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A Hauser jig grinding machine is being used to machine ‘hard materials’ to very high accuracies and exacting tolerances and has reduced tool life costs by 70%.

Penn United Technologies in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, USA reported that its new Hauser S35 400 jig grinding machine is saving tool life costs by some 70% when machining hard materials such as carbides.

Cycle times savings are in the order of 35-50%.

Acquired from hardinge in late 2007, the Hauser S35 400 is being used to machine ‘hard materials’ to very high accuracies and exacting tolerances.

Penn United Technologies (PUT) said that its customer base is diverse.

It includes, for example, aerospace, fluid handling and medical suppliers, for which it machines stainless steels, carbide, cast iron, aluminium and brass.

PUT operates over 300 CNC grinding machines and 30 of these are jig grinders.

However, only one of these is a Hauser.

President at PUT, Bill Jones, said that his Hauser machine is equipped with the Hi-Cut system (grinding with oil as a coolant/lubricant), which allows the company to machine carbide effectively and efficiently.

He commented: “You can’t really grind carbide that well with a water-based coolant/lubricant, because the water leaches the Cobalt out of the Carbide - and if you try machining carbide with air (dry machining), you worry about both the wheel and the spindle holding up”.

The Hi-Cut system offers the following ben efits to PUT.

* Tool life costs (wheel life) are reduced by as much as 70% because fewer tools are used.

A single wheel is now used for roughing and finishing operations as opposed to using low-grit roughing wheels and high-grit finishing wheels to achieve the same results.

* A marked improvement in reduced cycle times where, on average, savings are 30-35%, owing to jobs being machined on/with just one wheel.

PUT uses the Hauser machine to grind components made from carbide and steel.

PUT is grinding carbide cutting punches for knives that are roughed and finished on the Hauser.

Jones said: “In the past these parts would go to a wire EDM machine and the form would be finished there.

The Hauser machine means that we’ve reduced our dependency on EDM considerably”.

* Quick set ups and changeovers - the machine is extremely productive in terms of job set ups and changeover times owing to a number of high-performance and advanced features, as follows.

1 - A 12-station tool magazine with an automatic tool changer (ATC).

2 - A probe system.

3 - An electric spindle.

The machine’s ATC allows continuous, uninterrupted and unmanned machining.

The probe sits in one of the 12 pockets in the tool magazine and reduces set-up times by as much as 50%.

The electric spindle (as opposed to air-operated) provides jig grinding spindle speeds of 7,000-70,000 rev/min, using a single work head.

Hardinge told manufacturingtalk that there is no loss of torque, even when running at low speeds such as 7,000 rev/min.

* High accuracy - the Hauser machines deliver high repeatable accuracies.

For example, in a specific tool and die job for a razor blade manufacturer, PUT said that the component needed to be trimmed to 0.0008in (0.02mm).

Jones commented: “When machining materials to such precision and thinness, punch-to-die clearance may be less than 0.0001in which means that positional tolerances are down to 0.000040in or 0.000050in”.

* Unmanned operations - PUT said that a big competitive advantage is the company’s ability to run its machines unattended.

About unmanned operation, Jones said that recently the Hauser was running from 3.00pm on the Friday to 6.00pm on the Sunday, without stopping.

He commented: “The machine’s process reliability coupled with fast set-ups means we can reduce our lead times and control our costs, which together make us more productive and competitive”.

Jones said: “We’re getting phenomenal performance from the machine.

We know it’s very rigid and incredibly fast and totally accurate.

We know it can hold positional tolerances to the millionths.

We know it will run around the clock.

We know it’s changed many of our assumptions about grinding, EDM and other technologies”.

He concluded: “It’s had a big impact on the way we do things now - and will have an equally big impact on the way we do things in the future.”.

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Chinese manufacturing affects the Pittsburgh-area production facility of the FS-Elliott Company. The plant has changed significantly due to the growth of manufacturing overseas—though not in the way you might expect. Business is booming for this manufacturer. Ninety-five percent of FS-Elliott’s production is exported, with 75 percent of that going to China alone.

The company makes industrial air compressors, including the large compressors that feed shop air through plant-wide systems. As new production facilities of all types open in various parts of the world, they often get their air from a newly purchased FS-Elliott compressor.

These compressors are rarely off-the-shelf products. Supplying a sophisticated compressor system generally means guaranteeing just how much air the customer can obtain for a given amount of electrical power. Meeting these commitments calls for customizing the system, and that generally means machining carefully designed custom profiles into the compressors’ impellers.

