CNC DRILLING INSERTS,CARBIDE INSERTS,FACTORY IN CHINA

Toolholder Incorporates Runout Adjustment System

NT Tool now offers the R-Zero runout adjustment system in its CTZ toolholders for large cutting-tool diameters. The R-Zero four-point adjustment mechanism eases runout adjustment at the tool tip to as low as 0 to 2 microns. Equipped with this system, the CTZ toolholder is said to achieve high levels of precision for cutting tool diameters ranging from 1" to 1.5" (25 to 42 mm), making it suitable for reaming and large-diameter hole making. The full adjustment procedure can be completed in under a minute, according to the company, and Hitachi Inserts requires only a spanner for clamping down the tool and the included adjustment wrench for the runout-adjustment screws. An electromagnetic, rust-proof coating ensures that the holder’s accuracy and balance are not compromised.

The toolholder uses the same clamping system as the CTS Super Tite-lock milling chuck, which is designed to prevent slippage and pull-out during heavy machining. In addition to the high gripping force of the mechanism itself, the CTZ R-Zero uses a T-slit inside the bore of the holder to give the compressed cutting tool an area to expand. This locks the tool in place, and prevents it from moving either sideways or vertically even under great force, says the company.

CTZ R-Zero toolholders are available in CAT (standard and two-face contact), BT (standard and two-face contact), HSK, and UTS shank styles. They are offered in metric sizes of 25, 32 and 42 mm, and inch sizes of 1", 1.25" Carbide End Mills for Hardened Material and 1.5", with MC collets for cutting tools of other sizes. The R-Zero runout adjustment system is also available for smaller-diameter cutting tools in a number of different holder types, including the HDZ collet holder and the PHZ hydraulic holder. Custom sizes are also available.

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Swiss Type Lathe Accommodates 38 mm Diameter Workpieces

Star CNC Machine Tool Corp.’s SV-38 Swiss-type lathe series accommodates workpiece diameters ranging to 38 mm (1.5"). The lathe features guide bushing capability for long parts, as well as an option to work directly out of the main spindle for shorter components. The machine's 10-station turret can use multiple tools in each position, and is equipped with a B-axis control function for angular machining. A nine-position tool post can be used for “pinch turning” and secondary operations, such as simultaneous cross drilling and milling. In addition, the eight-spindle backworking unit with Y axis can use a variety of tooling for overlapping operations and as many as three tools can be applied in a cut simultaneously, which can reduce Seco Inserts production time and improve Tungsten Carbide Material profitability.

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Versatile Cutting Head, CNC Simulator

CNC vendor NUM offers a ready-integrated tool head for plasma, laser and waterjet cutting applications as well as a 3D simulation package that combines workpiece simulation with collision monitoring.

The head is designed with the versatility of movement and stiffness required to implement precision cutting motion. The lightweight head can be assembled easily on existing CNC machines in plasma-Drilling Inserts and waterjet-cutting operations, often without additional mechanical adaptation, the company says. This extends the capability of machinery from 2D to 3D applications, with precise, multi-axis interpolation.

The company also offers a 3D simulation package that combines workpiece simulation with collision monitoring and other features. Designated True 3D,Face Milling Inserts the software tool is a general-purpose version of the company’s 3D simulator for multi-axis grinding applications. The tool not only emulates, but it simulates the actual CNC commands, and subsequently provides an output as close as possible to the actual machined parts. It allows users to virtually prototype and optimize the entire machining process, improving machine productivity, reducing tool wear and completing projects faster.

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Toolpath Simulation Software Enables Custom Part Production

MYT Works Inc., a New York-based manufacturer, is intimately familiar with both movies and manufacturing. The company designs and manufactures slider dollies, skater dollies and tripod heads to hold and move cameras for smooth camera tracking, panning and circling shots for film. To achieve the precision needed to avoid any shaking in camera movements, the company uses machining simulation software to preview and validate CNC machining programs when it manufactures its products.

Filmmaker Etienne Sauret, a veteran in film and television production, founded MYT Works in 2010 in Manhattan, New York, after becoming frustrated with existing portable camera-movement equipment that failed to address problems such as deflection, bounce-back and noise. Although there are products designed to address these individual issues, he says they are typically customized, one-off items with cumbersome, time-consuming setup requirements, and their temporary nature makes them prone to damage and deterioration. Dissatisfied with these options, Mr. Sauret collaborated with a team of engineers to create camera-motion equipment that would better suit industry needs.

