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The advent of high speed machining has resulted in the development of machining centers that are able to deliver efficiencies that were once considered impossible. The increase in the speed of the latest machines has contributed to efficiencies that have gone beyond even the machining process. Some machining shops have taken advantage of the technology involved in high speed machining to reinvent the traditional technology used in making parts., High Speed Machining means more than justtaking the old cuts faster. It means rethinking the manufacturing strategy to reap the most benefit from the speed now at your command. The [...]

Innovations in the workholding segment of the metalcutting process likely represent the best value in metalworking technology. Suitable workholding equipment costs only a fraction of the collective cost of an up-to-date computerized machine tool, the cutting tools and toolholders in the toolchanger or tool turret and the hardware/software devoted to programming. The potential savings in time and the potential process improvements furnished by innovative workholding solutions are considerable., Innovative workholding solutions help you hold onto productivity and profit in a machining process. Five new ideas show the value of creative clamping and fixturing. Dollar for dollar, workholding innovations [...]

Helio Precision Products Inc is a prime example of a metalworking shop that has successfully managed to tap into three of its most valuable resources, namely, reliable customers, suppliers and resources. It reaps tremendous benefits from having applied closed loop machining technology which it has implemented in two machining cells, one with manual loading and the other with robotic load and unloading capability. Its two main advantages are overall reduction of process variability and improved throughput. Ultimately, it is the relationships outside the shop that determine success., Looking for a way to reduce process variability, speed setup, simplify your operation? Automatic measurement and machine compensation (Closed Loop Machining) may be something to consider. Here's a shop where [...]

Innovations in machining shops include the incorporation of milling, drilling and tapping capabilities in machining centers. While basic turn/mill machines are ideal for simple drilling and tapping operations, the addition of servo-controlled actuation of the rotary C-axis makes the machine capable of spiral-milling cuts and other complex interpolated geometries processes. Addition of secondary or subspindle also improves the productivity of turn/mill machines., Most shops are looking to reduce throughput time. One sensible method is to eliminate multiple part handlings and work-in-process time. Advances in machine tool capability and programmability enable more job [...]

High speed turning in machining processes offers several advantages to machine operators. Reduction of cutting cycle time and the reduction of additional grinding operations are two of the most important benefits of high speed turning. While innovations in various processes such as milling and drilling are being developed, problems with centrifugal force barriers limit the creation of new technologies in the turning process. However, some companies are developing chucks capable of 10,000 rpms to solve these limitations., With chucks capable of holding a part at 10,000 rpm, cutting tools approaching 10,000 sfm, and increasingly faster lathes, true high speed turning is poised to become a reality for [...]

Machining company Industrial Pattern of Benton Harbon, MI, decided to shift to solids-based modeling computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) system from a pure surfacing system. The decision was partly based on the need for the two CAD/CAM personnel to share files which previously was not allowed because one used a UNIX system while the other used a PC-based system. Moreover, Industrial's clients have already shifted to solid modeling. The two programmers later found out that it was easy to learn the rudiments of the new solids-based modeling system., It wasn't that Barry Bundesman was dissatisfied with surfacing. Quite the contrary, he had a top-notch CAD/CAM system, was really good at using it, and he could model any job [...]

LeBlond Makino Machine Tool Co has developed the technology for carrying out finish grinding and machining operations on a single computer-numerical-controlled machining center. This has led the machine tool maker to enhance grinding capabilities and consistency, improve efficiency and lower leadtimes during the manufacture of metal parts. However, precise process engineering is required for both operations to be integrated., One machine tool builder is using grinding tools on a machining center to finish-grind workpieces. This concept has many attractive benefits, but it calls for the kind of careful engineering [...]

The objective of unmanned operation is to automatically perform stable, high quality machining for extended period in machine factories. This paper introduces a case study of current 72 h unmanned operation of a flexible automation system. Further, an application example of expanding existing MAP based Flexible Manufacturing System to 72 h unmanned system is introduced.

Nontraditional machining operations such as laser machining, water jet and abrasive water jetcutting, electrical discharge machining, and ultrasonic-assisted machining have become necessary with the development of new metal-matrix and ceramic-matrix [...]