In the past, these custom impeller profiles would have been machined through turning. Cutting the part in this way, with the tool hitting one impeller blade after another, might seem like the most extreme interrupted cut imaginable. Even so, the programmable movement and large X-Z travels of a CNC lathe provided an effective way to obtain the precise OD forms. To overcome the interrupted cut, impellers were filled with wax, allowing them to be machined as solid cylindrical forms. After machining, the wax would be melted out. The process was messy, but it worked.

This mess was just part of the reason why the plant recently adopted a new process—making a clean break from the old method in more ways than one. Thanks to a grinding machine from Max-Tek Superabrasive Machines that offers travels and programmability comparable to a lathe, the plant is now producing the impeller profiles through grinding instead of turning. No wax is needed. Less time is needed, too. The machining process is now so fast that it is difficult for the plant to keep this new machine busy.

Though the move from turning to grinding represented a fundamental change to the way a core component is made, the production process at FS-Elliott is new for reasons that go well beyond this change. Even the people are new. In 2004, the company let all of its production staff go, and restaffed the plant floor with approximately 110 new employees.

Insourcing, Too

Manufacturing manager William Turek hired all of this staff. The move was the result of FS-Elliott changing ownership. The employees of the plant remained attached to the previous owner because of a labor agreement. For the first year under new ownership, FS-Elliott leased its existing workforce from the previous owners. The arrangement was unsustainable, and the new owners ultimately resolved to make a clean break in this area, too. To Mr. Turek, who oversaw the massive change in staff, this was a challenging time. He watched a lot of experience go out the door. But the fresh start also represented a tremendous opportunity. He was free to implement entirely new processes and procedures without having to retrain existing employees and without having to make the changes gradually. Replacing turning with grinding was just one example. Even bigger changes have involved reconfiguring the layout of the plant and rethinking how to use the company’s various large machining centers. In addition, the plant has begun to take in production that once had to be performed outside—the machining of impeller “blanks.”

These raw impellers are made through casting or five-axis machining, depending on their size. The machined versions used to come from a small number of five-axis machining suppliers in and around the plant’s Export, Pennsylvania, location. Now, that machining mostly comes from the plant itself. One of the newest machine tool purchases here is a Hermle five-axis machining center.

Mr. Turek says having this capability in-house makes the plant even more nimble. Last-minute design changes are now much easier to implement.

Even better, the insourcing makes the plant less vulnerable. “What if a competitor—or even some unrelated company—ended up purchasing our main five-axis machining supplier?” he says. Owning this vital capability means that the capability cannot be taken away.

Wax Free

Machining custom profiles is the work that comes later for these parts. With the work now done through grinding instead of turning, many problems have been eliminated that were the result of the previous process’s wax. The mess was just one of these problems, but it was a major one. Lathes had to be torn down every 4 to 5 weeks for complete cleaning. However, impellers also had to be cleaned thoroughly, because melting alone was not enough to clear the wax away. Any small amount of wax that remained on the part could cause the impeller to fail one of its quality tests—its fluorescent penetrant test—because the wax would show up as a crack. The need for scrupulous cleaning therefore complicated an already time-consuming process.

Grinding overcomes these problems. Because the grinding wheel is big enough that there is no worry about interrupted cutting, no wax is needed to support the blades. In at least one case, the new machine created a new problem, but Mr. Turek was able to turn this into an opportunity as well.

The problem related to inspection. Each impeller has an odd number of blades. That means the impeller has no solid “diameter” along its profile. The wax gave the machined part a smoothly cylindrical form that enabled the shop to measure machined diameters with a micrometer. Now, with the wax taken away, how would the plant measure these parts?

For the sake of continuing to push what this plant can do, Mr. Turek chose to over-address the problem. He bought a portable CMM—a Faro measuring arm—not just because it could accurately gage the part without any need for wax (which it could easily), but also because he wanted to bring a measuring device such as this one in-house. He knew the instrument would be so useful in so many different capacities that it would easily pay for itself. First, however, he had to make it enough of a part of the shop’s standard process that employees would be forced to use it and grow accustomed to it.

Now, machined impellers are inspected in dramatically greater detail with the Faro arm than the micrometers ever would allow. In addition, the same device has been applied to setup—speeding this part of the process as well. Operators now use the arm to quickly determine whether each workpiece has been positioned correctly on the grinder.

Ready And Waiting

Machining an impeller profile is now a significantly faster operation. The speed comes not only from the steps that have been eliminated because wax is no longer used, but also because of the raw improvement in cycle time. Parts that might once have taken as long as 7 or 8 hours to turn can be ground in 25 minutes, Mr. Turek says.

