American Machinist 01

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americanmachinist.com JANUARY 2010 A Penton Media Publication

Firing Up for Oil / Gas MarketsPage 18, 22, 28

UNCORKINGBETTER HOLES

MACHINING :

LINE-DRIVE HITSPage 10

AUTOMATION:

ROBOTS GET TOUCHYPage 26

SOFTWARE:

CAM DEVELOPERSCAD COMPATIBLESPage 30

Corkscrew machining goes a

step beyond orbital milling.Page 14
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2/52

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americanmachinist.com JANUARY 2010 A Penton Media Publication

Firing Up for Oil / Gas Markets Page 18, 22, 28

UNCORKINGBETTER HOLES

MACHINING :

LINE-DRIVE HITSPage 10

AUTOMATION:

ROBOTS GET TOUCHYPage 26

SOFTWARE:

CAM DEVELOPERSCAD COMPATIBLESPage 30

Corkscrew machining goes astep beyond orbital milling.Page 14

CONTENTS

D E P A R T M E N T S

F E A T U R E S

ON THE COVER

16 MACHINE TOOLS

Multi-tasking machines strike it big in oil.

22 TOOLING & FIXTURING

A fine collecting system.

26 AUTOMATION

Sensors make robots more sensitive.

28 SOFTWARE & CONTROLS

Automated QC in oil and gas work.

32 SHOP OPERATIONS

Wanted: Skilled machinists. Available: Advanced training.

V I E W P O I N T S

6 COMMENTARY

8 GOVERNMENT MATTERS

9 NTMA NOTES

48 CUTTING TOOL APPLICATIONS

AMERICAN MACHINIST(ISSN 104-7958), founded 1877,is published monthly by PentonMedia, Inc., 9800 Metcalf Ave.,Overland Park, KS 66202-2216.

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READER SERV ICE

45 AM PRODUCT EXPRESS

47 ADVERTISER INDEX

DRIVE TECHNOLOGY

Shop gains in accuracy, suface finishes and machinelongevity.

An Ingersoll Form-Master mill corkscrewmachines a large hole in solid stock.

2 I AMERICAN MACHINIST I JANUARY 2010 I americanmachinist.com

E D I T O R I A L M I S S I O N :

American Machinist empowers self-determinedm a c h i n e s h o p o w n e r s a n d m a n a g e r sto control their future. It does this by sharing tools,insights and best practices that managers use toembrace technology, innovate and systematicallyimprove operations. American Machinist facilitates theleap from survival to growth for a community of ownersand managers who operate metalworking businesses inthe context of a global manufacturing economy.

MACHINING TECHNIQUES

Faster large-hole making.

AMERICAN MACHINIST I Volume 154 I Number 1 I January 2010

14

10


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This year started out with a surprise for me: aprocurement exec with an important OEMcalled out of the blue to seek my insights on

a plan that, if effected, would eventually restructurethat companys supply chain. Its a plan that wouldbenefit everyone involved, in the sense that onlythe best-managed, most adaptive machine shopsand fabricators would have the opportunity to beinvolved. But whos ready to respond? I wondered.

I cant predict whether this plan will takeshape or not, and I dont suspect that the futureof manufacturing depends on it. There are solidindicators including increasing consumerconfidence; rising producer prices and industrialproduction data during Q4 2009; and the U.S.Commerce Dept.s studies showing continuingeconomic expansion since last July that amanufacturing recovery is already in progress.

Hearing the callers idea, I immediately recognizedit as something more. It is the sort of forward-thinking strategy that has been missing frommanufacturing for a long time. The past year willstand in our memories as one of decline, but to mymind, the harder part of the recovery effort is toovercome the intellectual stasis that has accompanied

the business recession.A billboard I pass frequently offers this reminder:

Bill Gates started Microsoft in a recession. Itsmeant to be encouraging, but it makes me wonderwhere are the novel ideas that will spur ourturnaround?

Apart from the heated politics inherent to it, theWhat-went-wrong What-can-we-do? discussionof the past year has not led to any persuasive ideasthat address the interlocking problems that hound

the manufacturing sector: tepidindustrial demand, lack of

a skills/training,unavailable financing,and the availability ofaffordable energy.

Theres nothing newabout these. Each onehas been apparent foryears, but in the anxietyof the past year, they

are combined into thejustification for grand

plans. Weve triedmassive federal

stimulus, to no discernible effect, yet. Governmenttakeovers have stabilized some manufacturingconcerns, but arguably have weakened some others.Tariffs on industrial goods are increasing.

Still, we have only talked about worker training(and retraining), and available energy is unobtainablebecause of political and regulatory obstacles. Becausewe focus so intently on the big picture, we miss thesmall improvements. We have no clarity about ourown circumstances.

Its clear to me that most of what has mademanufacturing so difficult, and indeed business ingeneral, has been the surplus of big ideas. Analysts,consultants, academics and advocates havesurrounded us with clouds of solutions, addingmore to each individuals confusion than to generalunderstanding.

This lack of understanding transforms so easilyinto anxiety, especially in the past year, that thealternative should be obvious: avoid big ideas. Theproblems remain, but they return to their properscale. They will respond to appropriate solutions.

For example, domestic industrial demand maynot rebound to suit every shops needs; there has tobe a global component to your production plan. If

skilled labor isnt available, dont lower the standard:raise the level of opportunity. If project financingisnt obtainable, redefine the objective. Or, seek newequity partners.

The right approach for 2010 is to pursue yourown initiative, with confidence and preparedness,regardless of experts advice.

If the past year has been devoted to figuring outwhat has gone wrong in manufacturing, and whatcan be salvaged, it would be good to start earlythis year figuring out what we can do to return ourenterprises to growth. Perhaps more important,

we ought to restore ourselves to thinking aboutprogress, forward-thinking that views problems asan invitation to try again, and accepts failure as theopening to a different approach.

FROM THE E D IT OR

Forward, thinking

Robert Brooks

[email protected]

6 I AMERICAN MACHINIST I JANAURY 2010 I americanmachinist.com
mailto:[email protected]://americanmachinist.com/http://americanmachinist.com/mailto:[email protected]


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he Copenhagen globalwarming summit wouldseem like just another

commitments made in Kyotoby an overwhelming bipartisanmargin of 97 to 0. Even inthat boom year, because it wasbelieved that the health of theU.S. economy was threatened,the Senate was in no mood forunilateral concessions on energyusage. The consensus in the Senatewas that the Kyoto Agreementwould almost certainly lead to

U.S. job losses. Moreover, it wasfeared that Kyoto would committhe U.S. government to policiesthat would cost trillions of dollarsover the coming decades.

The Copenhagen globalwarming summit would entailsimilar commitments. Althoughno one knows how we couldaccomplish it, the U.S. governmentproposed to bring carbonemissions down to 83 percent

below its 2005 levels by the year2050. This is an impossible goalwith current technology. Toillustrate its futility: populationprojections for that year indicatethat the U.S. will have 420 millionpeople living here. That meansthat to reach that goal our carbonfootprint would have to be equalto what we were emitting in 1875.Do we really want to commit

ourselves to a goal that is either soidealistic or so insincere?

By contrast, the Chineseand Indian governments areunwilling to commit themselvesto concrete numerical goals. TheChinese promise only to reducetheir carbon intensity over thecoming years. That translatesinto a commitment only toreduce Chinas carbon emissionsper unit of production.

