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Milling And Machining Centres: Competing With The Unbeatable

The remarkable strength-to-weight ratio and high corrosion resistant properties of titanium has resulted in the ever growing use of this important engineering material in many demanding sectors, not least the global aerospace industry.

The production of critical structural parts from titanium ensures their required performance and reliability whilst significantly reducing components mass. Although relevant to all users of titanium, the enhanced strength and reductions in weight that the material delivers are of particular importance to the aerospace industry, as these advantages improve the aircraft’s’ performance and increase fuel economy.

The negative trade-offs produced by the use of titanium are the many problems uncounted for when machining this difficult-to-cut material. When used in metalworking industries, the word titanium normally relates not only to pure titanium but also to titanium alloys. In accordance with metallurgical properties, depended on the present elements, there are several groups of titanium: commercially pure titanium (unalloyed), α-, β-, α-β- and other alloys. It is sometimes stated that titanium machinability is similar to that of austenitic stainless steel. This proposition is more or less true if it relates to commercially pure titanium, although it is totally wrong with respect to treated α-β- and especially β-titanium alloys.

Machinability rating depends heavily on the type of titanium and its treatment. The machinability of the widely used annealed titanium TiAl6V4 is approximately 35-40% less than annealed stainless steel AISI 304. However, if we take the machinability of the aforementioned titanium grade as 100%, the so-called triple 5, titanium 5-5-5-3, a major manufacturing headache for many machine shops, features machinability characteristics that are twice as difficult.

Machine tool manufacturers continue to introduce innovations and developments that make the cutting of titanium more effective. Modern machine tools allow operators to apply advanced machining strategies and to employ one-hit production methods. However, the typically low cutting speeds used in the machining of titanium severely limits machine tools’ efficiency potential and results in the cutting tool becoming the weakest element of the whole technical production system. In short, the cutting tool determines the productivity boundaries when machining titanium, and as such, has become a major factor in the quest for a radical improvement of this situation.

Due to the low thermal conductivity of titanium, the main problem in cutting this material is the generation of heat. Poor heat transfer leads to considerable thermal loads being directly transferred to the tools cutting edge. Also, less of a problem when machining steel, titanium’s modulus of elasticity contributes to vibration during cutting, as a result, surface finish and accuracy problems can be encountered.

Cutting tool producers continue to place a greater emphasis on developing progressive tools for the efficient machining of titanium. Manufacturing titanium parts is a process with significant buy-tofly ratio, when a large amount of metal needs to be removed. The eventual weight of a finished titanium part may be only 10%, or less of the original weight of a workpiece. Frequently, these parts will have cavities, pockets and ribs that dictate milling as the main method for manufacturing. As a consequence, every new tool that is intended for the milling of titanium creates intense interest amongst the global technical community. Therefore, the latest products from ISCAR, an acknowledged innovator in the field, always attract the attention of the world’s manufacturers involved in machining titanium.

Tool material is of fundamental importance in the success of cutting tools, especially for use when indexable milling difficult-to-cut aerospace materials, in particular titanium. Within this challenging field, ISCAR has developed a new carbide grade IC840. The word new relates to all grade elements: IC840 is characterized by a newly cemented carbide substrate and an innovative hard PVD coating. The grade substrate is highly resistant to thermal cracks; the bronze-color, chocolate, coating boasts high oxidation and chipping resistance; whilst an advanced post-coating treatment improves overall toughness. The advantageous combination of the above IC840 provides users with great opportunities in milling titanium. ISCAR believes that the new chocolate will definitely suit the taste of the manufacturer of titanium components and increase the performance of indexable cutters.

As previously mentioned, milling titanium usually involves removing considerable stock. True workhorses in this field are extended flute indexable tools (porcupines) that are intended for the rough cutting of deep pockets, cavities and wide edges. For these operations, ISCAR has developed the HELITANG H490, a family of advanced milling tools with tangentially clamped inserts, and also the MILLSHRED P290, a range of milling tools carrying serrated inserts that provide an efficient chip splitting (even chip chopping) effect. In addition, the company offers HELITANG FIN, a family of tangential porcupines that was designed especially for semi-finish milling.

