Work-holding solutions for EV market

A family-owned engineering company in West Yorkshire is aiming to establish itself as an expert in work-holding devices for the production of machined components in electric vehicles.

Craftsman Tools says it is one of only a handful of British companies that specialises in work holding for machining processes, and the only one that designs and manufactures all of its own products. As a result of partnerships built up over several years, Craftsman Tools already produces a work-holding device used by almost all major automotive manufacturers in the machining of camshafts, and is familiar with the unique challenges faced by the industry.

The company’s initial developments are for a friction-welding process to bind two parts of a CV shaft and then machine the joint in situ. Critically, Craftsman Tools will use its expertise to develop work-holding equipment that will last in the harsh manufacturing environment of a fiction welder to ensure conformance with the required geometric tolerances. The company already has supply-chain partnerships with companies targeting major EV manufacturers, such as Tesla.

Electric engines have considerably fewer moving parts than internal combustion engines (20 versus 2000), thus the market for machined components is considerably smaller and there is an even greater emphasis on producing the remaining parts more accurately with tighter tolerances. The initial concept is for a modular design, which can be adaptable to different CV shafts and similar components, increasing its versatility with a host of automotive manufacturers.

Managing director Robert Johnson says: “This is a very exciting project, and one that plays to all of our expertise and knowledge. Sales of electric vehicles increased by 25% last year, and an increase in the uptake of electric vehicles is crucial to the UK achieving its net-zero carbon goal by 2050. The project will be a large step towards Craftsman’s own goal of moving away from carbon-intensive industries and towards the green economy.”

For further information
www.craftsmantools.com

Quickgrind prepares apprentices for WorldSkills

Cutting-tool specialist Quickgrind is currently undergoing the training cycle for the WorldSkills 2021 competition in Shanghai. The two UK ‘CNC Milling Squad’ finalists are Abigail Stansfield from BAE Systems and Joel Keen, an apprentice at Roke. The pair will face-off at a competition, currently postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to decide selection for Shanghai. Quickgrind has provided its expertise and cutting tools to help the apprentices, including the Alligator and Caiman ranges of three-flute end mills for aluminium, and the Q-Cut and Mirage series of four-flute tools for steel machining.

For further information
www.quickgrind.com

In-process digital clamping adjustment

SMW Autoblok has introduced its fully sealed MM e-motion four-jaw chuck, providing contact-free adjustment of the gripping force without unclamping parts during every phase of the production process.

An individual electro-mechanical drive independently controls and monitors each jaw of the MM e-motion. This capability allows for many clamping functions, including self-centring, compensating and individual jaw movement, all within one fully automated chuck.

Suitable for mill-turn applications, horizontal and vertical lathes, the MM e-motion facilitates the heavy-duty precision machining of easily deformed workpieces and provides an automatic centre adjustment for any workpiece shape or configuration, including round, square, rectangular and irregular shapes, as well as workpieces with different wall thicknesses. Also available is a lightweight (LW) version for when mill-turn load-bearing capacity on the spindle is limited. LW versions feature the same functionality as the standard MM e-motion yet allow for higher workpiece weight and more usable Z stroke.

The chuck body and internal parts are case-hardened for increased chuck life, as well as rigidity, precision and durability. This specialty power chuck accepts imperial serrated top jaws and is available in sizes from 500-1250 mm.

Suitable for Industry 4.0, permanent monitoring of the grip force and jaw positions can be stored and recalled for when the process needs repeating. As a result, digital data is easily interchanged between different machines in the same production facility or at other facilities worldwide.

SMW Autoblok’s MM e-motion uses the newly developed F280 wireless inductive radial coupler system that transmits energy and data contact-free through an air gap of approximately 3 mm between rotating and stationary components.

For further information
https://bit.ly/2GcQBEA

Robot-based system for LMD coating and repair

The installation of advanced technology supplied by CNC Robotics at ASCO Engineering and Surface Technology means the company can now offer a wider range of machining, coating and repair processes. By adding a robot-based system for laser-metal deposition and hard-facing cladding, CNC Robotics has extended the range of manufacturing techniques used at ASCO.

Andy Deegan, the company’s chairman, believes that the system has made ASCO more versatile than any equivalent supplier in Europe, creating the ultimate one-stop-shop.
Based in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, and with a second site in Dubai, ASCO offers a comprehensive service incorporating CNC precision machining, fabrication, surface coating, diamond grinding and superfinishing repair technologies. Alongside an extensive machine shop equipped with CNC lathes and machining centres, the site houses specialist coating equipment, including proprietary systems specifically designed for the company’s processes. To support manufacturing operations, ASCO’s in-house metallurgical laboratory offers the testing of coatings to international standards and CNC co-ordinate measuring machines for dimensional inspection, ensuring the certification of precision components to within microns.