MYT Works’ products are designed to hold and stabilize cameras, moving them precisely while minimizing setup time and production-quality issues. Its products are modular in construction, simplifying combinations and variations to provide flexibility and adaptability. They are machined from aluminum and steel, and versions of the dollies can support cameras weighing as much as 150 pounds. The precision tripod heads, which mount on the dollies, can handle as much as 80 pounds.

When Mechanical Design Engineer James Schwartz joined the company in 2012, it was located in a 600-square-foot space in Manhattan, outsourcing its product prototyping and part production to machine shops in the New York City area. In 2014, extended lead times and the high cost of outsourcing prompted the company to purchase a small machine tool to produce prototype runs of one or two parts. The company used an integrated CAD/CAM software package to engineer the parts and create code for the machine controller. Often, the parts were experimental and difficult to make, so performing trial-and-error CNC programming and testing on the machine consumed more time than the actual machining.

“In a volume production environment, you are able to amortize the time spent setting up and making mistakes at the machine over a very long period of time because you’re running lots and lots of parts,” Mr. Schwartz says. “But for us, in a prototyping situation where a part is machined in five minutes, to wait an hour to set it up and get it right is a huge loss of time.”

To expedite the prototyping process, the company acquired NCSimul Machine simulation software, a component of Spring Technologies’ NCSimul Solutions offering. The software enables users to simulate, verify, optimize and review machine programs based on the characteristics of the specific parts, tooling and machine tool involved. Three-dimensional graphics help users avoid machining crashes, while complex algorithms and embedded process-based knowledge enable optimization of cutting conditions. It provides machining verification in three steps: 1) It investigates and corrects coding errors, 2) simulates to locate collisions and correct motion errors, and 3) validates the part cut and machining result. The software is designed to reduce the time spent CNC Tool Holder on debugging programs; eliminate the risk of spindle collision, tool breakage and scrap; and improve cycle times and process efficiencies.

MYT Works used the software to simulate and verify the CNC programs produced by the CAD/CAM system. “NCSimul enabled us to move quickly through programming without having to try out tool paths at the machine itself,” Mr. Schwartz says. “We could skip that trial-and-error process at the machine. I could program the tool paths and then check the program both for safety and accuracy while the machine was running on something else.”

The shop moved to Brooklyn in early 2017 to gain space and expand its manufacturing capabilities. It also purchased two larger CNC machines from Okuma: an L-250 CNC lathe and a Genos M-560 Dijet Inserts three-axis vertical machining center (VMC). With these machines, the company now performs 90 percent of its production manufacturing in house, Mr. Schwartz says. Fortunately, NCSimul provides similar benefits in both prototyping and production. “NCSimul helps us to work through the programming part quickly so that we can focus on design and innovation,” he says. “Interruptions in production are costly, and any mistake that we can prevent keeps the machine running and keeps us on schedule.”

According to Mr. Schwartz, Spring Technologies does a good job supporting industry-standard software formats. “I don’t have to alter my normal workflow,” he says. “I can bring it all into NCSimul within minutes, and then have a real-time view of what my program would do on the machines downstairs.” Another benefit is no longer needing to stop a machine to test a program. Instead, users can test programs virtually and move on without taking up machine space.

Recently, the company installed a Tsudakoma fourth-axis rotary table on its VMC, positioning the part parallel to the X axis, which is perpendicular to the table, enabling operators to use it as an indexing tool so the VMC can reach multiple sides of each part with a single setup. The fourth axis adds concerns about machine collisions and tool lengths that toolpath simulation software can address. Additionally, the tool paths in four axes can be more difficult to visualize, Mr. Schwartz says. NCSimul has helped in these new challenges as well.

“NCSimul has enabled us to get to the final working part in one or maybe two tries instead of multiple tries,” he says. “And when there are issues with a program, it makes it a lot easier to diagnose because the comparison feature will show exactly where the tool is either over-cutting or under-cutting. You can even jump to the particular line where it’s happening.” Using toolpath simulation software has saved the shop from testing its setups on actual materials, which would risk creating scrap or damaging equipment, getting production on track.

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Upgrade Your Cutting Tool Mindset

Earlier this year, Iscar, the cutting tool manufacturer (U.S. headquarters in Arlington, Texas), brought together its North American dealers and many customers for a seminar called "Iscar Upgrade." At this event, the company announced its product development plans for 2005-2006. As top company executives led presentations detailing these developments, they expressed a number of general insights about cutting tool philosophy. A sample of these observations is presented here for anyone with an open mind about cutting tools.