ISCAR has recently introduced a new group of extended flute shell mills related to the proven and popular HELIQUAD family. These mills carry one-sided square inserts, which are clamped radially. Why has the company, so well known for its commitment to innovative advantageous cutting geometries, equipped the new mills with traditional simple square inserts? The deceptively simple, new extended flute tools feature a well-designed structure resulting in significantly improved dynamic rigidity and anti-vibration strength. In addition, radial insert clamping enables the inclusion of a chip gullet with a generous volume that answers the requirements of free chip flow when milling at high metal removal rates (MRR). Also, the tools of more popular diameters have internal channels, which are specially designed for machining with a high-pressure coolant (HPC) supply. Even these simple square inserts are characterized by a progressive cutting geometry that provides effective titanium milling.

Hence, if HELITANG H490 and MILLSHRED P290 are intended for productive roughing, and HELITANG FIN for qualitative semifinishing of titanium workpieces, the new HELIQUAD (real HELIQUAD) extended flute shell mills from an application point of view and provides high-efficiency milling with resulting surface conditions close to semi-finish conditions.

ISCAR recently introduced the Ti-TURBO family of solid carbide endmills in a diameter range of 6 to 20mm. The new family was designed for finishing operations and also for high-speed machining (HSM) of mainly slots, with the use of the trochoidal technique. Trochoidal milling features a small width and significant depth of cut, combined with a tool path dictated by a trochoid curve. Under such conditions the tool slices metal up at a high rate. An engagement angle here is small and produced chips are very thin. This results in dramatically decreasing the thermal load on the tool. Ti-TURBO endmills, of unique patent design, have 7 or 9 variable flutes with variable angular pitch (similar to the beneficial CHATTERFREE solid carbide tools) that ensures powerful resistance to vibration. That is why the new family is regarded to as a true turbo booster in the area of titanium milling.

ISCAR’s MULTI-MASTER versatile line of assembled tools with replaceable solid carbide cutting heads, has been recently enhanced by the introduction of new, six-flute, fast feed milling heads with central coolant holes. The ultra-fine grain carbide substrate of the heads, protected by the advanced AL-TEC coating technology, provides outstanding wear resistance and toughness. The heads are used in productive high feed milling (HFM), resulting in significant reductions in the cycle times of roughing operations.

Manufacturers of titanium parts are constantly placing new demands on cutting tool producers. In order to meet these challenges, cutting tool producers are forced to think out of the box on a regular basis. ISCAR’s prolific R&D team continues to cooperate with many of the world’s leading manufacturers of titanium parts to ensure that the company retains its lead within this challenging sector.

For more information, contact Iscar South Africa – Tel: (011) 997-2700.

Industrie 4.0 – Virtual Twin Controls Production

“The smart factory is no longer just a trendy buzzword – our digital twin concept is ready for implementation together with industrial partners.”

– Prof. Rainer Stark (Head of the Virtual Product Creation division at Fraunhofer IPK)

Efficient production control is a key industrial technology. So at first, the notion of building up two parallel factories instead of one may sound like nothing but doubling of effort. But what if one of the factories existed only in virtual form? This is the basic idea behind an innovative concept from the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK in Berlin.

The real factory is fully modelled at the digital level, creating a virtual twin that not only visualizes the production system with all its machines, but also reproduces the dynamic processes and the behavior of system components during production in real time. In the virtual twin, it is possible to observe the manufacturing process in detail. Numerous sensors continuously feed the operating status of the individual workstations to the system. This opens up new possibilities for production control. Production planners can analyze the manufacturing process in the virtual simulation and then optimize or reorganize individual steps as required.

System reacts intelligently to changes 

However, the concept of the digital twin goes far beyond mere simulation of the real production system. The system is actually bidirectional. At the virtual level, you can intervene and make changes, which can be simulated immediately. Conversely, you can load changes in the real system into the digital twin. For instance, a production manager may activate additional machines to process a workpiece or incorporate an additional work step when a custom build is required. To do this, production does not have to be stopped and reconfigured, but the system reacts intelligently to every change and reorganizes itself.