Under any conceivable scenarioof technological development,we should expect the Chinese tobecome more efficient in theiruse of carbon. They are currentlythree times less efficient than us inthe production of steel. Increasingenergy efficiency is something thatthe Chinese would want to do evenif there were no climate summit andno outside pressure to become moreefficient. It is not a concession.

Although we have heardpositive comments about theChinese and Indian carbonpromises out of some in theenvironmental community andeven some Senators, certainlythe U.S. government is not sofoolish as to accept those pledgesas sufficient commitments. TheChinese and the Indians offer theexcuse that they are developingeconomies and should be given

more leeway. What the U.S.government indeed the world needs to hear from China andIndia are specific pledges tomeet new carbon emission goals,goals that would require themto install expensive new carbon-control technologies, or a switchto new less carbon-emitting fuelsto reduce carbon output thesame difficult trade-offs that

the developed industrializedcountries are promising to make.

Otherwise, the Chinese andIndian promises are empty, andwe are likely to be worse off thanif there were no Copenhagencommitments at all, becausecarbon intensive industries willsimply move to China and India.

Given the fact that the climatechange legislation is not likelyto pass the Senate during 2010in its current form, and thatthe Obama administrationis going to be under pressurefrom the European Union andthe environmental wing of thePresidents own party to dosomething about climate changeand greenhouse gas emissions,it is likely that we will be seeingtough new carbon-restrictingregulations coming from theEnvironmental Protection Agency

(EPA) in the coming years.Just as the Copenhagen

conference began, the EPA issuedan endangerment finding underthe authority of the Clean Air Act.That finding was grounded inthe agencys own climate changeanalysis. It allows the EPA toregulate carbon-dioxide emissionsas harmful pollutants and enablesthe Obama administration tobypass the need for legislation

before imposing controls. Underits legislative charter, the EPAis not limited by the economicimpact of its regulations. Thus, weseem to be about to embark ona path to reach the Copenhagenclimate goals, no matter whetherthe Indians and Chinese makesimilar commitments and despitewhat the U.S. Congress decidesthat it wants to do or not to do.

GOVERNMENT MATTERS

You can help revitalize U.S. manufacturing! Send this page to your Congressman, local and state government leaders,

or your local newspaper editor. Add your own comments on the importance of manufacturing innovation to the health of

our economy. Your comments are also welcome [email protected]

B Y D R . P A U L F R E E D E N B E R G

Climate Change Politics> >

Vice President-Government Relations, AMTThe Association For Manufacturing Technology


Tmeaningless United Nations-sponsored international forumif its consequences were not sodeadly serious to the Americaneconomy. As a historical note, thelast time such an event occurred in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997 theU.S. Senate reacted by passinga resolution that renouncedany Clinton Administration


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NTMANOTES

B Y J A M E S R . G R O S M A N N

JAMES R. GROSMANNISMARKETINGDIRECTORFORTHE NATIONAL TOOLING & MACHINING ASSOCIATION

ne of the difficulties of

writing a monthly column

about what is going on in

One thing that has notchanged in Washington is anold adage: Watch what theydo and not what they say. Thegovernment that is supposedto answer to American votersis now controlled by peoplewho dont want to hear otheropinions, not even from theirown party. They do and say

things in public that hide whatthey do in closed meetings.

Ms. Pelosi and her cohortare pressuring people intheir own party to not speakagainst their plans. SeveralBlue Dog Democrats thathave voted according to thewills of their constituents, arebeing forced out. Several haveannounced that they wont runfor re-election. What kind of

intimidation is Pelosis gangcapable of mounting that chasesthem from office?

Just think about this: TheHouse health-care bill had over2,000 pages that no one had readwhen the vote was called. Priorto committee hearings, both theSpeaker and the Senate MajorityLeader said they wanted to passbills before anyone had time toorganize opposition. Theirrush to vote is a bad idea for any

law. What are they hiding?

It was the same for theHouse climate-change bill. TheSpeaker promised to get a billpassed in time for the Presidentto brag about it at Decembersglobal climate summit. Thatdidnt happen, but (as of thiswriting) the President was ableto announce an agreement withChina and other countries tospend $30 billion dollars onclimate measures. Of course,the agreement is called non-binding, so what good doesit do? It allows the Presidentto claim he did something. Hegets to pledge to spend moretax dollars. He presided overan equally pointless JobsSummit and a meaninglessCredit/Lending Forum. TheAdministration didnt wantany input from anyone thatdisagreed with it at the Jobs

Summit because they alreadyhad their minds made up onwhat they were going to do.They bash banks in public overlending practices, but federaloversight continues to inhibitbankers flexibility to lend.

We have federal czarsoverseeing everything fromexecutive pay to manufacturingpolicies, and anything inbetween. These are people on the

federal payroll without so muchas a wink from Congress. Whereis the governments authority todecide what civilians are paid?Next, some Congressmen saythey intend to hold hearingson how much NCAA footballcoaches are paid! Some wantto legislate how the NCAAshould name the Division Ifootball champion. Why are theyspending their energies on this?What are their priorities?

When, and if, a new health-

care program is enacted, federalofficials may be determiningwhen you get a physical, andfrom whom. They may evendictate it. The House versionwould make it a felony forindividuals to not have healthinsurance if they dont pay thebill Uncle Sam sends them forit. Apparently, they know whatsbest for us! Theyre experts ineverything. Why arent theywilling to be covered by the samehealth-care program theyredeveloping for the rest of thecountry? Members of Congresshave top-notch coverage, andthey dont have to abide by mostof the laws they pass.

Its the same withCongressional pay: no debate,just automatic passage. TheU.S. Congress is passing lawswithout full disclosure or debate

on issues that will affect usfor decades to come. We cantafford it, and we cannot allowit to continue. Major mediahelp them conceal what theyrereally doing by not asking thenecessary questions that wouldreveal any of this. In this NewYear, we must send a message toCongress that this is our country,and that we wont let themdestroy it. Many aspects of their

current agenda will decimateU.S. manufacturing, and we arethe only ones that can stand upand defend ourselves. We cantwait for others to do it for us.Will we take the actions needed?Will we make the neededchanges? Watch what they doand not what they say! >

americanmachinist.com I JANUARY 2010 I AMERICAN MACHINIST I 9

our industry is that I must make

sure that what I write will be

relevant once you read it. Thats

something I learned this past year

as things happened so rapidly

and changed constantly. By the

time this is published, we may

have a new health-care plan that

the federal government will be

running and well all be wondering

how were going to pay for it.

O


12/52

MACH IN ING

The benefits of linear motor-driven machines oftenfar outweigh the advantages of ballscrew-drivenmachines, especially when it comes to position-ing accuracy, part surface finishes and machinelongevity. Thats the opinion of Kevin Hartsoe,who calls these the must have machine-tool

qualities that keep his shop thriving and competitive.Hartsoe is the president of Neu Dynamics Corp. (www.

neudynamics.com), a shop specializing in building en-capsulation molds, optoelectronic and fiber-optic moldsand insert molds for the electronics and semiconductorindustries. But, the incorporation of linear motor-driven

machine tools also has helped Neu Dynamics expand intoother markets, like medical equipment and general con-

tract micro machining work.According to Hartsoe, Neu Dynamics chose linear motor-

driven machines mainly because 90 percent of its jobs in-volve extremely tight tolerances and lots of small, finely de-tailed cavitation work. To illustrate, he cited one cavitationmold that had 2,304 cavities and a top-to-bottom mismatchtolerance of half a millionth of an inch. Parts for the moldmeasured 1 m-sq by 2-m long, but the shops average partsmay be as small as 0.8-mm square.

