Turning

While it's nearly impossible to quantify the most common challenges or most important considerations when turning, experts agree that the five aspects of turning discussed below should be considered. It's important to note that each factor has the potential to impact the others. So, instead of looking at each issue individually, it's recommended machinists take a holistic best-practices approach to turning.

PRAB Inc., Kalamazoo, Mich., this week debuted a Screw Conveyor engineered to effectively move a range of metal scrap from chips to bundled turnings, according to a Feb. 1 news release from PRAB. The Screw Conveyor is said to be ideal for applications where scrap is dumped into the conveyor or infeed hopper in a load. The PRAB Screw Conveyor uses a single drive to operate an auger that rotates and moves the material through the trough. The straight-forward design and standard components reportedly make the conveyor cost effective to own and easy to maintain.

Said to combine ease of use with expanded functionality, the new BX53M System Microscope from Olympus Scientific Solutions Americas is designed to make it easy for users to quickly and accurately undertake a variety of analytical tasks, the company announced in a Jan. 26 news release. What's more, when combined with new Olympus Stream 2.1 Image Analysis Software, the BX53M System Microscope reportedly simplifies workflow from observation to measurement, analysis and reporting.

Dormer Pramet now offers Pramet SF and SM geometries for machining of high temperature alloys and stainless steel, the company announced Jan. 27. The SF geometry features a sharp positive geometry with an inclination cutting edge of 14.5° while the SM chip-breaker is a wear-resistant, universal geometry for medium machining.

PCD oxidizes when cutting materials such as iron, cobalt, nickel, chromium and vanadium because of the high temperatures generated while cutting. Although not as hard, PCBN possesses superior chemical inertness compared to PCD.

Seco has increased the application range of its wear-resistant TH1000 and TH1500 turning insert grades by adding new positive and negative geometries, chip breakers and nose radius sizes to the line. The additions allow manufacturers that process hardened steels, superalloys and cast irons to further increase their machining capabilities.

The importance of mastering fundamental turning skills. Turning and other lathe operations are the most common machining applications. A master tool and die maker once told me a lathe is the only piece of shop equipment that can remanufacture itself. Whether or not the statement is factual is not important. Having the lathe described in that manner indicates how important and universal turning is to manufacturing.

Addressing weighty issues is an important part of the Manager's Desk column, and there will be no shortage of them to debate and discuss in 2016.

Conventional "bump" knurling methods are undesirable for smaller diameter parts because the forces deflect the workpiece, according to Genevieve Swiss Industries Inc., Westfield, Mass. To control this problem, the company recommends using a straddle knurl holder to provide support to the workpiece while the knurling operation is performed.

Offline presetting maximizes machine availability, reduces scrap.

Sandvik Coromant has introduced two new grades for machining cast iron.

Tungaloy Corp. has introduced SH725, the new PVD grade for turning on Swiss-style lathes, and an expansion of toolholders for the DoMiniTurn external line.