A merging of real and digital production 

The merging of real and digital production creates an overall system that monitors, controls and corrects itself while production is running. Whenever required, machines and software communicate with each other autonomously and keep production moving. If, for example, a fault arises – such as the failure of a subsystem – the system can decide independently how to resolve the problem. The supervising manager sees the change in production, but does not have to intervene.

Moreover, because the system feeds the digital twin continuously with data, it is possible to permanently control the quality of workpieces and the end product. The concept can also be used to quickly manufacture small-scale series with individualized parts in such a way as to cause minimal disruption to overall production. Even the manufacture of individual pieces (batch sizes of one) is conceivable through the use of product models for the generation of production models (e.g. NC code).

Simplified commissioning of new production systems 

Another advantage is that the virtual twin can be used while designing and constructing the production system. Before the first actual workpiece is processed, factories can simulate the production flow in advance, identify weaknesses and optimize processes. In this way, the system is virtually put into operation and tested ahead of actual production. This speeds up planning and makes it easier to commission a new production system.

Consequently, the Fraunhofer project supplies a practical example of how the Industrie 4.0 megatrend can work. “Our goal is not only to describe key Industrie 4.0 technologies, processes and methods, but to really make them tangible,” says Professor Dr.-Ing. Rainer Stark, project manager at Fraunhofer IPK. Together with industrial partners, the Fraunhofer expert and his team want to develop initial pilot projects to market-readiness in the near future.

To be able to make the ambitious concept a reality, the Fraunhofer experts had to overcome a series of technical challenges. Many of the techniques and applications for the digital twin were not yet available, which meant that the researchers had to develop them. “We want to do without proprietary components entirely and for all interfaces to be 100% compatible with industrial standards,” explains Stark. “At the same time, the system must not become too expensive. After all, the company should be able to recoup its investment quickly.”

Combination of physical and virtual sensors 

The sensor technology used is one of the engineering highlights. The Fraunhofer researchers use a combination of physical and virtual sensors, whereby the virtual sensors process the measurement data into complex reports about the status of the system. A key technical element is the data transmission, which has a hybrid design for transferring data within the production facility and to the control center. That is to say, it uses classic wireless data standards such as WLAN and LTE and also industrial standards such as EtherCAT.

The technology can be scaled as required. It is capable of controlling individual systems, but could also monitor a whole factory. Computing power and network capacities are the only limits, although the work and effort required for modelling and the fidelity to detail or granularity of the digital twin are also restrictions of sorts.

After that, there only remains the issue of security, which the engineers carefully considered in their planning. The whole system moves inside its own separate internal network, which is protected by a firewall and the strictly controlled authorization of individual ports.

Fraunhofer IPK will demonstrate how the system works from April 24-28 at Hannover Messe (Hall 17). The demonstration features a production system for manufacturing beverage coasters, which are each produced on an individualized basis.

The digital twin is synchronized in real time with the real production system. © Fraunhofer IPK

SMART FACTORY – TECHNOLOGY HIGHLIGHTS

Virtual sensors 

Physical sensors measure variables such as temperature and speed or determine positional data. Virtual sensor systems collect this data, evaluate it and generate complex reports that, for example, analyze the situation at a specific production step. This also makes it possible to make predictions about the future behavior of the system or certain components in the system (predictive maintenance).

Hybrid data transmission 

The smart factory uses a combination of wireless data standards such as WLAN and LTE and the EtherCAT (Ethernet for Control Automation Technology) industrial standard. EtherCAT is a transmission protocol (IEC standard 61158) optimized for automated manufacturing environments which need data to be available in real time. Beckhoff Automation was the company that initiated the EtherCAT standard.

Smart data dashboard 

This is a web-based, user-friendly control center that visualizes the production process and all important data, while also providing the opportunity for operators to intervene in the manufacturing process.