Remmele Engineering Inc's Production Division showed that it was possible to adapt electrical discharge machining (EDM) technologies to traditional machining processes. They proved that precision and repeatability could be imposed on traditional machining operations. As proof, Remmele developed an integrated tooling system which used EDM technology for the production of computer parts. The modified system enabled pallet clamping and featured a spring steel centering plate. Remmele showed that EDM concepts could be transferred to general metalworking and manufacturing in the future., The demands for precision and repeatability that once distinctly characterized EDM are now widely applied to all machining. One critical component that ensures precision, accuracy and efficiency in the use [...]

Manufacturer TD Williamson Inc (TDW) supplies pipes for refineries, waterworks and gas distributors, among others. TDW used to manufacture the larger pipes using a manual engine lathe rigged as a horizontal press. However, the resulting products were of substandard quality. A low-cost horizontal machining center, CELL-CON H-15, made by Cellular Concepts was integrated with a workpiece handling system that suits TDW's needs. The new machine system minimized substandard quality pipes and improved manufacturing efficiency., A low-cost horizontal machining center, and a little workhandling ingenuity, solved this shop's problem with machining the perimeter of large round parts. Large parts often present a problem. Particularly when [...]

High enthusiasm for electrical discharge machining in Japan reflects that country's response to challenging conditions in its metalworking industry. Key trends were evident at JIMTOF. EDM is big in Japan. [...]

Both surface finish and surface integrity are important in an EDM'd (electrical discharge machined) workpiece. Although there will always be some surface disorder, modern controls and power supplies can reduce [...]

It's hard to think of a down side to machining multiple parts in a single setup. It can substantially increase the amount of work you get out of a machining [...]

Computer numerical control (CNC) machining technology has been used by race car designers to develop powerful dragster engines. CNC has replaced hand grinding as the preferred process for creating cylinder head ports. A program called Mastercam is used to create and duplicate complex surfaces in an engine's intake and exhaust ports. The ability to duplicate configurations have ensured consistency in engine performance., The designers of top fuel dragsters are constantly trying to squeeze more speed from their creations. Until recently, they rarely broke the 300 mph barrier. This season, however, 300-mph dragster [...]

Just when you thought high speed machining or hard milling would steal the best applications from ram-type elertrical discharge machines, linear motor technology is taking 'sinker EDM' to levels unattainable [...]

Many of today's machined parts incorporate various features located on multiple planes or faces of the parts. When using a three-axis mill or machining center to produce such parts, multiple [...]

This shop finds the process practical, productive and predictable, an indispensable technology that supports all of its manufacturing capability. By its nature, wire EDM (electrical discharge machining) attracts a lot [...]

Work on a five-year, $11 million cost-shared program directed to enhancing the air flow passages of automotive components has recently been completed. A joint venture was formed for the collaborative [...]

Snecma is a French company that is a world leader in the design and development of jet engines. It also manufactures and markets these engines to commercial and military aircraft makers. Its production facility in Le Creust, France, provides a telling demonstration of how French companies are able to stay ahead of the competition in other countries. This facility, which is dedicated to the machining of turbine disks, produces 290 turbine disks of 12 different types. The plant accomplishes this by using a flexible machining cell arrangement that allows CNC machines to be efficiently used., The French are noted for manufacturing high tech products. They must export to survive because their domestic market is not large enough to consume their entire production of the aircraft, [...]

High speed machining (HSM) is being used by US die/mold manufacturers as their primary tool in improving leadtimes against foreign competition. HSM, an amalgamation of various technologies that include high spindle speeds and accurate and faster feed rates on machine tools, is credited for bringing renewed competitiveness among US machine shops. HSM, a concept which continues to evolve, is a technology that has proven its effectivity both in the laboratory and in actual practice., In order to deliver finished molds and dies in less time than ever before, mold and die shops are adopting high speed machining as part of a strategy to eliminate [...]