Linear motor-driven machines at Neu Dynamics includetwo sinker EDMs and a high-speed milling machine. TheEDMs are an AQ35L and AQ55L from Sodick (www.sod-

ick.com), and the mill is a HS430L, also from Sodick.Many shops purchase linear motor-driven machines for


ALINEARWAY

OFTHINKINGFOR ONE SUCCESSFUL SHOP,

HIGH ACCURACY,EXCELLENT SURFACE FINISHES

AND MACHINE LONGEVITY ALL STEM

FROM LINEAR MOTORS.

By Charles Bates I senior editor
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13/52


their incredible traverse speeds. However, Neu Dynamicsdid so more for the positioning accuracy the machines pro-vide and their reliability.

The shop pretty much runs machines non-stop, and be-cause of that and the type of work being done, it neededmachines that would not exhibit any component wear or di-minished accuracy after years of such punishing operation.

If youre going to keep a machine for a long time, uparound six years like we do, and youre doing a lot of high-tolerance work, theres no worrying about losing accuracyover time with a linear motor-driven machine. There arealso no issues with backlash, counter rotation on cutters or

tool offsets. The machines cut in any direction with the sameaccuracy, so there is no threat of a cutter digging into and

Neu Dynamics hardmilled the surface finish on this H-13 54 Rc mold

tool (above) using its Sodick linear motor-driven mill.

The shop also machines EDM electrodes on the linear

motor-driven machine.


14/52


ruining a parts surface finish when the machine changesdirections, explained Hartsoe.

Since incorporating the linear motor EDMs into its man-ufacturing processes, Neu Dynamics is able to burn moldcavities right to size without preliminary roughing opera-tions because of the machines accuracies. Eliminating the

roughing operation also gives the shop longer electrode lifeand more even burns around entire cavities.

One of the Sodick EDMs at Neu Dynamics has linearmotors driving just its Z-axis motion, while the other ma-chine has them driving the X, Y and Z axes. The main ad-vantage of a linear motor-driven Z axis on a sinker EDM isthat electrodes can approach and retract from workpiecesextremely fast (1,440 ipm and 1.2 G acceleration).

Moving so quickly creates an even and natural flushingaction around the electrode that lets Neu Dynamics burndeeper ribs and deeper wells. It also eliminates the need forexternal flushing systems, which, in turn, allows Neu Dy-namics to more easily run the machines unattended becausetheres no need to have an operator standing by to set upflush lines or to adjust flushing pressures.

The shop EDMs a large portion of molds, but it also hard-mills them on the linear motor-driven high-speed mill. And,Hartsoe said, the linear drives provide phenomenal finishesand tolerances, again because of the absence of backlash.

We are really happy with the finishes the milling ma-chine produces. Prior to purchasing the machine, we ran

some test parts and comparedthe finishes done on the lin-ear motor-driven mill to thosedone on ballscrew-driven ma-chines. The linear mills fin-ishes met our requirements,

while only one ballscrew ma-chine came close to achiev-ing the needed finishes, saidHartsoe.

He added that there was abit of a learning curve whenit came to hardmilling on theSodick machine. When wepurchased the mill, the teamhere had limited experiencewith hardmilling. At thattime, we estimated the learn-ing curve would be between8 and 10 months, so to usethe machine in the meantime, we opted for a vacuumsystem for milling graphiteEDM electrodes.

One of the lessons Neu Dy-namics learned as it strength-ened its hardmilling knowledge was that the process generatesheat, especially when machining certain size mold cavities. So,to be on the safe side, the shop keeps cutting tools a bit furtheraway than usual from the finished size when rough machining.Then for the finishing process, it will creep up to the finished

size. Plus, the surface finishes are so good that there is no needfor manual benchwork to polish out tool marks.

Hartsoe added that the shop also learned a few thingsabout surface finishes, especially concerning the medicaljobs it does. Some of these components require a matte fin-ish or light abrasive finish, which the shop would generatein the mold using a secondary EDM operation. With theHS430L linear mill, mold cavity surfaces are hardmilledthen simply glass-beaded to the required surface finish,eliminating the secondary EDM step.

When it comes to programming the linear mill, Neu Dy-namics discovered that the machine requires CAM software

with quite a bit of look-ahead capability. At present, theshop is using MasterCam (www.mastercam.com) and hashad no problems with data starvation.

But, reliability is perhaps the most beneficial aspect of linearmotor-driven machines the shop has discovered. We have nothad one problem with any of the machines as far as the lineardrives are concerned, none of the problems that typically de-velop over time with ballscrew machines, said Hartsoe.

Lights-out machining is a high priority at Neu Dynamics,and on one of its linear motor-driven sinker EDMs, a 24- to48-position toolchanger keeps the machine running for long pe-riods of time. The other EDM has a standard 8-position changerbecause the shop runs bigger electrodes on that machine.

For the linear motor mill, Neu Dynamics developedfixturing for stacking multiple jobs. For example, when ma-

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15/52


chining electrodes on the mill, the shop uses four System 3R(www.system3r.com) workholding units. Or when runningmultiple parts, it uses dual vises.

According to Hartsoe, the linear motor-driven machineshave also opened up new markets/business for the shop. Byjust having the machines, he indicated that work seems to

find Neu Dynamics.The shop currently machines electrodes for other mold

building companies and does some hardmilling for them, too.These are shops that have not yet made the investment ineither an electrode-milling or hardmilling machine. We also getopportunities from these shops to do cavitation work that, inthe past, we never got, said Hartsoe.

He observed that in the mold industry a shop must eitherinnovate and diversify, or it will perish. Ten years ago, wewere primarily electronics-based. Now, 65 percent of ourwork is medical. However, we are seeing a growing influxof electronics work coming back from Asia and an increasein low-volume custom work, mainly because overseas shopsdont even want to look at a part program unless it involves atleast 1 million parts per month, commented Hartsoe.

The linear motor-driven machine tools at Neu Dynamics helpthe shop handle the 120 to 140 projects it gets per year. Not allof this work is mold building, and it can vary from a $2,500spare parts order to a multiple mold package costing $400,000.

Linear motor-driven Sodick sinker EDMs let Neu Dynamics burn deeper ribs and deeper wells without external flushing systems.

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16/52

MACH IN ING

Corkscrew milling involvessimultaneously feedingon all three axes: advanc-ing on the Z-axis whilesimultaneously interpo-

lating on the X and Y axes to enlargethe hole. The process, requiring a ma-chine with interpolating capability,is said to out-perform spade drilling,progressive twist drilling, trepanningand flame cutting. Proponents say itoften produces a finish good enough

to eliminate finish boring.Because there is only a small contact

area between tool and workpiece at anyinstant, cutting forces are lower than inspade drilling, said Konrad Forman,product manager at Ingersoll CuttingTools (www.ingersoll-imc.com). And,gone is the friction between drill flutes,chips and the sidewall of the hole."

Whereas orbital milling is basi-cally a two-step process, plunge thenorbit, corkscrew milling is continuous.The centerline of the mill advanceshelically, resulting in a faster cut and

better finish with no lap lines. Holesize depends on the program, not cut-

ter size. This reduces drill inventoryrequirements because a drill for everyhole size is no longer needed.