Mastercam 2017 Lathe

From accepting and programming any CAD file to Dynamic roughing and precision finishing, Mastercam 2017 Lathe gives you a variety of techniques to turn all of your parts exactly as you need them. Mastercam 2017 Lathe features a new chip break option, TNRC control, stock model enhancements, and so much more.

Align Solid Body 

The align solid body function simplifies the process of aligning solid models for turning. You can define the center of the rotation for the part and select the appropriate geometry. Mastercam will then rotate to an isometric view where you can use the dynamic gnomon to adjust the origin.

Chip Break 

A new option and dialog box has been added to the lathe rough and lathe contour rough toolpaths to establish when chip breaks occur. This is valuable when working with stringy materials such as aluminium or plastic, and allows you to set length and time conditions, retract and dwell options.

TNRC Control for B-axis Turning Operations 

The Tool Angle dialog box contains new options which were previously only available for Mill-Turn operations. These options tell Mastercam which quadrant you used to touch off your tool. If you are creating a toolpath and the tool’s control point is not where you want it, you can use these options to swap it.

Also available in the Mastercam 2017 Lathe is a simplified process for selecting the tool plane, origin and display mode in the Lathe operations, the new axis combination / spindle origin dialog box filters available tool planes, displaying only those planes with the correct orientation for the selected axis combination and lathe stock model operations now allow you to manipulate the lathe stock boundary using mill operations.

For more information, contact Mecad Systems – Tel: (012) 645-4300.

 

Mastercam’s “CAD For CAM” Design Tools Provide Flexibility And Ease Of Use

Mastercam is known for precision NC programming, but it also delivers a suite of shop-tested design tools aimed at getting parts on and off the machine as quickly as possible. Powerful modelling tools include not only 3D surfacing and solids, but hole-filling, direct editing without a solids history, geometry repair and much more.

Mastercam design

Mastercam Design streamlines and simplifies modelling and editing geometry. It also supports advanced geometry creation, including solid modelling, hybrid machining, NURBS curves and surfaces, 2D and 3D associative dimensioning, surface extension, blending, trimming, splitting, variable filleting, solid modelling, and hybrid modelling to complete your jobs quicker and more efficiently.

New enhancements to Mastercam 2017 Design are:

Optimize: Repairs imported solids (whole bodies or individual faces) by improving the accuracy of edges and by identifying and optimizing blends, allowing other Model Prep functions to work better. Toolpaths on the repaired solid maintain associativity to faces.

Solids disassemble

Solid Disassemble: A model prep function that takes a solid assembly and lays each body out in a single plane. It works on models with and without history, imported from other systems, or created from within Mastercam. The user interface has been improved to better support your machining practices, allowing you to place each solid body on its own level at the toolpath origin, saving you time and extra steps.

Preprocess Solid: The surface from solids function now includes a preprocess solid option that can help clean up errors in imported solids by assisting in the conversion of solid faces into surfaces. Mastercam makes a copy of the body, prepares it and then creates surfaces from this body. After the conversion, Mastercam deletes the preprocessed body, leaving the original intact.

Other Mastercam 2017 Design Improvements:

  • The X, Y and Z options in the plane selection dialog box have been enhanced to increase functionality, accuracy and efficiency by eliminating extra steps and guess work.
  • Repair small faces analyzes solid bodies (with no history) and reports if it finds small entities such as spikes, sliver faces, edge pinches, or gashes.
  • Solid impression can speed up the creation of an electrode tool without having to create extra operations.
  • Transform dynamic now supports AutoCursor snapping to horizontal, vertical and tangent positions when rotating geometry.
  • You can now dynamically manipulate geometry with Mastercam’s new trio of single-axis arrow controls and so much more.

For more information, contact Mecad Systems – Tel: (012) 645-4300.

 

Laser Technology: Durma HDF/HDFL 3015 Fiber Laser

An integrated shuttle table maximizes productivity and minimizes material handling times. The shuttle table and pallet change system allows convenient loading of new sheets or unloading of finished parts, while the machine is cutting another sheet inside the working area. The available shuttle table is fully electric and maintenance free; there are no hydraulic oils to handle and table changes are fast, smooth and energy-efficient. 