The Bock Workholding System revolutionized the manufacturing industry by introducing a locator sub-plate which serves as the foundation for 4th axis indexers, existing vises and non-rotating chucks. The plate is made of a hard-coated, lightweight aluminum with precision bored holes in a 2-inch grid pattern. The development of the Bi-Lok vise initiated the development of the Bock system. Both systems improved workholding and machining operations., Last fall in this column we told the story of Jim Chick. The solution to his manufacturing problem resulted in the 'Bi-Lok' vise and changed the stationary workholding industry. Joe [...]

Central Centerless Grinding won a contract to build piston rods for a hydraulic cylinder from Teleflex Canada Ltd with the use of a vacuum cleaner and a two-by-fours PVC pipe. Central Centerless was able to develop Teleflex's proposed project involving lathe work and secondary grinding on a .75-inch, 304 stainless steel unloader using vacuum power. With the new contract, Central Centerless bought a Nakamura twin-spindle turning center with a magazine-style bar feeder to handle the expected production increase., Many shops with CNC lathes have added such accessories as bar feeders to automate material loading. But what about at the other end of the process? This was the question [...]

Rapid prototyping of tools and dies offers an economical alternative to traditional machining. Rapid Tool Making (RTM), a technology that adopts rapid prototyping (RP) techniques and applies them to tool [...]

Complex machining processes require the use of a multiple workpiece setup system to manage the flow of offset data using a single program. The multiple workpiece setup system speeds up the production process by automatically relocating the next workpiece coordinate system after the current workpiece has already been machined. This technology contributes to the optimization of manufacturing processes for both automated cell applications and stand-alone machines., Most shops using CNC machining centers have encountered a need to have two or more workpieces set up on the machine at the same time. Need for multiple workpiece setup [...]

Chiron of Tuttlingen, Germany has developed a vertical machining center line that responds to manufacturers' demands of high production and flexible manufacturing. Eleven vertical machining center lines were employed by Chiptec Inc to produce almost 375,000 automotive air conditioning fittings per month. These were found to save on labor and production costs while providing efficient production capabilities., A gray area in manufacturing exists between equipment that delivers high production and machines which provide flexible production. Traditionally, they were mutually exclusive, leaving manufacturers with only an 'either-or' choice. [...]

Tomen America Inc, distributor of the Okada line of high-speed CNC machining centers, says that their Graphitemaster vertical CNC machining center can be used to cut harder materials such as titanium. The Graphitemaster has been known to process graphite, titanium and high-nickel alloys at speeds of 1,600 to 2,000 sfpm. There are two configurations available, a modified C-frame vertical for machining graphite and a bridge-type vertical for creating dies and models., How does high-speed machining of graphite relate to cutting harder materials such as titanium? One machining center vendor says they are one in the same. They say titanium workpieces machined [...]

Taper reaming can be done using a CNC machine instead of hand reaming or reaming on manual equipment. A simple gage can be used to measure the reamer's tool length. The reamer may be programmed to send an overall depth equal to the length of the gage. On the other hand, different hole sizes may be machined with one reamer using the same program but the depth differences must be calculated from the standard hole., Many shops feel that taper reaming is not an operation that should be performed on a CNC machine. True, the taper reamer's depth can be difficult to calculate. And if [...]

Universal Machining Center Concept Forges Ahead The attempt to increase productivity through increased feeds or speeds usually does no more than clog the part queues waiting for the next operation. [...]

Companies in the machining sector need to review their shop floor practices in the context of rapidly changing industry conditions. Unfortunately, many companies cling to old habits, stubbornly resisting change until it is too late. Their behavior is not unlike that of homeowners who sentimentally refuse to replace their beloved but often dilapidated picket fences, opting instead to allow rot to eat up the wood. These homeowners, like many machine shop owners, vainly and irrationally postpone renovation for reasons that have more to do with emotions than with common sense., We have this wooden picket fence that runs around the front of our house. My wife and I built the fence ourselves for a very practical reason when we first [...]

I've been using personal computers for 21 years now (I soldered together my first system, a Z80-based PC with 64KB of RAM, in 1976), and my sense of wonder is […]