Cutter characteristics

The tool of preference for cork-screw milling at many shops is theIngersoll Hi-Pos+ indexable mill orthe Form-Master+ button face mill.The former is recommended for shal-lower holes and the latter for deeper

ones. Surface quality with the Hi-Pos+is often good enough to eliminate


UncorkHolemaking ProductivityPROGRESSIVE SHOPS ARE SPEEDING UP LARGE HOLEMAKING BY EIGHT-

TO-ONE OR MORE BY ADOPTING CORKSCREW MILLING A STEP BEYOND ORBITAL MILLING

By Jim Benes I associate editor

Above: Deering Machine rough-mills

steel die parts at least five times faster

than before using Ingersoll Form-Master

high-speed high-feed mills. Feedrates

reach 127 ipm on annealed die steels.

Left: Logan Machine Works opens big

through-holes from solid stock using

corkscrew milling with an Ingersoll

Form-Master+ button face mill for a

cycle-time savings of 16 to 1.
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17/52


finish boring, even on guidepin holes.Both cutters work well for cork-

screw milling because the insertshelical cutting edge geometry, whenfollowing an interpolated corkscrewpath, leads to straight sidewalls anda 90-degree bottom. By contrast,conventional square inserts followingthe same path cant create a square

corner at the bottom of a blind hole,and cant avoid leaving lap lines in thesidewalls, noted Forman.

The inserts helical cutting edge alsocreates a gentler entry into the work,much like scissors shearing paper. Theresult is the kind of finish obtainedfrom a solid carbide endmill.

The main caution in any corkscrewmilling operation is to provide an in-dependent source for chip clearance invertical holes opened from the solid,Forman advised. Because there is noprovision for chip evacuation in theinsert geometry itself, gravity oftencan do it in horizontal holemaking,but youll probably need compressedair on vertical holes.

Field experience at scores of moldand die shops has shown corkscrewmilling also eliminates a lot of extrasetups and machine-to-machine trans-fers, which are especially expensive onlarge workpieces. With conventionaldrilling, weve seen a lot of mold and

die makers forced to shuttle heavyworkpieces between heavy-duty drillpresses and jig borers because of thehorsepower required for the drillingoperation. With corkscrew milling, thewhole friction issue is eliminated andyou can open a bigger hole on a lowerhorsepower machine. And, if finishboring is needed, you can grab the partonce and do both operations on thesame machining center, said Forman.

Reports from the field

Heres a look at how some shopshave benefitted from the technique ofcorkscrew milling.

Logan Machine Works, PhenixCity, AL, makes about sixty trun-nion blocks a year, each with severalthrough holes of different sizes. Previ-ously, Logan opened the larger holeswith a pilot drill, flame-cut it to leave in. of stock, then bored it to finalsize. Now, the shop opens four-inch

diameter holes in large machine com-ponents in 30 minutes of machining,

down from eight hours of drilling oroccasional flame cutting. Moreover, itmills and finish-bores the hole on thesame machine, eliminating two setupsand two part transfers.

Logan mills workpieces from sol-ids with the Form Master+ at 800sfpm and 85 ipm. For smaller holesand thinner stock (up to in.), the

previous cycle was pilot drill, lasercut and bore. Now, it corkscrewmills with an Ingersoll Quad Drill+at 650 sfpm and 8 ipm, reducing aone-minute cycle to ten seconds andeliminating all boring. In addition tospeeding up the operation, the QuadDrill+ nearly doubled insert edge life.The shop had toyed with another endmill in an orbital milling process, butwithout much success.

Deering Machine, a one-man shopin rural Georgia, is saving 15 minutesper hole in a variety of work involving1- to 1.5-in.-diameter holes. Cork-screw milling also requires less horse-power than progressive twist drilling,our previous standard process, saidpresident Steve Deering. The shopsprevious standard practice was totwist-drill, using progressively largerdiameters. Ingersolls John Spray rec-ommended corkscrew milling, rela-tively new at the time, and demon-strated it penetrating solid stock. As

a result of the demo, he projected a15-minute cycle time saving per hole.

I saw the demo but didnt believemy eyes, said Deering. Who in theirright mind plunges a face mill intosolid stock, let alone runs it in like acorkscrew?

Now corkscrew milling is standardpractice for all larger holes. Deering uses0.625-in. Hi-Pos+ for holes up to 1.125in. and a 0.75-in. mill for larger holes.Feedrates in both cases are 61 ipm.

A large Texas forging plant cork-screw mills all of its guidepin holes, cut-ting an eight-hour job per dieset to just1.5 hour. After spade drilling, its previ-

ous standard process, the holes neededfinish boring; however, by corkscrewmilling the finish boring operation waseliminated, resulting in an expected an-nual savings of more than $35,000 onguidepin holes alone.

To compensate for thermal expan-sion of the bottom die, which cancause misalignment in the diesetsover the course of a day, the companycreated a slot rather than a perfectlyround hole. The slot is about 0.005-to 0.010-in. longer than it is wide.Corkscrew milling enabled us to im-prove the dieset design as well as savetime, said the manager. We couldntdo that with a spade drill.

Vaughn Manufacturing Co. inNashville estimates it is saving $100per dieset on stamping dies for appli-ances and patio products. Holes aver-age 2- to 3-in.-diameter by 2- to 3-in.deep. Previously, the company relied onspade drilling. Vaughn plant managerThomas Austin said, The bigger the

hole, the greater the saving. First, wedont have to open up the hole in di-ameter steps as we did with twist drills.Second, material removal rate isnthobbled by machine horsepower, asoften happens when drilling big holes.

With corkscrew milling, the cutternibbles off a lot of tiny chips in rapidsuccession rather than hogging outessentially one heavy chip all at once,explained Ingersolls Konrad Forman.The new process takes a lot of the

friction out of large holemaking. Bycontrast, spade drilling a large holecan easily stall many modern low-power CNC machining centers.

As a rule for hole-size-to-cutter di-ameter, Vaughn standardizes on 2 to1. For instance, for a 2.5-in. hole, thechoice is a 1.5-in. Hi-Pos+ cutter. Ac-cording to Forman, This relationshipis a matter of shop preference, but 2to 1 leaves plenty of room for chipevacuation. Also, for straight sidesand square corners, be sure the inserts

have positive rake geometry axiallyand radially.

In corkscrew milling, a cutter advances into the

work as it orbits, opening the hole much faster

than drilling, and reduces friction as well.


18/52

E D I T E D B Y C H A R L E S B A T E S I S E N I O R E D I T O R

M A C H I N E T O O L S


Precision Downhole Pumps,a division of Cameron Inter-national, manufactures andmarkets subsurface sucker rod

pumps and other products for the oilindustry worldwide, including the U.S.,Canada, Indonesia, Romania, Russia,and South America. To go from bar-stock to finished part, many of Preci-

sions pump components require up tosix different operations, each of which

means that machine operators have tostop the process and change tooling orreposition workpieces before proceed-ing to the next operations.

To remedy these sorts of productionhold-ups, the shop incorporated twotwin-spindle, twin-turret turningcenters with Y-axis milling capabilitiesthat slashed the six separate

manufacturing operations down toone continuous operation. The two

multi-tasking machines, a PumaTT1800SY and a Puma TT2500SY,

are both from Doosan Infracore(www.infracoremt.com). Themachines have created manufacturingreductions of over 30 percent atPrecision and have significantlyimproved quality and speed, largelydue to operators not having to handleparts six different times.