Laser-metal deposition and hard-facing cladding allow the deposition of coatings such as tungsten carbide, Stellite and Inconel with a significantly lower and more localised heat-affected zone (HAZ), even when using materials that are difficult to weld. This capability means that the process has a minimal impact on the mechanical properties of the substrate material, and reduced potential for distortion and damage to the chemistry and structure of the base core material. In addition, the small melt pool enables the processing of very complex geometries in a single set-up, when depositing protective surfaces, undertaking repairs or creating near-net shapes.

The flexibility of the robot cell supports the ability to work with very complex shapes. Offering six-axis movement, the robot is fitted with specially designed work holding that adds a further three axes, giving the potential for nine-axis operation. In addition, an optional special head allows the internal cladding of bores up to 2 m in length and down to 55 mm bore size.
Deegan had used robots in the company’s thermal spray booths for several years and recognised their advantages in repeatability and consistent quality. With high levels of dust and noise in the booths, they also provide health and safety benefits. However, he felt extra support would prove beneficial in developing the new process.

By chance, Deegan met Jason Barker, chief technical officer at CNC Robotics, at a classic car show.
“We started talking about Jason’s car and things developed from there,” recalls Deegan. “I explained my idea for a robot-based laser deposition system to Jason and it soon became clear that he was the right man to make it all work.”

The main challenge for the system resulted from the variety and complexity of the shapes processed at ASCO Engineering, since the laser has to be as near as possible to 90° to the surface of the part. To overcome this obstacle, CNC Robotics proposed a Kuka robot that includes very few restrictions on its range of movements.

Head of the laser department at ASCO, Andrew Mawsley, worked with Barker and the CNC Robotics team to install and test the new process.

“It seemed quite complicated at first but, once Jason had helped me to get familiar with the system, it became much easier, even for the more complex jobs,” he says.

Mawsley had a basic knowledge of C++ programming from his university course and also uses Orange Editor software on a laptop to create programs for the robot.

“Using the laptop, rather than the robot control, means that I can start one process running and begin programming the next job,” he explains.

While the new system is predominately for adding coatings to new parts, it has also proved valuable in component repair. For these projects, repair material is applied in layers of up to 1 mm per pass and then ground back to give the final surface. Dependant on client requirements ASCO is, in reality, able to clad to any thickness.

The main benefit of the new system is the consistency of results. Many of the coating materials used at ASCO Engineering are very expensive blends that are necessary to provide the required corrosion resistance and wear resistance. Many of the parts made by the company find their way into demanding applications, such as those in the oil and gas, power generation, mining, and aircraft industries, where any failures can lead to costly losses in production.

“The robot system is at its best when we are working with batches of parts,” states Deegan. “We can process the first part, confirm that it’s dimensionally accurate and carry out full laboratory checks on the surface integrity. Once we know that we’ve set the correct parameters for the first part, we can rely on the repeatability of the robot to ensure the rest of the batch will be equally good.

“The repeatability also helps us to meet on-time delivery requirements,” he adds. “After the first part has been completed, the time the robot will take to repeat any task is very predictable, which makes scheduling easy. If we can guarantee high quality and offer on-time delivery, clients won’t have any need to go elsewhere.”

For further information
www.cncrobotics.co.uk

Two-jaw module from Hainbuch

No matter what shape or size – round, cubic, small or large – machine shops can clamp any kind of workpiece with the Hainbuch modular system. Of particular note, machine operators are able to change over the various clamping devices very quickly.

Hainbuch is constantly adding to its modular system so that users can always find the optimum solution for every clamping application. However, one thing was still missing, a concept for clamping cubic parts, which is why Hainbuch has introduced the two-jaw module.

Classic clamping heads ensure the external gripping of round workpieces. However, when these devices reach their limits due to the requirement for machining larger diameter workpieces, then the three-jaw module is used. And now, for cubic parts, the new Hainbuch two-jaw module is the solution of choice for centric clamping in machining centres and milling machines. In just two minutes, it is possible to change from external clamping to centric clamping.

The two-jaw module is suitable for use at speeds of up to 1500 rpm. Due to its small, lightweight design, the solution is a good alternative to large and heavy centric clamping devices. The basic unit, into which the jaw module inserts, is a Hainbuch chuck or vice. Notably, the exchange of modules takes place without changing the clamping device and, thanks to the integrated Centrex quick-change interface, without any need for alignment.

For further information
www.hainbuch.com