Smalley Steel Ring Co., a designer and manufacturer of retaining rings and wave springs, donated an OMAX 2652 to the College of Lake County (CLC) in Grayslake, Ill.. The abrasive waterjet machining center is the college's first and broadens the CNC/Machine Tool Trades Department's ability to offer the waterjet technology skills sought by many employers recruiting CLC graduates, including Smalley.
The OMAX 2652 JetMachining Center, which was installed at CLC in April, is a midsized cantilever-style waterjet machine, with a table size of 5' 9" x 2' 6" and capable of tolerances up to ±0.001" (±0.025 mm). With a completely sealed and protected ball screw drive system, it is suited for cutting projects with smaller dimensions requiring high precision. It comes standard with an OMAX MAXJET 5i Nozzle.
College of Lake County is a comprehensive community college offering a range of academic program choices to meet students' educational needs, including an associate degree in Applied Science and two certificate options in CNC Programming. Jeff Hines, department chairman of CNC Programming at CLC, plans to integrate the machine into several courses, including fabrication, wire EDMing, and welding, beginning in the fall of 2015.
"We are thrilled to help College of Lake County continue to educate the next generation of tool and die makers and machinists," said Michael Greenhill, president of Smalley. "Our partnership with the college is a win-win situation. Students and instructors at the college now have access to this advanced technology, and we hope that some of the well-trained students might become future employees of Smalley."
Related Glossary Terms
- abrasive
abrasive
Substance used for grinding, honing, lapping, superfinishing and polishing. Examples include garnet, emery, corundum, silicon carbide, cubic boron nitride and diamond in various grit sizes.
- abrasive waterjet ( AWJ)
abrasive waterjet ( AWJ)
System that uses high-pressure waterjets in combination with a slurry of fine abrasive grains to machine materials. See waterjet cutting.
- computer numerical control ( CNC)
computer numerical control ( CNC)
Microprocessor-based controller dedicated to a machine tool that permits the creation or modification of parts. Programmed numerical control activates the machine’s servos and spindle drives and controls the various machining operations. See DNC, direct numerical control; NC, numerical control.
- machining center
machining center
CNC machine tool capable of drilling, reaming, tapping, milling and boring. Normally comes with an automatic toolchanger. See automatic toolchanger.
