TL;DR

• Automatic wire threading (AWT) rethreads the wire after a break so the machine keeps cutting without an operator
• The distinction that matters most is whether it threads with the work tank still full
• Manual threading means draining the tank and raising the table, then reversing all of it. Submerged threading skips the sequence
• Fixed Jet suits high-mix work with constant restarts. Super Jet adds annealing and suits tall parts and extreme tapers

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Automatic wire threading is the difference between a machine that runs overnight and one that waits for morning. When the wire breaks mid-program, the machine rethreads and keeps cutting instead of sitting idle until someone walks over to it.

If you are shopping for a reliable wire EDM machine with automatic wire threading, the thing to know early is that it works differently from one machine to the next. Threading by hand means emptying the tank before an operator can touch the wire. On a material that breaks wire repeatedly, that repeats every time. Submerged threading skips the sequence.

Sodick’s two submerged systems, Fixed Jet and Super Jet, both thread with the tank full. The difference between them is how each one prepares the wire first. Fixed Jet cuts the wire thermally so it comes away straight, then uses a water jet to carry it through the workpiece. Super Jet does the same and adds an annealing step, heating and stretching the wire before cutting it to a sharp point. An annealed, pointed wire holds its line across a longer unsupported span, which is why Super Jet is matched to tall parts and steep tapers while Fixed Jet is matched to shops restarting constantly across a wide job mix.

Why Automatic Wire Threading Determines Your Uptime Ceiling

Without submerged threading, a wire break means:

1. Drain the work tank
2. Raise the table
3. Rethread the wire
4. Lower the table
5. Refill the tank
6. Wait for the dielectric to stabilize before resuming a precision cut

With submerged threading, a wire break means: the machine rethreads and keeps cutting.

Every step in that first list needs an operator standing at the machine. On an overnight run, none of it happens until someone arrives in the morning, which is why a break at midnight can cost a full shift rather than a few minutes. On a material that breaks wire repeatedly, the sequence repeats on every break.

Sodick’s Fixed Jet and Super Jet at a Glance 

	Fixed Jet	Super Jet
Full name	FJ (chorro fijo) AWT de alta velocidad	Recocido Super Jet AWT de alta velocidad
Standard on	ALN iGE+, ALP iGE+, and VN Series + AX350L	AQ and AP Series
Wire preparation	Thermal cut, producing a straighter wire	Annealed, then cut to a sharp point
Threading aid	Water-jet function	Water-jet function, plus sensor-monitored tension feedback
Submerged threading	Yes, with unsubmerged capabilities	Yes, tank stays full
Pairs with	Closed guides, which further increase productivity	Wire guides, plus automatic dielectric fluid level setting
Design priority	Fast, repeatable restarts across a high job mix	Threading repeatability at larger Z heights

How Fixed Jet Automatic Wire Threading Works

FJ (Fixed Jet) High Speed AWT is our automatic wire threader. It comes standard on the ALC-G Series, the ALN iGE+ Series, the VN Series, and the AX350L.

Fixed Jet is a combined system rather than a standalone threader. It pairs the automatic threading mechanism with the wire guides themselves, and the two work together. Thermal wire cutting and a controlled water jet handle the threading. Closed guides handle the wire capture at either end. The exclusive use of closed guides in combination with the FJ AWT further increases productivity, which is the whole design premise.

Submerged Threading

Fixed Jet threads in both submerged and non-submerged conditions. When the wire breaks, the tank stays up and the machine rethreads where it is, which is what lets an overnight run recover with nobody present.

Closed Guides Multiply the Effect

On machines like the ALN800G iGE+, closed guides are used throughout.

A closed guide captures the wire more completely and more repeatably than an open guide, which means tighter positional control at the moment the threader is trying to land the wire.

How Super Jet Automatic Wire Threading Serves Tall Parts and Extreme Tapers

Our Super Jet Annealing High Speed AWT works the same way Fixed Jet does, with one addition. It threads automatically and threads submerged, working with the wire guides the same way Fixed Jet does. The addition is an annealing step that prepares the wire before threading begins. Super Jet comes standard on our large work area and extreme taper machines, and can be specified on others

How Annealing Changes the Wire

Annealing improves wire straightness, which increases AWT repeatability. The gain is largest at bigger Z heights. A wire that crosses a long unsupported span has more room to wander, and a straighter wire holds its line.

During annealing, the wire is heated and stretched. It is then cut to a sharp point rather than simply parted. A pointed tip requires less wire guide clearance than a blunt one, which improves part accuracy on top of the threading gain.