An optional lateral automatic scrap conveyor allows the removal of scrap pieces from the working area without the need to interrupt the cutting process. The sideways operation of the short conveyors allow for easy maintenance and trouble-free running.

The Durma HDF/HDFL 3015 fiber machine achieves highest dynamics and fastest laser processing cycle times thanks to the combination of rigid mechanics and a state-of-the-art numerical control and drive system. Programmes can be loaded easily into the machine with a USB stick or over a fast Ethernet connection with the company network.

In the high-pressure auto-focus cutting head for the fiber laser the cutting lens is shielded from the laser process by an exchangeable low-cost protection window. The 1μm wavelength light is very sensitive to dust or other contamination produced in the cutting or piercing process, therefore the cutting head is being well protected in an additional cover to ensure that all critical parts remain as clean as possible.

The integrated capacitive distance sensor is capable of having the head follow height differences in the sheet even at the extreme high cutting speeds that can be achieved with the fiber laser technology, while state-of-the-art linear motors promote accuracy and increase productivity.

The CAD/CAM software provided has all the tools to import or draw parts, prepare and optimize automatically different geometries for the laser cutting process and make efficient nests.

The all-solid-state fiber laser technology reduces maintenance requirements, and offers the lowest possible running cost with a wall-plug efficiency of 30% and without the need of any laser gas. When the application requires a broader spectrum of material types to be cut and the maximum thickness range is limited, the fiber laser is the ideal solution and it will cut faster at lower cost than any CO2 laser at the same laser power.

 

 

 

For more information, contact Durmazlar – Tel: 08600 DURMA (38762).

 

Laser Technology: Additive Manufacturing Plus CNC Milling Combined In One Machine

This unique machine offers significant benefits in the design and manufacture of plastic injection mould tools through its combination of metal additive manufacturing to create cooling channels of optimum shape and geometry – which often cannot be machined by conventional means – with the high speed milling necessary for tool finishing. 

So, how does it work? In the simplest terms the process is as follows – first, a metal powder is uniformly coated and then melted and solidified by scanning with a laser beam (this process can be repeated up to ten times) after which the surface is subjected to high speed milling with a rotary tool, creating the high quality accuracy, precision and finish which are not achievable with a laser process alone, after which the metal powder is uniformly coated again and the process is repeated, again and again, until the component geometry is complete.

Benefits for Mould Tool and Parts Making

The OPM250L can achieve accuracies of within ± 1/100mm, free-form surfaces with complex water cooling geometries, perfect-fit mating parts, and surface finish of Ra 0.19 microns.

The ability to create optimally designed cooling channels offers two major benefits – firstly, by improving the layout and functionality of the cooling channels to avoid heat build up in particular areas, making it possible to reduce the moulding cycle and secondly, by increasing the length of time between maintenance cycles and therefore increasing overall productivity.

Another benefit of the OPM250L in the manufacture is the ability to set the optimal laser condition. The adoption of a laser with a maximum output of 500W enables the selection of either Speed mode or Quality mode, enabling the achievement of excellent surface quality, for example in plastic moulds where a high gloss finish is required.

The machine can also be used for manufacturing of parts with complex cooling channels/ holes inside the component.

The development of the OPM250L has been based on Sodick’s many years of research and development, resulting in a machine that provides a one-stop solution for the practical use of metal additive manufacturing combined with the latest machining centre technology.

For more information, contact Rothco – Tel: (011) 970-1930.

 

Laser Technology: Platino Fiber Laser Makes The Cut At Job Shop

Prior to opening his job shop, Larry Rosevear honed his sheet metal fabrication skills by building dune buggies … a lot of dune buggies.

“My company, Suspensions Unlimited was selling 100 cars per year,” reflects Rosevear. “I purchased my first used laser in 2000. As I went through the process of cutting dune buggy parts, I realized that the laser cut much faster than my plasma cutter. I was getting my work done in two hours, and the laser was sitting idle for six hours a day. So I began doing little odd jobs and cutting my own parts. Soon I began cutting parts for other people and we received more and more orders. Eventually, the business grew so quickly that the company evolved into a 100% job shop.” Rosevear named his new company Laser Innovations and opened up shop in Anaheim, CA, in 2001.

