Thanks to continued growth, Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC) has taken delivery of an MX7 Linear grinding centre from Anca.

The MX7 Linear is the fourth Anca grinding centre acquired by ITC and the fifth such machine to arrive since the company extended its manufacturing facility by over 50% in 2016.
Able to process tools up to 300 mm long, with diameters up to 200 mm, the MX7 Linear uses Anca LinX linear motors and scales. LinX linear motors are said to offer higher axis speeds and acceleration, leading to reduced cycle times, while maintaining smoother axis motion. In addition, the machine has a permanent magnetic spindle that provides high torque at lower speeds, which is particularly important for carbide grinding.
Regarding precision, the Anca MX7 Linear incorporates a bi-symmetrical gantry design. Evenly straddling the tool centre line, the gantry delivers rigidity and resistance to thermal growth, while keeping vibration to a minimum. In addition, the MX7 Linear has been specified with automatic in-process measurement and compensation. The LaserPlus built-in laser probe measures tool geometries to within ±2 µm or less.
With respect to productivity, the latest arrival at ITC incorporates Anca’s FastLoad-MX automation system. The FastLoad-MX automation system uses the existing machine axes to ensure a compact design with a small footprint. Loader movements are kept simple, making it suitable for ITC to undertake the grinding of tools in small batch sizes.
This high-performance addition will enable ITC to increase its capacity and meet growing demand for its range of solid-carbide round tooling.
For further information www.itc-ltd.co.uk

Microdiamant has named Master Abrasives as its UK and Ireland representative for its range of diamond products, which are used for fine grinding, lapping and polishing applications.

Master Abrasives’ managing director Paul Batson says: “We identified diamond polishing products, such as diamond slurries and micron diamond powders, as an area which needed be added to our product range. At the same time, we were contacted by Microdiamant, who were looking for a UK partner. Microdiamant products are manufactured in Switzerland to high quality standards.”
For more than 60 years, Microdiamant has been continuously optimising and re-inventing micron diamond with customer needs as a constant focus. Microdiamant is a privately held company that distributes its products through a network of agents, with subsidiaries in approximately 20 countries across Europe, the USA and Asia. The company manufactures diamond products in all common diamond types – natural, monocrystalline, polycrystalline and nanocluster – and in sizes ranging from 18 nm up to 100 µm.
Microdiamant products available from Master Abrasives can be split into categories, the first being micron diamond powders for the superfinishing of hard materials. Micron diamond powders are offered in micron and sub-micron sizes, and in synthetic and natural diamond types.
In addition, Microdiamant offers diamond slurries for the lapping and polishing of hard materials, both in engineered and ready-to-use form. The ready-to-use diamond slurries combine precision graded micron diamond sizes with chemical formulations that are designed to offer high removal rates and surface quality. Microdiamant also provides liquid diamond GAFs, diamond compounds and grinding pads, composite polishing pads, and metallography products.
For further information www.master-abrasives.co.uk

The latest addition to the machinery portfolio at Enfield-based Rimex – a specialist in the production of metal sheet finishes – particularly polished, embossed and coloured stainless steel sheet products, is a bespoke Timesavers 72 Series 1600-HL ‘hairline’ finishing system from Ellesco.

“Although many of our European customers prefer a satin finish on sheet for internal architectural features, ‘hairline’ is extremely popular in the Asian market,” says Nick Barnes, sales director at Rimex. “We have been able to supply hairline product in the past, but it wasn’t straightforward and we had to modify/reset existing machines, which added time and cost. Our investment in a bespoke machine from Ellesco and Timesavers to achieve that finish has streamlined the whole process.”
In order to deliver a hairline finish on the 72 Series 1600-HL, the abrasive belt moves at a slow speed, around 0.6-2 mm/min, while the material passes beneath. The effect is to create a continuous ‘scratch effect’ from one end of the sheet to the other, a finish that is seen as more aesthetically pleasing for internal architectural features such as elevator doors and internal walls.
Production director at Rimex, Richard Watson, says: “We are now focusing on creating a standard hairline finish, using a grit size that gives a softer look to the surface that meets all the standards for external cladding, where the roughness tolerance has to be less than 0.5 Ra.”
For further information www.ellesco.co.uk

Whether traditional or new manufacturing processes are involved, none of the available technologies make it possible to produce component surface finishes in the required quality.

Process steps such as deburring, rounding and cleaning, as well as targeted functional or decorative surface finishing, are thus indispensable. Solutions by means of which these tasks can be executed reliably and economically will be presented at Deburring Expo 2019 in Karlsruhe on 8-10 October.
Parts manufacturing is currently faced with new tasks in numerous areas. Due to more and more complex geometries and finer structures, machined, formed, primary formed, forged, sintered and moulded workpieces are not only resulting in stricter requirements where actual parts production is concerned, but also during deburring and surface finishing. The technical cleanliness of components is an essential quality criterion in many sectors, including automotive, aerospace, machine building, medical engineering, metrology, sensor technology and drive technology, as well as electro-mobility.
“Reliable deburring, during which extremely fine burrs and flash must also be removed depending on the degree of required cleanliness, is a fundamental prerequisite for complying with cleanliness specifications,” explains Hartmut Herdin, managing director of fairXperts GmbH & Co. KG, promoters of Deburring Expo.
Furthermore, in some cases, surfaces are required that minimise friction, wear and noise, and which make it possible to enhance performance and extend service life. Downstream processes such as joining, sealing, coating and assembly also necessitate burr-free, and in some cases, rounded edges, for various reasons. And thus for example, in the field of sheet metal processing, deburring minimises the risk of injury due to sharp edges and reduces tooling wear for edging and straightening machines. In addition, good deburring and well-defined edge rounding make it possible to enhance painting quality at the edges.
For further information www.deburring-expo.de

Today, the gold standard for titanium implants features textured surface on all areas where integration with bone needs to take place.

Traditionally, these functional textured surfaces have been achieved through the use of grit blasting (also known as sand-blasting), either alone or in combination with chemical etching. However, laser texturing replaces a random process such as blasting or etching, with a digital one.
Pulses of laser light, often delivered in a nitrogen or argon shield gas environment, are directed at the material surface. The laser heats and modifies the metal, creating local surface deformation. Pulse duration, measured in nano-, pico- or femtoseconds, is very short and the impact location and pattern are precisely controlled with an end result that is repeatable, clean, requires no consumables, needs no secondary handling, and does not require 100%
final inspection.
The use of laser texturing allows a surface to be structured/textured with a precise, repeatable pattern and enables both product engineers and manufacturers to design in and meet more exacting specifications for roughness. Multiple different textures can also be applied on the same device without any need for masking, while elements such as 2D barcodes or other UDI features can be easily integrated.
A key criterion in the quality of a laser texturing solution is the ability of the system to correctly compensate for curved surfaces. Most commercially available systems introduce errors when applying a texture to curved geometry. However, GF Machining Solutions’ laser texturing machine tools make use of advanced software to allow the texturing of even the most complex surfaces.
For further information www.gfms.com