The Doosan equipment hasreduced our labor costs, reducedhandling time and improved thequality of our finished products. It isamazing to see what this equipment

has meant to our productivity, saidMark Burris, Precisions business

Turning Centers Gush OutOil Pump Parts

Randy Misenhelter (left) and Mike Layne, both of Precision Downhole Pumps, inspect components made in single setups on a Puma twin-

spindle, twin-turret machine.

O I L & N A T U R A L G A S
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19/52


development specialist.According to Randy Misenhelter,

operations manager at Precision, themachines improved the shops abilityto deliver product to customers in atimely manner. It used to take threedays to make a part. Now we get anorder and can ship the part the nextday because these two machines havetaken over the work of 10 lathes andmills and we havent even pushedthe machines yet! When we do, wewill be able to increase the speed ofproduction even further as time goeson, he explained.

In production, Precisions operatorsset up the Doosan machines and aninventory of barstock. They confirmthe programming for the specificcomponents and let the machinesdo their work. Raw material exitsthe machines as finished, preciselymanufactured parts.

Notably, the efficiencies created

by the Doosan machines has allowedPrecision to become competitive inChina, where oil production is a fast-growing segment of the economy.Plus, the shop is recognizing stronggrowth in both its domestic andother international business. Today,it has sales that are five times its2004 numbers.


20/52



In oil-patch metalworking andfabrication, I.D. finishing of orificemeter tubes is one job that may

be just low-tech enough that its stilltypically tackled using a die grinderand some form of homemade hone.These manual hones have dominatedin this application because they simplydo not demand the power, precisionand higher cost of an industrialtube hone. However, this could be

changing with the introduction oflow-cost, automated tube hones thatcan use legacy tooling.

Meter tubes, also called meterruns, are critical parts of the orificemeter, a device thats been used tomeasure gas flows for more than acentury. More than a million orificemeters are used in the United States,often as custody transfer points todetermine billing amounts. For thisreason, theres an expectation of highaccuracy, and the meter tubes play animportant role.

Orifice meters have no movingparts. They consist of specified

lengths of meter quality pipe oneither side of an orifice plate, which

may be several inches thick, witha precisely sized round hole in it.Gas flow through the pipeline isrestricted slightly by the size of theorifice, and the pressure differenceon either side of the orifice,measured by sensors in the metertube immediately upstream anddownstream, is used tocompute fluid flow.

Accuracy of the orifice meter

requires a laminar gas flow, whichthe meter tube aids. The meter runprovides a length of straight pipe,

precisely sized and finished, so thatswirl or turbulence in the gas streamsmooths out, producing a laminarflow before and after the orifice.

Often a flow conditioner is usedinside the meter run upstream fromthe orifice to help create a laminarflow within a shorter length of pipe.The maximum and minimum surfaceroughnesses on meter run I.D.s arefunctions of the beta ratio and nominaldiameter of the tube. However, anexcessively smooth surface causes

turbulence in the gas stream.The meter run itself is a fabrication

with welded flanges or fittings on bothends, so manufacturers must eliminateevidence of the weld bead and restorea correct I.D. surface finish. In the firstphase of this multi-step process, thepipe is chucked in a lathe to machineout most of the weld bead, but oftenthe bead is ground down with a diegrinder and a burr tool on a longrod. Then, finally, the pipe is honed,typically with a manually strokedhomemade hone of some kind.

These homemade hones usuallyconsist of a drill motor with a shaftseveral meters long that mountsstandard honing tools. The lack ofpower stroking or automatic tool feedmake running these homemade rigs avery physically demanding job.

Budget-priced automated tubehones, such as the HTA tube honefrom Sunnen (www.sunnen.com),are ideal for meter runs. The all-electric, lighter-duty HTA machinestrokes automatically, is clutched and

thus safer, provides better accuracy,and quickly pays for itself throughreduced cycle times and less operatorfatigue and workmans comp claims.

Additionally, users of the HTAare able to mount ANR275-typetooling, the most widely used tools onmanual hones. This system is aimed atsurfacing applications where stockremoval ranges around 0.030 in.

The machines base price is less than$50,000 for a 12-ft-stroke model.

Included are high-end features suchas Siemens drives and PLC controlwith touch screen HMI for setting allmachine parameters stroke reversalpoint, spindle/stroking speeds, andcrosshatch angle calculation.

HTA models accommodate 6-ftand 12-ft part lengths, bore I.D.s of2.5 in. to 21 in., maximum part O.D.sof 24 in., and part weights to 4,000lb. An electronically controlled 3-hpAC gear motor powers the machinesspindle from zero to 300 rpm, while a

servo-driven stroking system providesa speed range of 0 to 90 fpm.


21/52


Harry Junger,

managing director

of Gildemeister

Drehmaschinen GmbH (www.

dmgamerica.com), sings

the praises of his companys

latest addition to its CTX

beta TC- and CTX gamma

TC series of machines. The

new CTX gamma 2000 TC

features a B-axis and high-speed 12-station turret,

2-channel control and DMGs

MultiChannel programming

system with ShopTurn 3G

interface.

DMG engineers optimized

every inch of the machines

space to integrate its

additional turret for up to

12 fixed or driven VDI-40

tools. The innovative design

allows for 4-axis machining

on one spindle or parallelmachining on the main and

counter spindles.

For example, shops can

use a turret-head steady rest

to support shaft parts with

diameters up to 5.9 in. on the

CTX gamma 2000 TC. Then,

center points can be fitted

into the machines counter

spindle or directly used from

the turret. Pick-up devices

for storing finished parts andan insertion aid for difficult-

to-feed workpieces enhance

the machines ergonomics

and facilitate the machine

operators work.

The machines generously

dimensioned work envelope

allows components to

remain on the turret and for

swiveling in when necessary.

Both toolholders operate

independently of each

other and are unrestrictedin movement, making it

possible for shops to handle

a wide range of different

workpieces and turn part

lengths to 78.7 in. and

diameters to 24.8 in.

Given the complex tasks

the CTX gamma 2000 TCperforms, the machine sets

up quickly and is easy to

operate. Such shop floor-

oriented attributes derive

mainly from the machines

multi-channel Siemens

840D Solutionline control

and, more specifically, the

integrated ShopTurn 3G

software for MultiChannel

programming.

This control system

stems from decades of close

development cooperation

between DMG and Siemens

(www.automation.siemens.

com). It gives users the

choice of DIN or WOP

programming for generating

the most demanding contour

programs in dialogue.

With the innovative

symbiosis of 2-channel

controls and MultiChannel

programming, we can now

offer shops the best of bothworlds, said Junger. The

system allows graphical 3D

shop-floor programming

directly on the machine,

together with process

simulation and convenient

cycles via the ShopTurn 3G

user interface, which is the

same for the B axis and the

turret. It also offers time-

optimized programming of

demanding milling contours

and integration of customer

cycles, externally generated

program modules and

additional technologies via

DIN code. Shops can even

combine ShopTurn cycles

with DIN functionality.


22/52



E

ntrust Tool & Design

Co. Inc. (www.

entrusttool.com), amanufacturer of Unisig and

Davis & Thompson machine

tools, needed a particular

arrangement of components

for the cutting mechanism

on its new USC50, a

7-axis, 2-spindle deep-hole

machining center for heavy-

duty mold and diemaking.