The fledgling company began operations with just a laser, a water jet and a press brake. “The job shop business was easier to predict than the dune buggy business,” explains Rosevear. My early clientele were my customers who had purchased dune buggies. They saw the quality of the laser. We were getting business through word of mouth and soon I was building parts for my previous dune buggy competitors.”

Today, the company has grown into two 8,700-square-foot buildings for a total of 17,400 square feet. The equipment list and services have also grown to include multiple CO2 lasers, waterjet cutting, welding fabrications, sheet metal and all types of customer fabrication. And the company’s customer list has evolved by adding the following industries – medical, display, military, automotive, construction and manufacturing.

Prior to opening his job shop, Larry Rosevear honed his sheet metal fabrication skills by building dune buggies. Today, Laser Innovations services a wide variety of industries, however, he still makes some dune buggy parts such as this spare tire hydraulic auto-assist power mount.

By 2014, Laser Innovations continued its growth and Rosevear began his search for additional laser capacity. He attended the 2014 FABTECH show in Atlanta with a friend who owned a job shop in Utah. “My friend owns three Prima Power CO2 lasers that have automation, and he told me that I was missing the boat if I didn’t consider automation on my next laser. We had been studying the fiber lasers for some time and I pretty much decided that I was going to do thinner sheet metal work on an automated laser. I planned on running large quantities of 16, 18 and 20 gauge material on a continuing basis. While at FABTECH, I decided to purchase the Platino Fiber Laser for its speed. I also made the decision to automate the laser.”

Prima Power Platino® Fiber Laser 

Laser Innovations purchased the Prima Power 4000 watt Platino Fiber Laser with a 3-station tower. The laser was installed in March, 2015 and the tower was installed a few months later.

The Platino Fiber Laser cutting machine is the perfect balance of innovation and experience. This product combines state-of-the-art efficient and ecological fiber laser technology, with the proven reliability and flexibility of the Platino platform. It is the right choice for sheet metal manufacturers looking for a production tool which is:

  • efficient, granting energy and maintenance savings
  • productive, particularly on thin and medium-gauge sheets
  • flexible, suitable for a wide range of materials, including highly-reflective metals
  • reliable and capable of meeting any production need, with a variety of automation modules
  • user-friendly, easy to install, use and maintain

The Platino Fiber Laser can be used to cut a wide range of materials. Fiber lasers are more effective than other laser sources for cutting highly-reflective materials
(e.g. aluminum alloys, copper, brass). Platino Fiber cuts various thicknesses, up to 20 mm of mild steel, with efficiency and quality. Productivity increases particularly with thin and medium-gauge sheet metal.

The Platino Fiber Laser can be used to cut a wide range of materials. Fiber lasers are more effective than other laser sources for cutting highly-reflective materials (e.g. aluminium alloys, copper, brass). The Platino Fiber cuts various thicknesses, up to 20mm of mild steel, with efficiency and quality. Productivity increases particularly with thin and medium-gauge sheet metal.

Other features and benefits include:

  • Very low power consumption
  • No laser gases
  • Minimum maintenance and low consumables
  • Floor space saving – compact automatic loading, unloading and storage
  • Easy and fast operating interface – fast setup
  • Less energy, less waste of material, no laser gases
  • Unique machine design using a synthetic granite frame offering the best thermal stability and vibration damping
  • Cantilever design for maximum accessibility to the machine
  • Protection cabin with roof, fiber-safe windows and fully-opening sliding doors – total safety, visibility of the work area and accessibility

Flexible Automation 

Prima Power’s Compact TowerServer allows easy loading/unloading for blanks and processed sheets. It has an elevator for loading and unloading the pallets on and off the tower and features single sheet separating, control systems, and sheet reference.

The Platino Fiber is particularly suitable for 24/7 operation, often performed in unattended mode. It is a fully independent machine, with no need for manual intervention during machine operation. Once the production schedule is programmed, the Platino Fiber laser takes care of the necessary settings, tip replacement, sheet change and storage, etc.

