PM Blog
By: Paul Huber 7/16/2019
Developing STEM's Future Workforce
It’s a slow ride with many obstacles yet to overcome. Unfortunately, while most industrialized countries have improved their educational systems, the skill level of the average American student has not risen during the past 15 years. Our K-12 education must be improved in every state before we lose our competitive world market edge. This major roadblock is slowing down the creation of our future workforce to meet Industry 4.0 needs.
Thanks to a few private citizens, we now have alternate routes to reach our destination. Charles Vela used his STEM Institute to create a summer program for talented local youth in Washington, D.C. during the late 1950s. His science, technology, engineering and mathematics curriculum was quickly adopted by our nation’s educators and schools. One of his many awards was the Presidential Award of Excellence in science, mathematics and engineering mentoring presented at a White House ceremony in March 2004. Unfortunately, to date, only 17 states have implemented middle and high school STEM curriculum. Most others do not budget funds needed for hiring qualified STEM teachers.
Read MoreBy: Chris Felix 7/15/2019
Bar Feeder Basics
Magazine bar feeders hold multiple bars in reserve to extend the time a machine can run unattended.
Twelve-foot bar feeders are often considered a requirement for sliding headstock Swiss lathes.
Short bar loaders are capable of loading spindle length barstock into the lathe spindle. Their smaller size is often better for shops with limited floor space.
During operation, a pusher retracts all the way to the end of the feeder, a new bar drops in to the channel, and the pusher feeds the bar in as it is needed. The channel keeps the bar from vibrating or moving up and down.
With a servo-driven bar feeder, the control allows the operator to specify how far the bar should be fed through the spindle, based on what is needed for the next part. A pneumatic system, on the other hand, uses air to drive the pusher and push the bar until it hits a turret stop.
A bar feeder seems like a relatively simple device. The most common automation accessory in our world of high volume turning, it provides a reliable way of delivering material to the machine tool for extended periods of time, saving an operator from continually loading blanks into a chuck.
In reality, bar feeders have many nuances from one to another to make them more suitable to certain shop environments. Length and capacity are only the beginning. Other factors should be considered during the purchasing process as well.
Read MoreBy: Michael Guckes 7/12/2019
Industry Expansion Continues
Precision Machining Index: Precision Machining during the month was increased by supplier deliveries, production and employment. The strong production level was due in part to a notable drawdown (contraction) in backlogs.
Manufacturers’ Direct Production Activity Toward Reducing Backlogs: Relatively consistent levels of production activity combined with slowing new orders activity has been possible in part thought the significant drawdown of backlogs.
The Precision Machining Index registered slowing growth in June with a reading of 50.9. Readings above 50 indicate expanding activity and values below 50 indicate contracting activity. The further away a reading is from 50 the greater the size of the change in activity. Compared with the same month one year ago the Index is 11.3% lower due in primarily to a very strong reading in the prior year. Gardner Intelligence’s review of the underlying components of the Index revealed that activity in supplier deliveries, production and employment supported the Index. The Index—the simple average of its six components—was pulled marginally lower because of slowing growth in new orders. The Index was weighed down heavily by contracting backlog and export, with both registering 30-month lows and exerting most of the downward pressure on index’s latest reading.
The sharp contraction in backlogs was caused at least in part by June’s divergent readings for production and new orders. Production activity during the month was comparable to the strong levels recorded nearer the market cycle peak in early 2018 while new orders activity registered only slightly increased activity. The result of this variance would necessitate that manufacturers depleted their backlog levels in order to allow for June’s strong production reading.
Read MoreBy: Lori Beckman 7/11/2019
Registration Opens for Top Shops 2019
An extension of Modern Machine Shop's Top Shops Benchmarking program, the MMS Top Shops Workshop connects leading machining and metalworking professionals to the people, the products and the processes that are moving manufacturing forward.
Production Machining’s sister publication, Modern Machine Shop has opened registration for its Top Shops 2019 event, taking place Sept. 9-11, at Cincinnati, Ohio’s Duke Energy Convention Center.
The annual Top Shops event combines technical presentations and benchmarking data with peer-to-peer discussion and technology displays all aimed at delivering practical solutions and business strategies for machine shop owners, executives, engineers and managers. The Top Shops objective is to provide actionable insight that attendees can implement directly on the shop floor.
