IMTS 2020, which is set to take place in Chicago on 14-19 September, has launched a dedicated educational resource on its website to help rebuild the manufacturing supply chain post-COVID.

The new mini site provides a repository of information to help manufacturers, OEMs and job shops increase resiliency when faced with future disruptions. Content includes stories, videos, webinars and podcasts that provides the manufacturing industrial base with guidance on how to rethink, re-engage and re-establish its supply chain.
For further information www.IMTS.com/supplychain

In Europe, Telsonic is adding vibration friction welders from Korean manufacturer Daeyoung to its portfolio of plastic bonding technologies.

The business relationship already enjoyed by the two companies in the North American market (US, Canada, Mexico) will now be extended to Europe, Russia and North Africa. To this end, the Telsonic GmbH centre of excellence in Germany has been expanded to assist users on-site with support and technical service, from design to tool manufacturing.
For further information www.telsonic.com

Heraeus Amloy and Trumpf have started working together on the 3D printing of amorphous metals.

Their goal is to establish the printing of amorphous parts as a standard production method on the shop floor by improving process and cost efficiencies. Amorphous metals are twice as strong as steel, yet significantly lighter and more elastic. These materials exhibit isotropic behaviour, which means their properties remain identical, regardless of the direction in which the 3D printer builds up the workpiece. Heraeus has optimised its amorphous alloys for 3D printing and tailored them for use with Trumpf’s TruPrint systems.
For further information www.heraeus.com

Changing what is the company’s most popular product can pose significant risk, but in the case of Ceratizit Group’s SilverLine solid-carbide milling cutters, taking that calculated gamble has paid significant dividends for users, who can now enjoy improved performance from the totally updated range.

While cautious not to make change for change’s sake, the development team was tasked with improving the three key elements that give a solid-carbide tool high performance, namely the carbide substrate, coating and geometry.
Demonstrating that SilverLine was a “good tool made even better”, extensive field trials were undertaken in Germany. The test results speak for themselves, as highlighted by the example at long-standing SilverLine user Heinz Knöpfle GmbH.
Says production director Christian Knöpfle: “As big fans of the original SilverLine tools, we had very high hopes, but the amazing results that we’ve achieved with the upgrade have far exceeded expectations.”
The results from the trials showed a tangible increase of between 20 and 40% in cutting speeds. At the same time, service life increased by 30 to 40%.
“I noticed straight away that the new SilverLine tools are quieter, thus reducing the burden on the machine,” says Knöpfle. “The values obtained over the months then confirmed this; we have a new favourite tool.”
In the tests, SilverLine was initially used for machining a stainless steel polygon shaft, which Knöpfle produces in various sizes for a water management company.
Says Knöpfle: “We use the tool at extremely high cutting speeds and therefore achieve excellent chip evacuation, with a service life and level of process security that other milling cutters never reach. This is ideal for users like us, who only wish to use a small selection of tools.”
For further information www.ceratizit.com

A form-compensation option has been launched by NUM for its Numroto tool-grinding software.

The option enables tool manufacturers to ‘close the loop’ between CNC tool grinding and measurement, further increasing process accuracy and consistency. NUM’s system inherently compensates for process variables, such as temperature fluctuations and grinding wheel wear, and is likely to prove popular with manufacturers of specialist precision tools, which demand tight production tolerances.
Machine shops seeking to maximise the accuracy of tools produced on CNC grinding machines generally use a CMM to obtain probed measurements of the machined part; using this information to influence the production process during subsequent machining operations. Until now, Numroto users processed CMM results with proprietary third-party compensation software running on an external computer, before feeding a suitably corrected target profile back to the CNC machine.
Designed in conjunction with several key Numroto end users, NUM’s form-compensation facility is a fully integrated part of the company’s form-cutter package, and completely dispenses with the need for any third-party software. The data exchange between the CMM and CNC machine can be handled by XML interface, or by export/import of the DXF file via a local area network (LAN).
The software employs filtering algorithms to create a smooth and precise compensation profile. Importantly, the orientation of the grinding wheel and the path speed from the original profile is always calculated so that only the position of the contact point on the cutting edge is compensated – and not the orientation of the grinding wheel. Performing the calculation in this way ensures that the surface quality of the tool is unaffected by the compensation. The form-compensation option is compatible with Numroto version 4.1.2 or later.
For further information www.num.com