Volume 10, Issue 4 mitsubishigearcenter.com Q4 2010

Machine Tool DivisionGear Technology Center46992 Liberty DriveWixom, MI 48393248.669.6136

IN THIS ISSUE:

Gear Machine Sleigh Overload SALE

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Greetings from the Machine Tool Team

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The Effects of Poor Cutter Quality

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Machine Overhaul & Rebuilding Services

2010:YEAR IN REVIEW

SIMPLY PuT: The year started strong, flagged in the middle, and finished like gangbusters! It’s the kind of year that brings a salesman great hope, dashes it, and then leaves him confused as to why he didn’t see the improvement coming.

In REALITy, manufacturing in America has seen positive gains, month after

month, for the past 14 months. Gains in gear cutting tool usage, which would be a first indicator of improved manufacturing conditions, has also been steadily increasing. Unfortunately, due to the economic downturn, customers have had excess production capacity for some time. Historically, machine utilization has to reach 80% before customers feel comfortable pushing ahead with capitol equipment investments. This statistic combined with recent talk of a “double dip” in the economy means investments must be based on a concrete knowledge of incoming orders. We are now being told that the double dip theory is not going to happen… so is it safe to assume that machine tool orders will follow? It depends on the industry sector. Wind power, for example, has been flat for about a year. One reason is that the Government focus and investment incentives have been reduced. Aerospace is another sector which is currently stagnant. In addition, we can suppose that the reduction of armed forces in overseas conflicts and a reduction in military spending will translate into a reduced need for military equipment.

A couple of positive sectors are those of construction and automotive. While the production numbers for highway vehicles this year will fall far short of the 16 to 17 million of recent years, the development of new vehicle technologies and associated transmissions is at an all time high. Every company making automobiles is actively developing smaller, more

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(cont’d on pg. 2)

mitsubishigearcenter.com

SERVICE BAY

Mitsubishi Overhaul:MAChINE REbuILDING SERVICES

fuel efficient cars and hybrid technology whether it is pure electric or an engine/electric variant. This development activity along with booming sales in China leaves one with a healthy auto industry outlook.

Similarly, Construction Machinery is experiencing robust orders which are encouraging capital machine tool investments. While some of this can be attributed to Government stimulus programs, the bottom line is that in spite of the difficult housing market and poor unemployment rate, the economy is finally showing real signs of improvement. Admittedly, we still have some way to go before the stock market reaches 14,000, which is where we were before the global economic freefall, but there are very good indicators that this will happen in the next two to three years.

The result of the positive news is that 2010 sales of Mitsubishi gear machines will nearly reach the same levels as 2008, which was one of the best years in the history of Mitsubishi gear machines in north America. With positive forecasting we are anticipating a robust 2011 which, at its end, should see us return to the “good old days” of years past. It is with this thought that we go into the Christmas break with a reasonably high level of optimism for the future.

(cont’d from pg. 1)

For more information about Mitsubishi rebuilding services visit the website at mitsubishigearcenter.com.

Manufacturing companies are frequently confronted with the

problem of keeping their operations running efficiently with the constant flux in capacity requirements. Contract awards are received with short notice combined with difficult JIT shipment demands. Often companies are faced with tough decisions to meet capacity “do we purchase new, purchase used machines or upgrade what we have?”

In some cases a company has enough capacity with current machinery yet need to upgrade their machines due to increased maintenance costs and excessive down time. It is nearly impossible to plan for machine down time while running at high capacity rates. And let’s face it, planned down time for machine maintenance always takes a back seat to shipments of manufactured product.

To meet customer demands in both of these areas Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machine Tool Division has been increasing its machine overhaul capabilities. MHIA-MTD can take a machine or sub-assemblies into our facility in Wixom, Michigan and perform complete rebuild and overhaul services or repair major sub-assemblies that are affecting quality and downtime.

These photos show two current projects in the before state. The first project (top) is for a major automotive supplier that has decided to overhaul their Mitsubishi FC30 shaving machines and reconfigure the machines to a new part. This job will include a major overhaul of many critical sub-assemblies, retrofitting of the automatic loading system and updates to the guarding. Mitsubishi has provided a solution that will save this customer 30% of a new machine purchase and 4 months in lead time for delivery.

The second machine photo (bottom) is from

a customer that has a capacity need in their grinding department but their budget wouldn’t allow for the purchase of a new machine. They purchased a used Mitsubishi RD32 cylindrical grinding machine, however, it required extensive repair. Mitsubishi will perform a full overhaul of the major sub-assemblies.

