Fabrication & Cutting

EXAIR's new VariBlast compact safety air guns are a small and lightweight cast aluminum air gun capable of handling tough jobs. Because of the engineered variable flow trigger they are able to produce light, medium or heavy force upon a target simply by pulling the trigger. This comfortable and ergonomic air gun has two 1/4 NPT air inlets and a storage hanger for convenience.

E-Z Burr Tool Co. will continue to operate as an independent entity out of the deburring tool manufacturer's Livonia, Mich., facility, with little or no change in procedures or processes, reports purchaser Cogsdill Tool Products Inc., Camden, S.C. The sale closed Jan. 3.

FOBA Laser Marking + Engraving has further optimized the capability of its CO2-laser marking systems. In response to increasing demands for marking quality and speed, FOBA introduces 10- and 30-watt lasers that mark a broad range of materials with variable contents.

Tungaloy Corp. is adding an economical and multifunctional chamfer cutter series to its TungQuad family, allowing multiple types of chamfering operations to be completed with only one cutter.

There is much to consider when choosing a mass-finishing system, what with operational variables from machine size and design to cutting media, compound abrasives, water volume, cycle time and more.

Abrasive stones commonly found in machine shops are fine for run-of-the-mill deburring and abrading, but absolutely not suitable for precision stoning. For that, you need a pair of carefully prepared, precision-ground flat stones.

Productive Times Article. END USER: Wolfram Manufacturing, (512) 600-3220, www.wolframmfg.com. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Brush Research Manufacturing Co. Inc., (323) 261-2193, www.brushresearch.com. CHALLENGE: Perform finishing operations during the machining process. SOLUTION: Tool with small, abrasive globules that are permanently mounted to flexible filaments.

To meet the increasing utilization of superhard materials in production processes, notably aerospace, Agathon Machine Tools Inc. has introduced the Neo Roughing Laser for accelerated processing rates, and overall indexable insert production savings. The Neo has three mechanical axes and three optical axes for processing the periphery, clearance angles and chipbreakers.

When mass finishing—finishing many parts simultaneously—in a vibratory finishing system, the tendency is to use ceramic or plastic preformed cutting media, said Steven Schneider, technical sales manager at surface finishing company Kramer Industries Inc., Piscataway, N.J. Ceramic tumbling media are made with abrasive filler, much like a grinding wheel. For plastic tumbling media, plastic is mixed with abrasive filler and cast to shape. Ceramic media use aluminum oxide as filler, and plastic media use quartz or silica for cleaner results.

For our February issue's Industry Briefs department, I'm writing an article about the Deburring Application Laboratory at Matrix Design LLC. The company designs, builds and installs robotic automation systems for deburring parts, as well as machine tending and material handling.

Guyson completed a precise shot peening machine for a customer in the automotive/marine industry. This small footprint machine is equipped with a spiral separator (media shape separator) to ensure that the S-70 Mil Spec media is correct spec shape to guarantee the intensity that is required to adhere to AMS-2431/ 2E.

Softwall clean rooms from HEMCO Corp. are designed to meet ISO 5 – ISO 8 requirements and feature a flexible design that allows them to locate over and around equipment, with the option of being mobile with casters. The structural framework is of aircraft anodized aluminum with clear vinyl curtains around the unit.