INTERNATIONAL NEWS

CT for process control in AM

Metal additive manufacturing (AM) company Sintavia has installed a Nikon Metrology computed tomography (CT) system at its facility in Florida, US to help control the AM process.

Using powder-bed AM with electron and laser-beam melting, Sintavia currently manufactures components from Inconel 718 and 625, aluminium, titanium, cobalt-chrome, stainless steel and other proprietary powders.
AM allows special internal designs to be realised, such as conformal cooling channels, lattice networks, hollow members and other complex geometries. Both additive and traditional manufacturing can result in microscopic voids and gaps within the structure, which can cause stress fractures and reduce the longevity of a component’s lifecycle. All of these internal features can only be inspected non-destructively with CT scanning.
Sintavia has installed a 450 kVA micro-focus CT (micro-CT) system from Nikon Metrology. By converting 2D pixels to 3D voxels, supplying a full 3D density map of the samples, the technique presents information in a visual, easy-to-interpret format and shows any departure from the CAD model. It is said to be straightforward to detect and measure powder residues blocking channels, porosity, contamination, cracking, warping, and dimensions such as wall thickness to an accuracy within tens of microns. Given a 100 mm sample and a detector 2000 pixels across, the limiting resolution would be 50 µm, for example.
Micro CT is now much faster and more suitable for production-line use, while CT scanning of similar parts can be automated using loading and unloading equipment. Scan times down to a few tens of seconds per part are possible.
For further information www.nikonmetrology.com

Zeiss presents smart measuring lab

At last month’s MACH 2018 exhibition, Zeiss presented an extensive range of measurement and inspection technology, connected by the Zeiss Quality Network solutions.

On the road to Industry 4.0, measuring and inspection technology is increasingly being used as a control tool in manufacturing. However, as part of this new role, the technology needs to capture quality data more flexibly and quickly at different sites: in the measuring room, at-line and in-line. The technology must merge and evaluate this data and make it available to persons and/or machines for control input. That is where the Zeiss Quality Network comes in.
The Zeiss Quality Network offers a partner network for generating, networking and interpreting quality data, whether at supplier facilities, in the measuring lab or in a highly automated manufacturing environment. Software solutions such as Zeiss PiWeb combine the quality data of multiple measuring systems to create graphic measurement reports. This capability enables measuring technology, production and quality management to access all measurement reports anytime and anywhere.
At MACH, the machines on display included the DuraMax shop floor CMM and Prismo bridge-type CMM. Optical systems on the stand included the O-Select digital measuring projector, Comet fringe projection system and O-Inspect 543 multi-sensor measuring machine, along with a Virtual CT system. There was also a number of microscopes available to try, including the LSM 800 particle analyser and Smartzoom 5 automated digital microscope.
For further information www.zeiss.co.uk/metrology

New agency

Master Abrasives has been appointed as the UK and Ireland representive for the complete range of grinding machines manufactured in India by Alex Machine Tools.

Sparks from grinding machine in workshop. Industrial background, industry.

Over the past 30 years, Alex has developed a range of surface grinding machines, including a reciprocating hydraulically-operated machine, a rotary surface grinder, creep-feed machines and a range of double-disk grinders. The announcement comes hot on the heels of a successful MACH exhibition for Master Abrasives, where among the reported sales was a Micromatic Eco 200 grinding machine to Border Ballistics Technologies.
For further information www.master-abrasives.co.uk

VDW raises machine tool output forecast

In the first quarter of 2018, order bookings in the German machine tool industry rose by 22% compared with the preceding year’s equivalent period.

VDW Verein Deutscher Werkzeugmaschinenfabriken e.V., Frankfurt/Main, 11.und 12. April 2018 © Uwe Nölke, look@team-uwe-noelke.de, +49 6173 321413, alle Rechte vorbehalten. Die Verwendung dieses Bildes ist für redaktionelle Berichterstattung honorarfrei. Veröffentlichung nur mit Quellenangabe: Bild: Uwe Nölke / team-uwe-noelke.de

Domestic orders were up by 39%, while orders from abroad increased by 15%. “Based on a sizeable increase in orders last year, which is set to continue, we see for 2018 the potential of higher growth in production output than was still being anticipated in February, and are subsequently raising our production output forecast from 5% to 7% growth,” says Dr Wilfried Schäfer, executive director of the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association).
For further information www.vdw.de

Magnetic chucks show clamping status

Magnos magnetic chucks from Schunk provide low-deformation workpiece clamping, accessibility and fast workpiece changeovers.

Now, to improve ease of operation, the company is releasing Magnos square pole plates equipped with a status display by default. The display shows the current clamping status continuously, even when the magnetic chuck has been disconnected from the control and is in pallet storage with a clamped workpiece, for instance.
Schunk is also launching a modular control unit that gives users a high degree of flexibility and operating comfort. The Magnos KEH Plus is suitable for all Schunk square and radial pole plates. One, two, four or eight magnetic chucks can be actuated at the same time, depending on the base version.
By selecting the appropriate connection cable, both small magnetic chucks with four-pin connectors, as well as large magnetic chucks with seven-pin connectors, can be actuated. Equipped with plug connectors, each cable can be exchanged quickly and easily. Moreover, it is possible to assign vacant slots at any time with additional magnetic chucks.
To ensure process reliability in automated applications, users can monitor each individual magnetic chuck, an action that is facilitated by transmitting the individual clamping state via a PLC interface to the system control. The Magnos KEH Plus control unit is completed by the Magnos Habe-S Plus handheld remote, which is also modular in design and allows the control of individual magnetic chucks, as well as the individual 16-step holding-force regulation process. The hand-held remote control continuously provides information on the individual clamping status of connected chucks via an LCD display and LED.
For further information www.schunk.com