Such a marked speed improvement has led to a sight that this busy plant is not all that accustomed to seeing: an idle machine tool that is waiting for work.

In fact, the grinding machine spends so much time waiting for work that it does not even need a dedicated operator. Matt Fulton, the operator who appears in photographs on these pages, actually spends most of his time tending horizontal machining centers. Operating this particular grinder is enough like operating a lathe that separate training and specialized operators are not required.

That’s good, because the new process churns through impellers so fast that there is rarely enough work to fill a full shift. Therefore, the plant applies a workflow strategy to this machine that is different from the strategy used with other machines. On this machine, it allows work to pile up.

That is, in order to use the grinding machine efficiently, the plant waits for at least three or four different impeller workpieces to accumulate. Then, an operator makes a stop at this machine to quickly process this backlog, before leaving the machine again to return to other work.

http://www.mmsonline.com/articles/replacing-turning-with-grinding.aspx

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A company in northeast Indiana, in the heart of America’s industrial Midwest, is known for the uncommon, the out of the ordinary and the non-traditional. The company—C & A Tool, located in Churubusco, Ind.—is headquartered in a facility with a distinctive Alpine look, complete with landscaped ponds in its front yard, half-timbered walls and fish-scale shingles on the roof. This setting is the company’s way of bringing an element of old-world craftsmanship to today’s industrial technology. Since the company opened its doors in 1969 as a mold shop, it has successfully flourished into a team of more than 500 employees.

The company began as a small tool and die maker in a garage and since has become a national and international supplier of metalworking specialties. “We evolved into one of the premier tooling and precision, contract, advanced manufacturing companies, working in the diesel fuel systems, medical, aerospace and industrial markets,” says Gary Sroufe, the “go-to guy” for the multi-spindle area.

When asked what his job title is, Mr. Sroufe says, “We really don’t have titles here, only empowered technicians and specialists that make up self-directed work teams, working three shifts, as needed, to meet our customers’ highest-precision needs. In fact we don’t have time clocks or rules; we strive to maintain a good understanding of the customers’ needs and work to get the job done. If employees enjoy where they work, and respect the trade, they will help the company reach its goals of exceeding customer satisfaction and service levels, as well as make it more productive. By trade, we are tool makers, engineers, metallurgists, quality control specialists and machine specialists dedicated to achieving the uncommon for the customer and our industry.” With the continued growth of C & A Tool, many new hires become second-generation employees.

Providing solutions for customers is an everyday challenge, and when it comes to tooling or the products that can be produced from fine tooling, few companies can offer what C & A Tool can in capability and end results. According to Mr. Sroufe, “These are the results customers expect in the form of finished products for high performance transportation, business and industrial equipment, for absolute precision of medical and surgical applications and for use in many other industries.”
Flexibility, Capability, Expandability

With multiple locations and specialized production facilities, C & A Tool’s “pod” concept represents the latest in ergonomically designed and expandable manufacturing capability. The company’s new South Building, for example, is shaped like an “H”—191,157 square feet on 46 acres, with each leg containing four pods of 20,000-plus square feet. The cross arm is the central service corridor. It is 24 feet wide, serving each pod and permitting materials and parts requiring several operations to move easily from pod to pod. Corners of walls are cut off to permit lift trucks to turn more easily. Each pod is dedicated to a metalworking specialty, with labels such as Metal Prep, Lathe, Mill, Grind, Deburr and Assembly.
Quality Assurance

With adherence to the highest national and international quality, manufacturing standards are part of every operation at C & A Tool. In other words, quality is ongoing and an integral part of the manufacturing process. With multiple certifications to support multiple industries, each production facility, each production process and each production operation meets the stringent standards for highest quality set by these organizations. Further, the facilities and operations also meet FDA standards and approval for manufacturing in the sensitive areas of medical, surgical, pharmaceutical, food and hygiene. The company’s certifications include ISO/TS 16949:2002 - Second Edition, ISO9000_AS9100.
Teamwork And Partnership

At this shop, teamwork is paramount to achieving goals. This teamwork includes solid relationships and communication among employees, customers and vendor partners. One of these partners is Hainbuch America Workholding Technology.

Manufacturing is a very intricate process, and C & A Tool recognizes Hainbuch for its strategies to invest in the latest technologies for product quality. Both companies are continuously involved in research and development as they pursue answers to their customers’ challenges.