We will present the results of the overhauls including photos of the finished product in our next issue. From everyone in the Mitsubishi Service Department, we appreciate your business and wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

FC30 CNC Shaving Machine

RD32 CNC Grinding Machine

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Poor Shaper Cutter Quality & The Effects On Gear AccuracyIn a recent Gear News article “Only Good hobs Cut Good Gears” time was spent analyzing the hobbing and hob sharpening process. The same is also applicable to the shaping process in regards to initial cutter quality and cutter sharpening. In order to have accurate gears when gear or spline shaping the following issues have to be addressed:

1 Shaping cutter error – the selected cutter must have a quality commensurate to the quality level of the process to be performed. If this fundamental is ignored there can be no guarantee of reaching the required quality levels dictated on the gear drawing.

2 Concentric and true running cutter spindle- the run out of the face and mounting taper should not exceed 0.0002”.

3 Cutter arbor and cutter assembly accuracy- when mounted to the machine spindle against the bottom face and locating taper, should not exceed 0.0002” total indicated reading (TIR). Run out in this area could be introduced by dirt particles, especially between the cutter arbor and face of the spindle. With taper locations it is quite difficult to modify the position of the cutter adapter to improve excessive run out so it is the responsibility of the operator to ensure absolute cleanliness of the locating surfaces before assembling the cutter adapter to the machine spindle. This also brings us to the issue cutter arbor quality. The arbor is a component manufactured to the highest possible precision. In order to achieve the best quality and absorption of heavy cutting loads, dual contact is required on the locating face and taper of the arbor and spindle. It is not easy to manufacture such arbors. Special attention has to be made to achieve the contact and location accuracies. It is recommended that the arbor should be purchased from an experienced tool builder who can follow recommended process and gauging procedures as used by the OEM.

4 Sharpening accuracy – sharpening quality of the shaper cutter must be commensurate with that of the original cutter supplied by the OEM. In the case of shaping, any cutter sharpening errors are directly transferred into the finished workpiece. Typical errors which can occur during the sharpening process and their affect on tool and gear accuracy are shown in the following illustration (Figure 1). Cutters with inaccurate or crowned rake angles will produce distortion of the workpiece gear tooth profile.

These are the most common precautions related to cutting tool and cutting tool mounting quality. There are also a few other areas such as types and quality of work holding fixtures, cutting conditions and machine problems which also affect resulting gear quality. These will be covered in future issues of the Gear news, Tech Center.

TECH CENTER

FIGuRE 1 : Shaper cutter sharpening errors and

their influence on gear accuracy.

Involute error with cutter having a

positive rake angle over nominal

Involute error with cutter having a

negative rake angle over nominal

Involute error with cutter

having a convex rake angle

Involute error with cutter

having a concave rake angle

W ith the books about to close on a very good year at Mitsubishi we cannot let it pass without

thanking our loyal customer base. It is our hope that the success of this year was equally reflected in the good fortunes of our customers. Compared to previous years the attendance was down at the September IMTS in Chicago. There was, however, clearly a buzz of optimism from those who

attended. The inquiries and orders have been coming fast and furious since September, so we welcome the Christmas break as a time to take a deep breath and recharge the batteries for what is predicted to be a strong 2011.On this positive note we wish our customers and their families a prosperous and peaceful new year and urge working together for the positive benefit of all.

Christmas Greetings from the Mitsubishi Machine Tool Team

Machine Tool DivisionGear Technology Center46992 Liberty DriveWixom, MI 48393

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Page 4 Q4 2010 mitsubishigearcenter.com

IN THIS ISSUE:

Take advantage of the year-end tax incentives, get huge savings and give your business the gift of stock gear machines—a gift that will keep on giving! • Great pricing & immediate delivery• Standard options to suit a variety of part geometries.• Adaptable for integration with a variety of options.

Qualifying gear machines include:• SE25, GB100, GE20, ST25’s• Hobbing machines with dry and wet capability from 6” to 40” diameter.• Shaping machines with fixed guides up to 10” diameter.• Shaping machines with “Programmable Lead

Guide” capability from 10” to 16” diameter.

Call your local Salesman for an immediate quote. Act now to get your machine on the floor by 2011. Promotion runs from November 17, 2010 thru December 31, 2010.

SleighOverloadSALE!

Machine Tool Division Gear Technology Center46992 Liberty Drive Wixom, MI 48393

For more information about this special offer call 248-669-6136 or reply by E-mail to: ian_shearing@mhiahq.com.