A sensor in the wire traveling system monitors tensile force and feeds that data back to hold the optimum condition throughout the run.

The annealing AWT threads in submerged mode as well, so the worktank stays full during a rethread, and the Z axis position sets the dielectric fluid level for the operator automatically.

Threading and Tension Through Extreme Tapers and Thick Workpieces

Extreme taper compounds every threading variable. A sample part we cut on the AQ900L runs NAK55 at 7.874 inches thick with a 30 degree taper angle, cut with 0.01 inch wire. On geometry like that, the wire travels a long angled path and lands in a guide offset by the U and V axes.

With Super Jet AWT, tension stability is the other half of the problem. Wire tension is measured just prior to the wire entering the cutting zone, and all adjustments are made automatically at that point. That eliminates tension variation caused by taper cutting. It also removes variation from changing spool sizes, which otherwise accumulates across a long unattended run.

Matching Automatic Wire Threading Technology to Your Part Mix

Find your work below.

1. High-mix precision work, mostly under 20 inches of Z, where you need fast repeatable restarts across many setups. Look at the ALP iGE+ or ALN iGE+ Series with Fixed Jet. Submerged threading paired with automatic fluid level control unlocks unattended running for this profile
2. Tall parts with steep tapers, or heavy workpieces. Look at the Serie AQ with Super Jet. The annealing step is what holds threading repeatability as Z height increases.
3. Proven linear motor performance on a tighter capital budget. Look at the VN600Q, which includes Fixed Jet and an improved surface finish circuit. You keep the threader at the lower price point.
4. Cemented carbide work with cobalt depletion concerns, or an oil dielectric requirement. Look at the Serie AP, which runs the same Super Jet threader on a fine wire platform. The oil dielectric AP250L machines carbide while eliminating cobalt depletion.

Three Questions to Ask Any EDM Vendor About Threading

Whatever you end up buying, ask these before you sign.

1. Can it rethread submerged, with the tank still up? If the answer involves any version of “it depends,” you have found a limitation that will cost you hours every month. Ask for a demo on a part rather than a bare table.

2. What happens when it has to thread a start hole at maximum Z? Rethreading into an existing kerf is the easy case. Threading a start hole at full Z height is the hard case, and it determines whether your tall work can run unattended. Make them answer for the hard case.

3. Is the threader standard or an option? Then ask what the closed guides cost. A base price with an uptime-critical feature list hanging off it is an incomplete quote.

Threading Is Only Half the Equation

Threading is the first constraint on unattended running. A few others decide whether the program finishes.

Standard equipment on the machines in this article:

1. Automatic wire tension servo control and automatic voltage regulator. Long cycles expose instability that a short job would hide. Both hold conditions steady across the full run.
2. Dielectric cooling, plus three-part filtration on our ALP iGE+ and ALN iGE+ machines. Dielectric condition drifts as you cut. Active cooling and filtration keep flushing and thermal conditions consistent from the first hour to the last.
3. Z-axis automatic fluid level control. Fluid level follows workpiece thickness without an operator setting it.
4. Thermal Commit (TH COM). Component temperatures are sensed and corrected to minimize thermal displacement from changes in the installation environment and from high-speed driving. On an overnight run in a shop where the HVAC cycles down, that correction is doing steady work in the background.
5. iGroove+ wire rotation. Our patented wire rotation technology improves surface quality and accuracy while reducing wire consumption by up to 30 percent.

Available as options worth specifying if unattended running is the goal:

6. Jumbo wire feeders. A 44 pound integrated spool or a 110 pound feeder means wire supply stops being the thing that ends your weekend run.
7. L-Cut wire chopper. Processes wire for convenient storage, which keeps waste handling from requiring an operator.

We back our flat rigid linear motor driven wire and sinker EDMs with a 10 años de garantía de precisión de posicionamiento, plus a 2-year standard warranty and SodickCare +2 or +4 extended coverage. The drives eliminate backlash and have zero contact, enabling us to guarantee positioning accuracy for a decade after purchase.

If threading reliability is the first step toward unattended machining, automatización is the next one. Single and dual machine solutions supply palletized material and tooling without custom configuration.

Maximize Your Uptime with Automatic Wire Threading

If you want to know which threading system fits your part mix, we can help. Tell us about your typical thickness and taper requirements, along with the unattended hours you are trying to capture. Connect with a Sodick expert and we will walk you through what machine and which AWT matches your job.