Product News

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.

Energid has released Actin 5, a significant update to its software development kit (SDK). The Actin toolkit is a real-time adaptive motion control software, allowing robotic system developers to focus on the robot’s task rather than joint movement and paths. The Actin software responds in real time to sensory input and directs the robot on the most efficient path while avoiding collisions. The robot motion is updated dynamically without requiring reprogramming, even in dynamic, mission-critical environments.

Walter Surface Technologies has introduced a new, innovative and powerful abrasive for aluminum blending and finishing, the Enduro-Flex ALU flap disc. The Enduro-Flex ALU flap disc was developed to overcome the challenges that come with working with heat-sensitive metals such as aluminum and other nonferrous alloys.

The CPX Linear has a large working envelope and powerful grinding spindles to achieve high precision and productivity for blank preparation. Using the pinch peel method of grinding, it offers the same strength, rigidity and thermal stability expected from an ANCA tool grinder.

INDEX has announced the release of ChipMaster, a new chip-control software that effectively manages chip formation during turning, facing, contouring and cut off operations in all materials, including soft alloys such as copper and brass. Working within the programmed machining cycle, the software allows shops to avoid stringy chips on every cut, making chip disposal less troublesome and surface finishes consistently superior.

Guhring’s HPC precision clamping chucks offer extremely high clamping forces while maintaining extremely tight concentricity tolerances, making it an ideal solution for milling operations, as well as drilling and reaming applications. It excels in both heavy-duty and high-speed machining applications.

Cloud-based management software is helping CNC machining to design, test and produce tools faster and more accurately than ever before. ANCA has developed its own Redax 2.0 software package to network grinding machines to send and receive data.

The INDEX G220 turn-mill center includes a motorized 5-axis 18,000-rpm milling spindle and a tool turret with a Y-axis, providing maximum machining flexibility for producing complex parts in a single setup from bar stock up to 90 mm in diameter or via a maximum chuck diameter of 210 mm. The distance between spindles is 1,280 mm, and the maximum turning length is 1,000 mm. The high-accuracy, done-in-one capabilities of the machine benefit users in the precision parts industries, including automotive, aerospace and mechanical engineering.

MAQ offers the Self-Tuning Mass Damper (STMD). This toolholder features a tungsten mass inside the tool. It is available in more than a dozen length-diameter combinations. By using the STMD, parts manufacturers, machine tool builders and cutting tool manufacturers can reduce cycle time and cost of ownership by 30 percent, decrease tooling costs by 5-10 percent, cut energy consumption by 2-3 percent and curtail scrap output by 1-2 percent.

OnRobot is ready with a unique new patented toolchanger for collaborative applications developed by Purple Robotics, recently aquired by OnRobot. Weighing only 200 g (7 oz.), the Quick Changer has a low impact on robot payload.

The exponential growth of digital technologies continues to drive the evolution of manufacturing supply chains into data-driven cyber-physical systems, increasing the vulnerability of data and industrial assets and exposing them to an array of multi-vector threats. Every time data moves throughout the supply chain, it creates cybersecurity vulnerabilities — risks include theft, malicious or accidental alteration, or misplacement of data. Identify3D helps enterprises curb these risks by securing intellectual property while assuring manufacturing repeatability and traceability.

Amazing, but true: Over one and a half decades ago, many engineering companies were dreaming of parallel kinematic drives that would be able to replace conventional fork heads in machine tools after a brief period of euphoria, involving a few conferences, plenty of journal articles and several tentative attempts with prototypes and machines, things settled down again. Only one machine tool manufacturer reportedly had any success, working in close conjunction with an innovative aircraft producer to come up with a great three-legged idea.