Fabrication & Cutting

END USER: Mennie Machine Co., (815) 339-2226, www.mennies.com. SOLUTION PROVIDERS: Engman-Taylor Co. Inc., (262) 255-9300, www.engman-taylor.com; Walter USA LLC, (800) 945-5554, www.walter-tools.com/us. CHALLENGE: Reduce cycle times, deburring, inconsistent tool life and varying costs. SOLUTION: A program for productivity services.

Sawing is one of the most common manufacturing processes in a machine shop. It is versatile, simple and reliable. Nonetheless, many young engineers and machinists are quite familiar with lasers and abrasive waterjets but have no knowledge of sawing.

Abrasive waterjet systems have always provided some advantages for parts manufacturers. For one, the high-pressure stream of water and abrasive grit, usually garnet, that is delivered to the workpiece surface can cut through pretty much any material. For another, being a cold process, abrasive waterjetting (AWJ) doesn't create a heat-affected zone.

Ransohoff, a division of Cleaning Technologies Group LLC, has introduced its Mega Jet Pressure Blast; an economical manual high-pressure spray washer for very large, heavy parts where floor space comes at a premium. The parts can be loaded with an overhead hoist crane on to a rotating table.

Weiler Abrasives Group announced the expansion of its resin fiber discs (RFDs) offering to include five new products for varying performance requirements: Tiger Ceramic, Zirc and Aluminum, and Wolverine Zirc and Aluminum Oxide. These discs are designed to provide an aggressive cut rate and a smooth finish on tool steel, aluminum and any material in between. The products are ideal for heavy stock removal, edge chamfering, weld blending, grinding, and surface preparation and finishing.

J.W. Winco Inc. offers GN 2184 edge protection profiles. The RoHS-compliant GN 2184 edge protection profiles are installed on the front edge of metal sheets and plates, protecting the surfaces from damage by sharp edges.

Heule Tool Corp. introduces new COFA-C series tooling for deburring elliptical or contoured surfaces in larger diameters. Replaceable solid-carbide coated blades for holes from 6 - 26 mm are available from stock, with various coatings providing longer tool life and optimum performance based on materials being machined.

Nanodiamond material specialist Carbodeon of Finland has worked with metal finishing specialist CCT Plating of Germany to develop a new electroless nickel, PTFE and nanodiamond composite coating. Electroless nickel-PTFE (EN-PTFE) coatings provide excellent anti-adhesive and low friction properties but are traditionally soft and wear quickly in abrasive conditions. By adding NanoDiamond particles to the EN-PTFE coating, Carbodeon has been able to improve the abrasive wear resistance of these coatings without compromising the sliding or release properties.

A full line of OEM-quality drop-in replacement CO2 optics for lasers used in etching monuments, signs and other stone products is available from Laser Research Optics. Laser Research CO2 optics for popular monument and sign etching lasers are available in 0.75" and 1.5" dia. sizes and feature 4" to 7.5" focal lengths to provide deeper cuts.

A profile of Basin Precision Machining LLC in the Jefferson Co. (Wisconsin) Daily Union describes the company's pioneering use of an ATL iTEM400/600 thermal deburring machine--the first to be used in the U.S. In the feature, Basin president and CEO Erik Anderson contrasts traditional deburring via cutting or drilling with the new ATL process: "We actually take the sharp edges off of a part with an explosion." The machine uses a controlled explosion to generate 6,000 degrees in 20 milliseconds, which oxidizes burrs off of a part.

Osborn introduced the JacksonLea brand LeaSpray HP spray gun for use with all JacksonLea polishing compounds. Engineered for industrial liquid buffing compounds, the LeaSpray HP spray gun is similar to other powder coating and painting guns, but it has a versatile design that fits all types of control systems and applications, including hand, automatic and robotic applications.

A new Fiber to Fiber Coupler (FFC) from Coherent (formerly Optoskand AB) enables the use of replaceable, process fiber optic cables so that integral components of the fiber laser – most notably the feeding fiber – are not exposed to opto-mechanical damage, even in harsh industrial processes. Damage to the feeding fiber means long and often costly down time. But the new FFC enables the use of a separate fiber interface, and this separate delivery fiber can be exchanged in minutes in the case of damage.