“With the Platino Fiber Laser we often cut 3/8″ and 5/16″ material at night,” says Rosevear. “It is reliable and cuts all night long on these thicker materials. With the automated tower we can run unmanned and lights out. We love the tower … we just load all our sheets, automatically transfers them and then unloads the parts. It is a real time saver. The sheets are heavy for one operator to load manually. The tower eliminates manual labor and material handling. It loads the sheet to the laser, laser cuts, unloads, and we’re up and running again. The Platino Fiber Laser has worked out beautifully. Compared to a CO2 laser, we’ve only had to replace one lens in the Platino Fiber to date. And the speed is awesome. We can cut up to 1200″/minute with the Platino Fiber. The fastest my CO2 laser cuts is 400″/minute.”

Prima Power’s Compact TowerServer allows easy loading/unloading for blanks and processed sheets. It has an elevator for loading and unloading the pallets on and off the tower, and features single sheet separating, control systems and sheet reference. The Platino Fiber is particularly suitable for 24/7 operation, often performed in unattended mode.

Attracting New Business 

“We have picked up a few new customers because of the fiber laser,” concludes Rosevear. “On long runs we can actually charge a lower price for the same hourly work because of the speed of the machine. The Platino Fiber Laser has allowed us to pick up the larger jobs … jobs we weren’t getting with just the CO2 lasers. Since installing the Prima Power 4000W Platino Fiber Laser my business has increased 35%. Profit margins are up, and production time is down.”

 

For more information, contact Talmac Machine Tools – Tel: (011) 827-6539.

 

Laser Technology: OPM350L – Linear Motor Drive 3D Printer

One-process milling machining is a new fully automated machining method available from Sodick. It facilitates the continuous process of melting by irradiation of metallic powder with laser light followed by finish machining, while milling with rotating tools. Complex shapes such as three dimensional cooling channels and deep ribs can be manufactured with this single printer, which is particularly suitable in the production of dies for plastic molded products.

The new machining method (parallel mode) can print multiple spots simultaneously by controlling a single laser source at high speed. Cutting machining time can be reduced significantly by optimizing the balance of lamination count by laser and cutting finish machining with tools depending on the three-dimensional shape to be machined. Continuous operation has been enabled by developing an optional Material Recovery System (MRS) for metallic powder.

The Sodick in-house developed and manufactured CNC unit, LN4RP, is used along with an in-house developed and manufactured high-performance linear motor.

A die with a built-in three-dimensional cooling channel is designed with CAD and resin temperature simulation is implemented with CAE. NC programming with dedicated CAM, OS-FLASH, using the designed CAD data is followed by die manufacturing with OPM350L in a one-stop process.

For more information, contact Rothco – Tel: (011) 970-1930.

 

Laser Technology: New Benchmark In Price-Performance Fibre Laser Cutting

The Amada range of laser cutting machinery has evolved over many years and the latest fiber laser cutting machines are a combination of the proven design of the CO2 series together with Amada’s latest in-house fiber laser technology.

This has resulted in not only setting new standards in terms of speed and precision but also the most economical machine solution available for the mid-range segment.

This versatile and highly efficient laser system offers either a 2kW or 4kW fiber laser output option, which permits exceptional machining speeds while simultaneously achieving high precision results. The use of high-speed non-contact sensor technology ensures that the laser beam remains focused on the sheet during processing.

Considerably shortened manufacturing times coupled with the fiber laser’s excellent energy consumption figures ensure considerable cost savings while preserving resources.

Thanks to shorter wave length of the fiber systems, previously difficult to cut materials such as copper and brass, can now be cut with ease and thinner ferrous materials can be processed at far higher cutting speeds than with CO2 systems. The combination of high-performance control technology and highly dynamic drive systems, guarantee both outstanding cutting accuracy and optimum product quality. The elimination of beam path mirrors and utilization of fiber optic cable transfer methods, drastically reduce costs on mirror maintenance.