Because this large-capacity

machine tool was intended

for four-sided machining

and deep-hole drilling on

workpieces measuring up

to 40 in. by 120 in. on a

25-ton CNC rotary table,

an extremely high degree of

accuracy and rigidity was

required, especially at full

extension of the tool tip.

The machine had to be

highly productive as well as

extremely precise, even at the

maximum speeds of 394 ipm.

And, with a 6.30-in. quilland 19.7-in. travel, an ANSI

85.50 CAT 50 spindle was

designed into the machine

to handle the substantial

torque, so a power drawbar

was essential for the machine.

Also, a nearly backlash-free

worm gear assembly would

accommodate the load and

provide the stability and

repositioning for satisfying

the accuracy specification.

After surveying availablesuppliers, Entrust Tool &

Design sought out a longtime

associate, Advance Machine

& Engineering (www.ame.

com) to assist with these

critical components.

For the precision power

drawbar, Entrust Tool &

Design preferred a standard

product that featured bolt-on

reliability, through-spindle

coolant, steep taper air blast

at stand still for blow off,and standard integral sensors

for feedback. All the features

had to be configurable to

customer needs.

Based on previous

automotive experience,

Entrust Tool & Designselected an OTT-Jakob power

drawbar with rotary union

and steep taper gripper. This

modular ES Series drawbar

provided the design flexibility

for matching to customer

applications and the rigidity

for quality part finishes.

The drawbar delivered an

optimal connection between

the toolholder and the spindle

toolholding tolerances on

the USC50 were targeted at

0.0002 in. This, combined

with a speed capability of

36,000 rpm, a high pull force,

and rotary union options for

programmable coolant and

lubricant delivery, solidified

Entrust Tool & Designs

decision to spec the OTT-

Jakob power drawbar and

related components.

Entrust Tool & Design

turned to Advance Machine& Engineering again for

the worm gear assembly.

The decision was made to

go with an OTT worm gear

High-Precision Components Mean High-Accuracy Deep Holes

For the Unisig USC50 7-axis, 2-spindle deep-hole drilling machining

center, Entrust Tool & Design relied on Advanced Machine &

Engineering for critical design component assistance.

Presented as the first high-precision 3D waterjetcutting technology of itskind, the Dynamic Waterjet

XD from Flow International

Corp. (www.flowcorp.com)

improves part cycle times

and provides accuracies that

are two to four times better

than standard non-Dynamic

systems. The company also

said Dynamic Waterjet XD

is 30-percent faster than its

original Dynamic technology.

Dynamic Waterjet XDs

versatility enables shops tocut a wider variety of intricate

designs, allowing them to

tap into new markets. With

3D cutting and complexbeveling, these shops can cut

elaborate parts previously

unattainable using standard

non-Dynamic waterjets.

These 3D advancements

have been integrated with

the core benefits of Flows

original Dynamic Waterjet

technology, which eliminates

taper and other errors found

on waterjet-cut parts.

In other Flow news,

the company has formed astrategic alliance with

The Flow Dynamic Waterjet XDs 3D capabilities and versatilityenable shops to cut a wider variety of intricate part designs.

Waterjet in 3D
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Kuka Robot Group (www.

kuka-robotics.com).

This alliance will help

assure we address the

important production andadvanced segments of our

marketplace, said Charley

Brown, president and CEO

of Flow. This expands

our process and robotic

applications.

Stuart Shepherd, president

of Kuka, said that his

company was honored to be

selected by Flow to provide

high-accuracy robotic

technology for the future

growth of robotic waterjetcutting applications.


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Paul Precision MachineInc., a Tulsa machineshop, specializes atmachining ductile

iron cylinder castings, steeplecylinders and crosshead guidesfor natural gas compressors.High-pressure coolant flushingis required, as the Paul machin-

ing centers accommodate largework envelopes. The shop hada recurring and costly problemresulting from such heavy-dutymachining. Coolant nozzle clog-ging that followed filters cloggedwith cast iron fines created im-mediate problems in coolant de-livery to the large workpieces.

Machining cast iron producesa large volume of small particles,known as fines. These particlesare often in the 25-to100-micron

range, well below a typicalmachine tool filter systems

capabilities. This causes sludge toaccumulate in the chip conveyorscoolant tank and the filtervessel. When clogging occurs,the machine requires substantialdowntime and loss of production,as the sludge is literally shoveledout of the system.

Every 80 to 100 hours, our

big machining centers weregoing down, explained ChuckPaul, company founder andpresident. We had to stopproduction, completely breakdown the system, clean andreplace parts, reassemble and getback to business. This processusually took from eight to 12hours, resulting in a substantialloss of revenue, in addition topushing back our productionschedule every two weeks or so.

While attending a machine-tool show, Chucks son Kevin

found a magnetic chip discfiltration system manufacturedby Hennig Inc. (www.hennig-inc.com) designed to handlefines from cast iron machining.After 60 days of conversationand drawing exchanges, thedecision was made and the firstHennig Cast Iron CDF FiltrationSystem (CICDF) was installedon one of Pauls 600-mmOkuma machining centers.Installing the Hennig CICDFwas a relatively low-impactprocess for Paul, as the systemuses the machine tool controls,interconnected to a manualauto-switch, so it runs whenever

the machine tool is in operation.Through the first four months ofoperation, no machining-centerdowntime occurred as a resultof canister filter clogging. Paulnotes the Hennig CICDF systemperforms equally well on allmaterials, even non-ferrous.

On the Hennig CICDF, thedirty coolant is channeled tothe conveyor where the bigchips and larger particles are

conveyed up an incline anddischarged into the chip hopper.Then, smaller cast-iron finesare collected by a magneticdrum that rotates across astainless steel scraper blade.As the sludge accumulates onthe scraper blade, it drops thefines onto the conveyor inclinewith the chip load for deliveryto the chip hopper. Finally, thesmallest particles that escapethe magnetic field of the drum

migrate to a disc filter mediamade from a micronic weave

System Collects Clogging Cast-Iron Fines

E D I T E D B Y J I M B E N E S I A S S O C I A T E E D I T O R

T O O L I N G & F I X T U R I N G

Kevin Paul,

daughter Lisa

Davis and

Chuck Paul of

Paul Precision

with two of

the cast iron

cylinders the

company

machines.

CASE STUDYs

O I L & N A T U R A L G A S
http://americanmachinist.com/http://www.hennig-inc.com/http://www.hennig-inc.com/http://www.hennig-inc.com/http://www.hennig-inc.com/http://americanmachinist.com/http://www.hennig-inc.com/http://www.hennig-inc.com/http://www.hennig-inc.com/


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of stainless steel mesh thatintercepts particles as smallas 25 microns. A continuousbackwash of coolant blasts theparticles collected on the discback to the magnetic drum,where they are scraped off assludge, eventually droppingonto the conveyor incline andcarried out with the chip load.The disc filter is sealed with aninverted lip seal on the cleanside of the conveyor wall, wherethe fines and contaminantscannot interfere with sealing,so a consistently tight seal andlong seal life is assured. Paulalso reports longer coolantlife and less heat build-up asother benefits of the system.Only clean coolant returns tothe reservoir for continuingduty on the machine tool, or itis diverted to the systems self-

cleaning spray nozzles.Paul admits he experienced

some sticker shock at thecost of the first system, until hecalculated the payback time to be14 to 16 months on a machiningcenter running one 10-hourshift per work day. And, thatcalculation accounted only forthe machine tools billing rate.

