT P 1250 or prior-generation equivalent machines — are relatively rare on the used market, as shops that invest in them tend to keep them in service long-term. When available, used machines from the 2015-2022 era price in the $120,000-$250,000 range depending on condition, age, and included options. Buyers should carefully evaluate the dielectric system condition, axis accuracy (measured, not assumed), and wire drive component wear on any used large-frame wire EDM — service and rebuild costs can be significant at this machine size.