HEIDENHAIN says its top-of-the-line lathe control, the CNC PILOT 640, has been impressing customers for many years with its numerous advantages and is now available with even newer upgrades. Most notably, a new TURN PLUS feature is now standard on new purchases that allows the creation of a lathe program by the push of a button with up to 90 percent time savings.
Many shops today are looking to automation and automatic part loading as a means to reduce costs, increase throughput, and cope with the ongoing shortage of skilled labor. The Automatic Parts Loader (APL) from Haas Automation Inc. is a fully integrated solution for automating turning operations on Haas ST-10 through ST-35 turning centers, including Y-axis models.
Many industries today, such as aerospace and automotive design, are turning to 5-axis machining to speed manufacturing processes and increase accuracy. The ability to machine complex shapes, undercuts, and difficult angles in a single setup reduces tooling costs and labor time, resulting in a better cost per part.
Haas Automation expands its line of affordable, 5-axis universal machining centers with the UMC-1000SS, a larger-travel, super-speed UMC that offers high performance and speed for 5-sided (3+2) machining and simultaneous 5-axis machining.
Cincinnati Inc. has released a new carbon fiber resin material for its SAAM (Small Area Additive Manufacturing) 3D printing system. The new material is impact resistant, lightweight and has a very high strength-to-weight ratio. Carbon fiber reinforcement makes the material stiff, durable and very low warping – and advanced inter-layer adhesion results in accurate, quality parts with good dimensions. The material’s superior surface finish makes it perfect for custom tooling applications, as well as assembly, CMM, welding and CNC fixtures.
Haas Automation’s popular DT and DM Series Drill/Tap/Mill Centers have been completely redesigned from the castings up to provide more performance and reliability than ever before, with better chip flow, more visibility into the machines, and easier access to parts and fixturing. And best of all, they’re now less expensive.
Rotary tables are ideal for machining multiple sides of a part in a single setup or for machining many parts on a multiple-sided fixture. But handling very large or very small parts can prove challenging without the correct size rotary. The HRT1000 and HRT100 rotary tables from Haas Automation Inc. cover both ends of the size spectrum, providing high-precision 4th-axis positioning and simultaneous 4-axis motion for extra-large and extra-small parts.
Sandvik Coromant is set to release two new grades for interrupted hard-part turning operations: CB7125 and CB7135. Available in October 2018, the grades will complete the company’s offer for hard-part turning, complementing the existing CB7105 and CB7115 grades.
Effective extraction and discharge of slag at the same time with almost no downtime: The new extraction table KEMPER TheSlagger reduces downtime to a minimum for automated cutting processes in comparison to traditional cutting tables. Thanks to a special discharge technique, it avoids time-consuming disassembly of the cutting table elements and thus long machine downtime. The effective extraction system ensures a high level of occupational safety and protects nearby machinery from cutting dust.
Marposs announces the availability of Confocal, a noncontact measuring system that enables very fast, high resolution distance and thickness gauging of almost any surface including solid, transparent and polished mirror surfaces such as glass, plastic or silicon wafers. Featuring a 4mm optical sensor within the measuring probe, the accuracy is extremely precise, enabling the identification of very small aberrations in shape, air gap or paint finish.
Marposs Corp. has introduced its new M62 Flex manual bench gage system. Created for the production environment, this gage provides the flexibility to measure gears with different diameters without mechanical retooling. Utilizing a universal reference “Vee” on a 30-degree angle eliminates the need of using an ID centering post (or nosepiece) to locate each part for measuring, and it reduces setup time.
Marposs has expanded its TS line of contact tool setters with the addition of the VOTS 90° optical probe for use on vertical machining centers. Due to its horizontal design, the VOTS 90° can be installed on the machine table outside the working area. This saves machining space without compromising on tool inspection.
Marposs has announced its Brankamp X5 in-process, real-time monitoring systems for cold and hot forming, thread rolling and stamping operations. Building upon the capabilities of its X1 and X3 models, the X5 units feature a large 12-inch touch screen, as well as Tool Memory that stores data that can be used to quickly achieve precise machine setup for repeated production runs.
Machining customers examining the productivity benefits of multiple-spindle, high-precision machining centers from SW North America will find even further advantages in the full range of automation and turnkey production systems the company provides.
The future development impetus for the internal combustion engine will focus on the reduction of CO2 emissions. This is dependent upon fuel consumption, which in turn is determined by the internal engine friction. The goal of form honing is a form optimized cylinder bore under typical operating conditions. Gehring has developed a surface finishing process for internal combustion engines that does not target a cylindrical bore shape.
Novacam Technologies has introduced a noncontact probe with a 0.02” (0.5 mm) diameter. Designed to be used with either Novacam TubeInspect or BoreInspect 3D metrology systems, this ultrathin fiber-based probe reaches inside to measure tubes, bores and other hard-to-reach spaces with IDs as small as 0.04” (1 mm).
Saint-Gobain Abrasives announced the introduction of its new division, Performance Grinding Solutions (PGS). Saint-Gobain Abrasives created PGS in response to a strong demand for grinding process knowledge. This trend has been building due to a changing workforce, as well as the evolution of data collection and communication with customer investments in Industry 4.0 and IIoT.
Marposs has introduced its new Duo premium compact electronic display unit. Similar in size to a smartphone, Duo is extremely small and powerful, featuring a 4.3’’ touch screen unit for display and storage of measuring data acquired through one or two sensors. Designed in response to customer needs, it is a “something in-between” display unit that provides premium features at an affordable price.
Marposs has announced the availability of its new Super-Meclab+.T40 high accuracy bench top laser micrometer systems for off-line diameter measuring of fluted parts such as cutting tools, drill bits, endmills, small gears and toothed pulleys.
Marposs has announced the availability of its new WRSP60 high-accuracy scanning probes for checking part profiles directly on machining centers and milling machines in real time. Parts can be checked for defects without being transferred to a measurement lab, eliminating the need to reload and reposition the part for any necessary reworking, improving the process and optimizing cycle time.