Most machines are typically outfitted with a factory standard workholding component. While acceptable, Mr. Sroufe does not believe the factory standard unit can always provide the most flexible, accurate or efficient solution for his company’s applications. One of the most significant yet overlooked opportunities in which manufacturers can gain the competitive edge is by means of improved workholding solutions. The proper clamping and centering device can minimize workpiece change-over times by as much as 50 percent while improving rigidity and precision, therefore increasing the value of machines and profitability, according to Hainbuch.

C & A Tool combines its line of metalworking equipment from companies such as Mori Seiki, Index, Star CNC, Kellenberger and Voumard with a talented group of operator/programmers. This approach to metalworking, combined with proper workholding, results in controlled processes even in high-precision applications. An example of this is in the Index multi-spindle area, where C & A Tool uses about 50,000 pounds of steel barstock a week to produce more than 5 million parts annually.

“Using the Hainbuch chucks, quick-change collets and accessories in our machines allows us to concentrate on machining, not change-overs,” says Mr. Sroufe. “The ability to change the size of the collets in the machine in only a few minutes is critical in our fast-paced environment. Setup times on multi-spindles are sometimes dictated by the time it takes to change collets. With Hainbuch collets in the machine, collet change times are not figured into the equation.” Mr. Sroufe also says specs on parts that the company runs in its six-spindle Index machines are much tighter than most would expect for this type of machine. “We have several parts with a 0.00025-inch tolerance. Without these high-precision collets, we would not be able to hold such tolerances,” he adds.

Another important aspect of running precision parts is keeping the collets clean. The barstock is cleaned before it goes into the machine; however, the collets still require some maintenance to reach the company’s expectations of added machine and tool life.

“The easier it is to clean them, the more often it will get done,” says Mr. Sroufe. “With the Hainbuch collets, we can pull all six of them, clean them and be back up and running in less than 10 minutes. Hainbuch products have been instrumental in helping us to streamline our workholding needs.”
Pure Proficiency

C & A Tool has come a long way since its start almost 40 years ago. As part of its long line of machining capabilities, including milling, EDM and grinding, the shop features extensive turning operations. It has multiple live tool CNC lathes with two-axis and four-axis turning capabilities, Swiss-turn bar feed operations, hard turning capability and multi-spindle cam and CNC turning. Superior, uniform, known stock conditions are stringently maintained by the metal prep division pod, which opens directly into the turning and lathe pod. Stock travels immediately and effectively for precision processing, helping to ensure quality for the finished products.

The company’s objectives are reduced leadtimes and faster-than-expected delivery, with the highest accuracy and cost effectiveness. With the partnerships C & A Tool has been able to establish, both with internal teams and vendor partners such as Hainbuch, these goals are consistently met or exceeded.
http://www.mmsonline.com/articles/faster-change-overs-allow-focus-on-machining.aspx

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To produce hubs, rods, bushes, pulleys and shafts, CNC turning is utilized where the lathe generates materials after inserting the single cutter point in to the material turning. The procedure of cutting is executed through a cutting tool which is applied either parallel or at right angle to the axis, of work piece. The tool may also be fitted at an angle relative to the work piece axis for the machining angles and tapers. The work piece may be of any cross section, but the machine surface should be straight and tapered.

There are various shapes available in CNC like pointed, simple, radius with profile added with threaded surface, curve and fillet. The CNC machining is more economical than the CNC milling for producing the actual form through CNC turning. The material used for CNC turning possesses various qualities like material of work piece should be firm and can be of solid plastics. For the short running procedure of the mill, arrangements or alternative machine should be kept. CNC turning reduces the cost by minimizing the design elements.

CNC turning procedure is done through applying pressure on the work piece or the weaker material to form the flexible shapes of the material. Sometimes through CNC, the cut surface is formed by applying the helical feed as it results in rotation. The cutting procedure through which the work piece is eliminated from a material block by the help of the rotation of the tool is known as CNC milling. The work piece can rotate in perpendicular or circular way to produce different shapes and sizes. The cutting tool generally rotates in the CNC milling at an axis in a perpendicular form on the podium to generate various structures.

Variety of shapes that can be formed through CNC milling is 3D or 2D and some compound structured material. CNC milling for short procedure is also very economical. It is utilized to make different parts of engine, multifaceted mechanisms, enclosures and mold and custom tooling. Thus, CNC turning is a very effective procedure to make various machine parts of various shapes which is very significant for running the machine.

George is a well-known author who writes on the topics related with Injection Molding, Free CAD Software, and CNC Milling for the site http://www.emachineshop.com

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