With the fiber laser beam being generated from diodes as opposed to laser gas on CO2 systems, the elimination of a turbo blower and tubes is also a great cost saver.

The versatile fiber laser machine layouts offer a common working area of 3000mm x 1500mm and tables can carry a sheet weight of up to 920kg, which is easily positioned by the operator thanks to the free roller bearing system. Much the same as the F.O. series, these systems possess a unique machine frame featuring a structure and low centre of gravity which eliminates the need for any special machine base. Even at very high machining speeds, the distortion resistant, low vibration cast machine bed guarantees manufacturing operations are conducted under optimum conditions.

Amada fiber lasers are extremely versatile, which when coupled with appropriate automation technology, perform complex tasks for long periods of time without the need for manual intervention.

The layout of this machine can be individually adapted to meet the needs of different users permitting variable assembly of machine components. The machine is compact, always providing optimum access and permitting shortest possible travel paths even during multi machine operation.

The use of the proven AMNC-PC control together with Amada AP100 programming and nesting software guarantees a high level of safety and ergonomic efficiency, while promoting great ease of operation.

Energy conservation and cost reduction.

For more information, contact Amada – Tel: (011) 453-5459.

 

Laser Technology: Cutting Without Compromise With The New 10kW Bystar Fibre Laser

Laser job shop owners need to differentiate their businesses and own their markets. The challenge is to lower costs per part, reduce lead times and downtime, and increase overall productivity. The solution is to be found in the 10kW ByStar Fibre, which, from the outset, was designed from the ground up to be a high-powered fibre laser. 

The Bystar embraces both a revolutionary new machine design and new levels of control, fully exploiting the speed which 10kW affords. The ByStar Fibre new cutter head delivers the highest part output through the full spectrum of sheet thicknesses, from thin gauge up to 30mm with an impressive part accuracy. It also cuts other exotic metals such as aluminium, brass and copper without the need for deburring.

Regarding productivity, the ByStar Fibre is up to five times faster than a 4kW CO2 laser. When cutting 6mm sheet, a 45-minute job could be reduced to ten, while the cost per part could be slashed by 70%. Even compared to a 6kW fibre laser, the time to complete a job on 6mm steel could be cut in half and the cost per part reduced by as much as 35%.

To handle the greater power, Bystronic combined linear motors, which enable the cutting head to move exceptionally fast with a revolutionary new triangular bridge frame design, which positions the laser accurately at high speed. The triangular bridge frame weighs 25% less than earlier designs so it can travel much faster. Also the triangular bridge frame has 60% more torsional rigidity. This results in almost no frame distortion for greater accuracy and better edge quality.

When handling material, the Bystar’s redesigned pallet shuttle gives enhanced operation. A further advantage is Bystronic’s eye detection technology, which identifies the edge of the sheet in six seconds. This allows cutting right up to the edge of the sheet with great accuracy. The combined advantage of the pallet shuttle and detection eye gives a head start per sheet of 28 seconds, adding about one hour of productivity to every eight-hour shift.

To harness the power of a 10kW fibre laser, Bystronic created its own 10kW cutting head. This new head enables operators to change the beam diameter and focal length of the laser on the fly for greater speed and accuracy.

With the speed of the ByStar 10kW laser, enhanced support automation is essential. As ancillaries to the ByStar, Bystronic offers standardized and customized automation of material handling and sorting to fully support the greatly increased productivity of the ByStar Fibre.

Control is key to efficient workflow. Conveniently positioned on the machine, the 55-cm high-definition ByVision cutting screen gives a clear view of everything that is happening inside the machine. With a smartphone type interface, the ByVision is easy to understand and use.

Cutting plans can be quickly uploaded, and it is possible to monitor machine performance using real time read-outs. The ByVision’s intuitive design guides an operator through the menu without losing any precious time, while also collecting operational data to give an owner a macro picture of workflow.

The ByStar Fibre will not only cut steel, but also time and costs, while greatly increasing the profitability of any laser cutting business.

For more information, contact First Cut – Tel: (011) 614-1112.

 

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