THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Higher precision and less waste

Anca has made available its LaserPlus system on the company’s EDGe machine. The EDGe is used to erode PCD cutting tools, which in turn are used in the aerospace and automotive industries.

“The LaserPlus technology on our EDGe machine will help customers achieve much better accuracy and reduce waste,” says Anca product manager Duncan Thomson. “It ensures all tools in a batch stay within target tolerances, regardless of external influences such as wheel [electrode] wear or machine growth due to thermal variation. The result is improved tool consistency, quality and reduced scrap tools.”
Anca’s EDGe machine includes its proprietary eSpark generator for optimal PCD erosion results. This means that on the one-wheel spindle, two wheel packs support both erosion and grinding operations. The addition of the LaserPlus further enhances the machine’s capabilities for customers.
First introduced on its tool-grinding machines, the LaserPlus system allows newly ground tools to be automatically measured on the machine using a non-contact Blum laser system. Then if required, compensation is automatically applied to subsequent tools in the batch.
“For customers manufacturing PCD cutting tools, the laser technology provides real value due to the unique challenges involved with the process of electro-discharge grinding [EDG],” says Thomson. “Without touching the PCD cutting edge, LaserPlus is able to measure a cutting-tool feature before the final erosion pass. By doing this operation, the technology can identify any variation, which may, for example, be the result of thermal drift or wear on the electrode, from the nominal size and account for this in the final finishing pass. The result is that the finished tool geometry is guaranteed to be on size.”
For further information www.anca.com

Sir Ben Ainslie to open MACH

The UK’s largest manufacturing and engineering exhibition, MACH 2018, which is set to take place in April at the NEC in Birmingham, will be officially opened (on 9 April) by the most successful sailor in Olympic history, Sir Ben Ainslie. Sir Ben won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at the four Olympics held between 2000 and 2012.

Sir Ben has a keen interest in manufacturing and the technology behind it, with his British America’s Cup team, Land Rover BAR, employing the latest manufacturing processes in the creation of its
foiling race boat. “At Land Rover BAR we bring together huge resources of technical, design and engineering knowledge to create something truly British and unique. We invest in technology and innovative skills to find solutions to long-term issues in sustainability. I’m very much looking forward to opening MACH 2018 and seeing the latest innovations from the UK’s manufacturing technologies sector.”
For further information www.machexhibition.com

Latest shoulder mills eliminate finishing

The newly developed VSM490 series of Widia indexable-insert shoulder mills available from ITC is said to eliminate finishing operations and improve productivity when machining a wide variety of materials. In addition, the VSM490 double-sided 90° inserts offer four cutting edges to reduce costs.

This latest addition to the Widia Victory Shoulder Mill (VSM) range includes a complete line of insert grades that support the machining of cast iron, stainless steel, steel, titanium, aluminium and a host of aluminium alloys. The cutter’s versatility is facilitated by a positive geometry and the availability of both 10 and 15 mm inserts, along with an extensive selection of tool holders.
A total of four insert geometries are offered, including ALP geometry for low-power machine tools cutting non-ferrous materials, and ML geometry for stainless steel and light machining on a variety of other materials. For more robust applications, MM geometry incorporates features designed to bring greater strength to machining operations, while the heavy-duty MH grade is first choice for high-performance roughing on cast iron, chiefly credit to edge-protecting geometry and additional margins.
The VSM490 gives customers a full slotting solution with 100% radial engagement, shoulder milling with step-down capabilities that provide low or high engagement, as well as low or high radial engagement. Furthermore, the VSM490 can be applied to contour milling, Z-axis plunge milling, trochoidal slot milling and HPC face milling.
For further information www.itc-ltd.co.uk

Record UK sales for Blum

Metrology specialist Blum-Novotest has seen sales pass the £500,000 mark for the first time since the UK subsidiary was launched in 2000. The target this year is for another 20% growth, with the company set to build on the early success of its Digilog touch-probe systems by launching LC50 – Blum’s latest laser-control technology. The company says that the system will deliver up to a 60% reduction in the time taken to check and measure parts on a CNC machine tool.

“We’re finding that a lot of our customers are increasingly looking to source measurement solutions that are quick, can perform on complex components and, importantly, can be fitted to a machine tool for real-time data and the best possible accuracy,” explains David Mold, managing director of Blum-Novotest Ltd. “This is exactly what we do with our range of products that start from a simple tool-setting probe and go right through to workpiece probes, roughness and bore gauges,
and the new Digilog touch probes.”
For further information www.blum-novotest.com

XYZ will show five-axis capability

XYZ Machine Tools will display its UMC-5X five-axis, gantry-style machining centre on stand E190 at Southern Manufacturing 2018.

Although the company says that the UMC-5X is available at a competitive price point, it comes with Traori/kinematic functionality for five-axis simultaneous machining, as well as integrated SMT (smart machining technology) and thermal growth compensation.
Of particular interest is that due to the table configuration and machine design, when the table is tilted 90° towards the rear (component facing forward), there remains 500 mm of Y-axis travel forward of the table surface. According to XYZ, this is much greater than many competitor machines, including those that quote the same axis travels as the UMC-5X, allowing larger workpieces to be machined.
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com