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Dr. Uwe Schleinkofer, head of R&D cutting tools for Ceratizit Austria GmbH, answers questions during a Q&A session with his colleagues Gerhard Bailom, managing director of Ceratizit Deutschland GmbH, Thierry Wolter, Ceratizit Group board member, and Claude Sun, managing director of Ceratizit Deutschland (left to right).
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Komet has developed a drilling tool which leaves behind a chip-free component when producing through-holes in voids and chambers.
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The tool designed for reboring has special chip control inserts mounted in the flutes which cannot be manufactured conventionally. The special design of the chip control groove and the coolant hole with backwashing can only be produced using additive technology by laser melting in 3D printing.
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Compared to conventionally produced PCD face milling tools, which are equipped with either soldered PCD cutting edges or adjustable cassettes, the new, additively produced Komet PCD cutters showcase almost twice the productivity. This is due to the fact that the new process enables significantly more cutting edges to be achieved than was previously possible on a tool with the same diameter.
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High Dynamic Turning promises 40% higher feed rates, no tool changes and 90% less empty travel during turning.
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The defining characteristic of FreeTurn tooling is its simple structure. The tool holder, together with its slim shank and axial concept which optimizes the direction of the cutting forces into the spindle, form a stable unit. At the front there is a multi-sided insert, which is simply screwed in place. The trick: The patent pending FreeTurn insert can consist of several cutting edges with different properties. This allows for different angle points, corner radii or chip breakers - even different coatings and cutting materials are conceivable.
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Laser processing of PCD tools: cutting edges machined with the laser achieve tool life increases of 20 to 30 percent, as, unlike ground tools, they are significantly less jagged and have a sharper cutting edge. This is independent of the PCD grade used.
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Automation of monotonous work operations: With the introduction of the brushing robot, it is possible to automate cutting edge preparation with consistent quality and repeatability.
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Carbide tools are mainly manufactured by grinding. The cutting wedge produced has a very sharp cutting edge, which is not stable. This is why microchips form after a short machining time, thus leading to undefined change in the shape of the cutting edge. A short tool life is the consequence of this. A solution for this is a cutting edge preparation with a geometrically defined shape, which in most cases is applied using a diamond brush. Until recently, this was a manual operation, the quality of which was highly dependent on the skill of the worker.
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At Ceratizit Balzheim's R&D center, trochoidal milling is performed on a 5-axis Hermle C 42 machining center to achieve higher machining parameters than conventional milling when cutting a TiAl6V4 workpiece for an aerospace application.
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Ceratizit's assistance system ToolScope allows for an objective and transparent analysis of the production process. Using various applications, it can be employed for monitoring, regulating, optimising, and documentation. It captures process forces (torque) primarily via the current consumption. This data is then prepared using algorithms and statistical process control.
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In February 2018, the “electronic route card” was introduced in the Stuttgart plant, so as to further increase the efficiency of production processes. The system used is a so called e-paper system, which is also found in e-book readers and in retail. Drawing from these areas, the technology was adapted for use in industry production.
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Maria del Rey, quality technician for Ajalvir, Spain-based EDR System SA, explains how the company is cooperating with Ceratizit on the High Dynamic Turning technology to optimize the production of racing bike's Rotor hubs.
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For over 95 years, Ceratizit has been developing and producing sophisticated hard material cutting and wear protection solutions: From highly specialized cutting tools, indexable inserts and carbide rods to new types of carbide and cermet grades for wood and stone working. The photo shows the Reutte facility in Austria.
Luxembourg-based Ceratizit Group invited more than 50 journalists from 15 countries for their Open Days 2019 press event from May 13-15 to present the new Team Cutting Tools, which, under the umbrella brand Ceratizit Group, combines the brands Cutting Solutions by Ceratizit, Komet, WNT and Klenk with the aim to become a full-range supplier in metal cutting.
"The definition of the product brand is independent of the production sites and applies equally to standard as well as special products," says Claude Sun, managing director of Ceratizit Deutschland. "All products of a product segment are clearly assigned to a specific brand." In other words, the brand Cutting Solutions by Ceratizit stands for indexable tools (turning, milling, groving) and solid tools with ultra-hard cutting materials, Komet offers indexable drilling, reaming and countersinking, spindle tooling and actuating tools, WNT stands for solid carbide-milling and drilling, HSS tools as well as tool and workholding solutions, and Klenk is known in the aerospace industry for its solid carbide drills.
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