With the additional uptimeand better predictability on his

work schedule, Paul was able toimprove turnaround time on jobsand not have to make the almostbi-weekly adjustments caused bythe former system. As a result,an additional Hennig CICDFhas been installed and a third isscheduled. Compared with thealternatives of a vacuum cleaningsystem or the changeover andhazmat disposal problems ofconventional paper media, thereare substantial cost and other

benefits to the Hennig magneticdrum system, said Paul.


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A C C E S S O R I E S

Acompact version of GFMesstechniksMikroCAD measuring system, availablefrom PAT Gauge Inc. (www.patgauge.com),performs a variety of precise 3D-inspectiontasks, including measuring both tool height andedge quality in one task. The ability to measurecutting edge radii, form defects and tool heightin less than two seconds makes the MikroCADPico a must-have for all tool presetters, SteveDuffy, president of PAT Gauge, said.

Edge radii are determined by over 100automatically aligned, sectional planes through a3D profile data set. This comprehensive evaluationincludes single radii, averages, distributions

and chipping parameters important formanufacturing high-quality surfaces.The system also optimizes cutting speed and

minimizes wear and the risk of edge chippingand fractures. This allows for fast machiningand low rejection rates, resulting in highefficiency and substantial savings.

The MikroCAD Pico series projects syntheticfringes for a phase-accurate triangulationof the entire measuring field. This methodaccommodates a large height range at highresolution in a single pass. Also, micro mirrordisplay projection (DLP) and dedicated LED

light sources result in precision and stability forall measuring tasks.


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Also new from IscarMetals (www.iscarmetals.com) are the

companys Tangmill ID5 PCD

wiper inserts and Helimillinserts tipped with IB85

PCBN for machining cast

iron and a range of difficult-

to-machine materials at

high cutting rates. The LNAR

1106PN-R-S-W ID5 PCD-

tipped wiper inserts have

a large frontal radius and

sharp cutting edge. They

provide a uniform clean-

cut edge and good surface

finish of less than Ra 0.3 m.The inserts can be used on

standard face mills or the

new axially adjustable face

mills with one or two wiper

inserts.

Helimill inserts ADKW

1505 PDER IB85 have

an IB85 PCBN brazed

tip and can be used on

90-degree milling cutters

for semi-finishing and

finish machining on cast

iron. The inserts featurea 0.031-in. corner radius

and a honed cutting edge

(0.001 in.). They can be used

on standard F90AD...-SFR

or the E90AD ...-HSK63-S

axially adjustable millingcutters. By adjusting the

axial position of the inserts,

it is possible to obtain a 0.3-

to 0.7-m surface finish.

IB85 is a fine-grain

polycrystalline cubic boron

nitride grade with a small

grain size that makes it

possible to grind a sharp

cutting edge and achieve

high surface quality, which

provides long tool life.The IB85 grade,

containing 85% PCBN with

Al Co and W binder, is a

strong and tough material

that can be used for heavy

roughing and interrupted

cuts. The range of materials

covered by IB85 includes

hardened and cast steel

of over 45 HRc, gray and

ductile cast iron, powder

compacted and sintered

metals and heat-resistantalloys.


28/52

Sensors at their wrists measureforces and torque to giverobots a sense of touch, andthanks to a coordinated effort

by ATI Industrial Automation (www.ati-ia.com) and Staubli Robotics (www.staubli.us), ATIs Networkable Force/Torque Sensor System (Net F/T) is nowfully compatible with Staubli robots toallow them a sense of touch.

The joint effort provides true plug-and-play connectivity via Ethernetto Staubli CS8 robot controllers. TheNet F/T transducer, with Net Box,interfaces to the robot controller viaa TCP/IP socket and optional VAL3library, which reads force values toenhance manufacturing automation.

Together, the cost-effective robotand sensor let shops automate difficultassembly, machining and finishing tasksthat previously required skilled personnelor complex assembly machines.

Net F/T Sensor systems measure

six components of force and torque(Fx, Fy, Fz, Tx, Ty and Tz) and areavailable on any of ATIs Force/Torquetransducers, and help optimize end-userrobotic applications. ATIs Six-AxisForce/Torque sensors work with avariety of robots.

In addition to providing an Ethernetand a CAN bus communicationinterface, the Net F/T sensor systemsEtherNet/IP interface is fully ODVA-compliant. Either Power over Ethernet

(PoE) or an external power supply(11VDC or 24VDC) drives the NetF/T system. Its interface (Net Box) issealed to IP65 (water splash proof),and its transducer and cable can besealed to IP68 (submersible in freshwater to 10 m). Multiple transducercalibrations can be permanently storedin the system for user selection.

Advantages of the Net F/T systemover conventional systems include cable-break detection, multiple interfaces,LAN connectivity, high-speed output,

Web-based configuration and demo, pro-grammable thresholding and more.


29/52


Automated,pollution-free, low-temperature black

oxide finishing systemsfrom Birchwood Casey(www.birchwoodcasey.com) are reducing finishingcosts by as much as 75percent for two of the

companys customers. OneTru Temp CNC automatedsystem is being used forfinishing motion controland power transmissioncomponents, while asecond Tru Temp systemis finishing firearm-related components.Both systems employthe latest automatedfinish technology for

environmentally friendly,fast part finishing withoutthe addition of labor.

Manufacturers arestriving to improve qualityand lower costs withoutusing polluting processes,and one primary areaof interest is in metalfinishing, reported MarkRuhland, vice president ofBirchwood Casey. Thelatest automated CNC Tru

Temp system incorporatesa programmable hoist that

moves components throughthe 200-degree F. black oxideprocess in a 28-minute cyclefrom start to finish.

He added that thesafe and simple processcontains no EPA-regulatedcompounds and usuallyrequires no waste treatment

of process rinse waters. TheCNC-controlled processline produces consistentlyhigh-quality, black oxidefinishes with minimallabor input, to streamlineworkflow patterns andsmoothly mesh with ISOand JIT programs. Capitalcosts are modest, with fastpayback schedules.


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E D I T E D B Y R O B E R T B R O O K S I E D I T O R

Throughout the past lean year,energy markets have remainedsteady for their suppliers including oil and natural gas

exploration, refining, and distribution.MIC Group is one of those suppliers.The Texas-based shop produces high-alloy components, mainly for energymarkets, and with concurrent engineer-ing and integrated manufacturing,it develops new products and offerscapabilities like investment casting andelectron-beam welding, in addition tomultiple CNC machining and precisiongrinding capabilities.

Energy isnt the only marketwhere MIC is active. Aerospace anddefense suppliers also make the call

for contract manufacturing of quick-turnaround prototypes and full-scaleproduction runs. But, no matter themarket conditions, finished product

quality is critical to MICs reputationand long-term success.

To automate its First ArticleInspection (FAI) documentation,MIC Group selected InspectionXpert2010 (www.inspectionexpert.com), developed by ExtensibleCAD Technologies. It is the latestinstallment for a quality-controlplatform used to generate inspectionreport forms and balloonedinspection drawings, quickly andaccurately, from CAD programs.

FAI is a necessary task formanufacturers to compare a physicalsample with the specifications uponwhich it was produced (e.g., a CADversion of the component). Each

specific dimension is measured onthe physical part and compared withthe standard, and a list is compiledof the dimensions that have been (or

have not been) met.InspectionXpert inspects

components and compares them toversions it draws from CAD programsincluding SolidWorks, AutoCAD, SolidEdge, Pro/ENGINEER, and CATIA, orfrom 2D drawings (e.g., PDFs or TIFsamong many other formats).

