SUBCONTRACTING NEWS

High-feed helical milling is 14 times faster

Carbide insert and cutting tool manufacturer Horn reports an application at Jörg Bamann Mechanische Werkstatt, a job shop in Geretsried, Germany, where a Horn DAH high-feed, indexable-insert milling cutter in a B-axis lathe is able to helically interpolate a circular groove into a round steel workpiece 14 times faster than a toroidal mill.

The 42CrMo4 (1.7225) alloy steel billet, quenched and tempered to 1000 N/mm², requires the rough machining of a 40 mm wide groove with a 240 mm outside diameter and a depth of just less than 90 mm. This component is a key part of a hydraulic rotator, used in construction and forestry for rotating attachments carried by excavators.

Seeking to optimise the groove machining process, owner Jörg Bamann approached Horn application engineer Korbinian Niedermeier, who recommended a high-feed milling solution. The subcontractor has been using Horn products for two decades.

Bamaan says: “Before switching to milling, we tried to produce the recess in the component by axial turning. We also tried a five-flute toroidal milling cutter with indexable inserts in the B-axis tool spindle. Neither were sufficiently successful.”

Niedermeier instead proposed a 40 mm diameter, high-feed DAH mill with five triple-edged inserts. At a cutting speed of 150 m/min, the tool is helically interpolated into the rotating workpiece with a continuous infeed depth of 1 mm and 0.8 mm feed per tooth. The new machining time for the recess is now just seven minutes per component, more than 14 times faster, while the life of the indexable inserts has increased threefold to 90 components per edge.

Bamann confirms: “Using the high-feed milling cutter has reduced the cycle time considerably and the load on the machine has also decreased, as cutting pressure and vibration are lower.”
For further information www.phorn.co.uk

CO2 footprint calculator adds up for PPS

A new carbon footprint calculator for metal polishing is the result of an exciting tie-up between industry and academia. Professional Polishing Services (PPS), which has created three new jobs in the past 12 months, has tapped into funding and advice from the University of Birmingham’s ATETA programme to develop a digital process that will help it identify thousands of pounds of savings on energy costs.

The project involved mapping out manufacturing flows and installing high-end data logging sensors in key places to monitor the real-time power consumption of industrial equipment.
Notably, the equation takes account of several variables, including type of material and speed of job, to provide robust calculations that work out carbon footprint and identify potential savings.

The West Bromwich-based company is not looking to keep this IP to itself. Instead, PPS is planning to roll-out the calculator to the rest of the finishing sector in a bid to help industry move towards net zero.

Kirsty Davies-Chinnock, managing director of PPS, says: “Our bespoke stainless steel and non-ferrous polishing services are energy-intensive, so it made perfect sense to look at how we could monitor costs, especially with prices going through the roof. We now have a carbon calculator that can instantly work out the footprint of each job we put on our lines, which is fantastic information to have. It gives our production team the opportunity to look at how we save energy, making us more competitive in the process. The next step will be to roll this out to the rest of our sector and we’re already talking to the university and our competitors to see exactly how we do this.”
For further information www.professionalpolishing.co.uk

T&G at the ‘core’ of precision grinding

Given industry’s growing use of the IoT and the emergence of smart factories, potential machine tool customers are increasingly looking to purchase cutting-edge manufacturing aids with ‘smart’ controls and enhanced connectivity capabilities.

One such progressive company is Surrey-based T&G Engineering, which recently installed the UK’s first Studer S31 universal cylindrical grinding machine to feature the new United Grinding C.O.R.E. (Customer-Oriented REvolution) operating system.

T&G’s engineering director Tong Smyth says: “The Studer S31 universal cylindrical grinding machine was ordered because of the ever increasing amount of high-precision cylindrical grinding we need to perform. As we have done in the past, before our latest Studer purchase we liaised closely with Peter Harding, the managing director of Advanced Grinding Supplies, the exclusive Studer agent in the south of England and Wales. This co-operation ensured that we specified our new Studer machine to suit our exacting requirements.”

He adds: “In keeping with our policy of ordering machine tools featuring technology that will aid efficiency, our new Studer grinder uses United Grinding’s latest C.O.R.E. operating system. C.O.R.E. is now incorporated into our in-house digital communication and production systems, further improving our programming and grinding efficiency levels.”

Thanks to the uniform C.O.R.E. software architecture, exchanging data between United Grinding machines is now effortless. The integrated system’s universal machine technology interface (umati) can also communicate with third-party systems, while also providing access to United Grinding’s Digital Solutions products directly on the machine without requiring the installation of additional hardware.

The C.O.R.E. panel has a logical design and uses self-explanatory icons, allowing the operator to navigate through the machine’s menu and process steps intuitively.
For further information www.adgrind.co.uk

Toolmaker punches above its weight with Dugard

Since its inception in 1970, AW Precision has grown and evolved continuously to become one of the leading manufacturers of punch and die products in the UK and Europe. The Rugby-based company is undertaking a course of investment, with the latest capital asset to arrive being its second Chevalier SMART-B818 III surface grinding centre from Dugard.

Discussing the business and the reason for the Dugard investment, Andy Whitworth from AW Precision says: “We produce punches and dies for the automotive stamping market. We bought the Chevalier machine as we have to produce location flats on a lot of our products. We also produce blade punches for radiator manufacturers, for which the Chevalier is ideal.”

Speaking about the requirements of those components, he adds: “The location flat has to be accurate because it locates the part in the press tool. So, if that location is out, there’s going to be a big smash in the press tool. If you can imagine that the tool is working at 150 to 180 strokes per minute, or maybe even faster; that is going to make a big bang when it goes wrong. As a result, we have to achieve very tight tolerances, down to 10 µm and often better. Such demanding tolerance and surface finish requirements can also depend upon the grinding wheel. To help, the Chevalier machine has automated wheel dressing, which means we can do lights-out machining while maintaining consistent quality, surface finish and tight tolerances with much-improved productivity.

“I would absolutely recommend this machine to companies using manual grinders,” he concludes. “The Chevalier from Dugard is a real workhorse for us.”
For further information www.dugard.com

Rapid manufacturing service set for Europe

Quickparts, a global specialist in on-demand custom prototype and production parts through 3D printing and traditional manufacturing, is launching a new service offering same-day shipping. The service is possible thanks to the adoption of new manufacturing technologies like Nexa3D’s LSPc (lubricant sub-layer photo-curing) 3D printing technology, and innovative CNC and injection moulding technology. Launching first in the US with Europe following in early 2023, the service is said to offer greater supply chain reliability, thanks to localised manufacturing on both continents.
For further information www.quickparts.com