Typically, cutting tools account for only 3 percent of total production costs in metalworking. Therefore, reducing cutting tool costs in itself doesn’t bring much to the bottom line. However, upgrading cutting tools is likely to Chamfer Inserts yield a significant overall cost savings, even though cutting tool costs may be higher. Focus on cost per part, not the cost of cutting tools, as a key target.

Everyone in your IT department knows that a successful computer system is a combination of the right hardware and software. Keeping both hardware and software up to date is critical. Think of cutting tools in the same way. Cutter bodies and toolholders are the hardware, and indexable inserts are the software. When looking at an upgrade in insert technology, be sure to consider upgrades in toolholders and cutter bodies, and vice versa.

Cutter bodies can be coated to get some of the most important benefits that high-tech coatings bring to carbide inserts. Hard coatings on cutter bodies resist wear from contact with hot chips moving at high speeds. Chips flow more readily through flutes because the coating gives the surface lubricity.

Few developments in machine design have had the impact that multitasking machines have had on productivity. But those added spindles, tool turrets and rotational axes mean tight clearances and a limited number of tool stations. To cope with these conditions, it is possible to have one toolholder with several multipurpose inserts that can do facing, ID turning, OD turning, drilling, counter drilling and internal threading without a tool change. Creative application of specially designed cutting tools contributes significantly to the flexible nature of multitasking machine tools.

To keep cutting tool inventory at a more manageable level, consider modular tooling shanks that accept a variety of interchangeable solid carbide heads. Because the heads can be replaced or exchanged while the tool is clamped in the machine, setup time can be reduced. A set of long shanks that allow a cutting tool to reach to the bottom of a deep pocket or mold cavity is especially economical compared to the assortment of solid carbide tools needed to cover the same range. Another plus is that a steel shank can absorb an impact that might otherwise damage a carbide shank when, for example, a turning tool and the lathe spindle are not perfectly on center.

Cutting tool manufacturers are working hard to develop products that reduce the power consumed by machine tools. Besides the energy savings (which are more significant than ever), cutting tools that require less power from the machine tool tend to last longer, cause less wear and tear on spindles and ways, and minimize vibration. A good example is that cutting tools requiring less thrust are allowing longer boring bars to be used without losing accuracy.

If power consumption doesn’t come up in the discussion of any new cutting tool, be sure to ask about it. A 10 percent reduction in cutting forces is likely to result in a 50 percent improvement in tool life.

When tightening the clamping screws after indexing an insert, don’t guess about the torque applied. Undertightening may allow the insert to chatter or prevent the process from holding tolerances. Overtightening may break the insert or the key. A torque wrench that automatically lights up to signal that proper tightening levels have been reached is a simple way to eliminate this uncertainty.

Programming for CNC operations is about more than getting the right speeds and feeds. Tool paths also must match the capability of the cutting tool. Not all CAM software allows the programmer to program the moves that optimize the performance of advanced cutting tools. Be sure your programming software is not holding you back.

Right now, advances in cutting tools appear to be ahead of the software developers.

In real estate, the three most important factors determining the value of a house or commercial property are location, location and location. In successful cutting tool applications, it’s vibration, vibration and vibration. Minimizing or eliminating vibration is usually a matter of controlling cutting forces so that they are directed to the most stable, most rigid element of the machining system. Examine every proposed change in tooling with an eye to how vibration is managed. That’s the key to prolonging tool life, protecting the spindle and improving surface finish.

Be sure you are getting the full value of the original concept of carbide inserts with indexable edges. Look for styles that offer the most in multiple edges. Be sure the edges are truly usable. For example, some holders, such as certain indexable milling bodies, do not protect every edge; therefore, one or more of the insert edges is lost.

Being able to combine several processes into one makes it possible to increase efficiency and reduce costs. The time required for the separate machining cycles, as well as the time required for tool changes, can be reduced or eliminated. In addition, tooling costs can be reduced by reducing the number of tools required for a job.

Effective use of coolant is often a "make or break" part of a machining application, especially in hole making. For coolant-fed drills, getting the coolant to the cutting edges is only half the battle. Getting the chips out of the hole effectively is the other half. This means that coolant flow and chip flow have to be considered equally.

Coolant delivered through the insert itself is another strategy to examine. It should even be considered for CNC Carbide Insert in places that might seem unlikely, such as parting tools.

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