Production Machining

SEP 2017

Production Machining - Your access to the precision machining industrial buyer.

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For similar articles about rotary transfer technology, visit PM's Zone on this topic. LINK :: short.productionmachining.com/transfer "is is our first machine that has full integration with automation going inside and outside of the machine. Having examples of this was helpful," Mr. Weisshahn says. "Part of choosing Hydromat was familiarity, knowing that we have the five machines already." e Components Division's new Hydromat uses the company's full CNC system called Embedded Motion Control (EMC). It features plug and play programming capabilities that are integrated into each tool spindle unit, increasing flexibility and cutting setup time. e versatility of the machine tool and its full CNC gives Miller Electric the capability to eventually run 34 different part programs on different diameter tubes for high efficiency JIT produc- tion. "It will be all the same type of material, C122 copper, but different sizes of material," Mr. Weisshahn says. Of the 34 there are a few part numbers that will get turned complete in the Hydromat and won't get swaged. e use of copper for the nozzles has to do with the thermal properties of the welding process. Copper is a similar metal and doesn't want to bond with mild steel while welding. Tellurium copper could be used, but the company uses C122 because of the forming properties. But the material proves to be difficult to machine. "It is almost impossible to break a chip on this type of copper. It's very abrasive and hard on the tooling," Mr. Weisshahn says. Progressive Machining e Hydromat machine spreads the sequence of cutting operations over a number of stations, which reduces the overall cycle time for each part to a fraction of that of a single spindle lathe. In this case, the EPIC R/T 45-12 has 12 stations for machining, loading, unloading and a number of other processes. During the Hydromat sequence of operations, the workpiece is fed into the collet and the saw cuts it to the proper length. e table cycles the part to each station for the individual processes. e table locks in place with a precision ground Hirth ring, providing the station-to- station repeatability and accuracy. As the part moves from station-to-station during the process, it receives a number of cutting operations, and also a knurl and a roll stamp with the product name and part number. At one point during the sequence of opera- tions, the part goes through an extraction process and to the Hydraulic press table. e table cycles in sequence with the table in the Hydromat. e robot places the part on a turntable where it is processed through the hydraulic press. After the part is swaged by the hydraulic press and is rotated into position, the part is replaced in an inverted position in the Hydromat collet via the return process of the robot and pneumatic loader. When finished, the new nozzle is unloaded and placed on a conveyor belt. Rather than the minutes needed to produce each nozzle on a single-spindle lathe with secondary operations, now the cycle time for each part is a mere 8 seconds. Mr. Miller expects this new system to produce several million welding nozzles per year. is new system repre- sents a quantum leap in producing welding nozzles for ITW Welding as it uses the company's own version of lean manufacturing and JIT production to weld together productivity and profit. Even in a captive shop, securing a steady flow of work is a good thing. For more information from Hydromat, call 314-432-4644 or visit hydromat.com. CONTRIBUTOR Kev in Shulz is the director of marketing for Hydromat Inc., located in St. Louis, Missouri. ATTENTION SWISS MACHINE BUILDERS AND USERS... Prospect Heights, IL 847-749-0633 info@heimatecinc.com www.heimatecinc.com Heimatec now offering Tecnicrafts collets and guide bushings for Swiss Type CNC Automatic Lathes. All popular brands. Smooth bore, groove bore, straight nose, tapered nose and other styles of collets available in various sizes. Adjustable, profile and reinforced shank style guide bushings, too. All brought to you by the leader in Live Tools... Heimatec. A perfect match! NEW FROM HEIMATEC tecnicrafts R Captive Shop Must Still Compete productionmachining.com :: 37

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