MIC Groups customers requirethe inspection data sheets withcomprehensive and reliable measureddimensions for every part shipped.Its components average 300 differentdimensions to be verified, often withup to 1,800 elements. Among the tasksit performs with InspectionXpert First-Article 2010 are:

1) Applying sequentially numberedballoons to the face of the CADdrawings to track the inspectabledimensions;

2) Creating an inspection sheet,including the reference numbers andactual dimensions that travel with thecomponents to be filled out by the

machinists and inspectors throughoutthe process; and

3) Comparing drawing revisionsto evaluate the impact on themanufacturing process.

According to Nathan Byman, MICGroup general manager, The mostpowerful advantage of InspectionXpertis that it completes these three taskssimultaneously, and in less time thanany one of them could be performedusing any other familiar method.

Recently, MIC Group indicatedthat since adopting InspectionXpertit is achieving average time savings of80%. We currently have one personworking full-time doing this jobfunction. Without InspectionXpert,we would need at least four more tokeep up with the current workload,according to Byman.

When you look at collapsing thesefunctions, you arent just lookingat an improvement in one area, hedetailed: You are looking at a total

process that, in our experience, is fivetimes faster.


31/52


C

NC controls developer NUMCorp. (www.num.com) recentlyintroduced a three-dimensional

simulation program that unifiesworkpiece simulation with collisionmonitoring. True 3D, as its called,makes it possible for machine buildersto introduce advanced optimizationcapabilities, which machine shops mayuse to increase throughput.

NUM claimed True 3D is one ofthe first commercial CNC softwaresimulation tools to combine workpiecesimulation with collision-monitoringfacilities. Machine shops will be able

to prototype and optimize the entiremachine production process in virtualmode, which, along with better machineproductivity, should reduce tool wear.

3D simulation is among the latestresults of dramatic improvementsin PC processor performance overthe past several years. Aside fromsimulating complex machiningprocesses, NUM reported thatthe software visualizes tools, themachines kinematic properties, andthe workpiece blank as 3D volumes.

Even the complex interpolatedengagements that take place between

the tool and the workpiece in five-axisCNC machines can be depicted.

The 3D simulation calculates the

entire process chain of a machinetool, from the ISO standard CNCprogram and its CNC processing, tothe machining process, accordingto the developer. Thus, collisionsare detected, too, meaning potentialcollisions between tools and theworkpiece, as well as between thetools and machine elements (e.g.,motor housings, sensors).

The simulator includes an abrasion-analysis module that calculates

the material removal rate in cubicmillimeters-per-second at every pointof the machining cycle, as well as thespecific material removal rate on thetool surface in cubic millimeters-per-second-per-millimeter.

Programmers using True 3D watchcolor animation of the specific removalrate on the tool surface, gaining a visualconfirmation that the machine is usingthe best cutting feed. Removal ratesare shown as percentage gradations, sothe optimum manufacturing time can

be identified according to the best tool-wear results.


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S O F T W A R E & C O N T R O L S

SolidWorks 2010 Debuts

A

mong this months notableevents for precision

manufacturers will beSolidWorks World 2010 aconference and expo for users ofthe Windows-based CAD programdeveloped by Dassault Systmes(www.solidworks.com), as well asSolidWorks program and componentpartners. The new product,SolidWorks 2010, reportedly isfocused on optimizing core designfunctions, so users can speed uptheir design work, intelligently. It

also reportedly includes hundreds ofcustomer-specified enhancements.SolidWorks World 2010 begins

January 31 in Anaheim, Calif., with aprogram that lists over 150 technicalpresentations by SolidWorks usersand industry experts.

Delcam for SolidWorks

Among the new productintroductions there will be Delcamfor SolidWorks, Delcam plcs (www.delcam.com) new integrated CAM

system for the CAD platform. Delcamsaid the initial version of Delcam for

SolidWorks will include its modulesfor drilling and two- through five-

axis milling; subsequent versions willinclude turning, mill-turn and wireEDM modules.

It will be a new programmingconcept for Delcam, which hasusually supplied its machiningsoftware as stand-alone programs forlinking to any CAD program. Delcamfor SolidWorks marks a new directionfor Delcam. Tom McCollough,Delcams vice president forFeatureCAM development, said the

group was responding to numerouscustomer requests to be able toconduct CAM programming fromwithin the SolidWorks environment.

The developer said Delcam forSolidWorks combines the benefitsof its PowerMILL and FeatureCAMCAM systems, using machiningalgorithms already used effectivelyby over 30,000 machining operationsworldwide. Examples of this areits toolpath calculation speed andadvanced high-speed machining

capabilities.Delcam for SolidWorks will be

fully integrated into the SolidWorks

environment, appearing andfunctioning like the CAD program,with full associativity so that changesin the CAD model will automaticallybe interpreted in the toolpaths.However, this associativity will bemore intelligent than that offered inmany other integrated CAM systems,according to the software group.Delcam for SolidWorks will notsimply modify the existing toolpathsbut also will review the choice ofcutting tools and machining strategies,and change them if necessary.

Toolpaths generated with Delcamfor SolidWorks may be checked bythe integrated simulation modulebefore they are passed to the machinetool. A complete range of Delcampost-processors are included, forfast and accurate data transfer to themachine tool or auxiliaries.

Mastercam X4 for SolidWorks

Also this month, CNC Software

Inc. will introduce a SolidWorks-compatible CAM program Mastercam X4 for SolidWorks(www.mastercamforsolidworks.com) which it calls a fully integrated,seamless application that will let

The first version of Delcam for SolidWorks will include modules for drilling and two- through

five-axis milling; subsequent versions will include turning, mill-turn and wire EDM modules.

Mastercam for SolidWorks presents users

with a number of capabilities that allow

them to program their parts directly within

SolidWorks using Mastercam toolpaths and

machining capabilities.
http://americanmachinist.com/http://www.solidworks.com/http://www.delcam.com/http://www.delcam.com/http://www.delcam.com/http://www.mastercamforsolidworks.com/http://www.mastercamforsolidworks.com/http://americanmachinist.com/http://www.mastercamforsolidworks.com/http://www.delcam.com/http://www.delcam.com/http://www.solidworks.com/


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users program their parts directlywithin SolidWorks using Mastercamtoolpaths and machining capabilities.

Mastercam for SolidWorks presentsa suite of cutting strategies, includingFeature Based Machining (FBM) and3D High Speed Machining (HSM)

toolpaths. It also delivers automatedcleanup toolpaths meant to letmachinists complete parts faster andwith little or no handwork, accordingto the developer.

Benefits are expected both on theCAD and CAM sides of the program.Mastercam for SolidWorks reportedlyrelies on familiar parameter screensand processes, and presents amachining tree that provides quickaccess to any point in the productionprocess.

Conventional 2D programming,e.g., pocketing or contouring, willgain a range of high-power functions,according to CNC, including:

r%ZOBNJD.JMMJOHBNFUIPEGPSconstant toolpath adaptation, socutting conditions remain consistentand machinists can use the entirelength of the tool flute.

r)JHI4QFFE.BDIJOJOHBGVODUJPOfor speeding up production andmaintaining superior finish.

r1FFM.JMMJOHXIJ

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