Product Demos

Cutting Tool Engineering captured a brief demonstration of the FI 240 CC high-speed wire EDM machine at the GF AgieCharmille booth during the EASTEC show this spring.

Some coatings, such as TiAlN, enable dry machining when drill ductile cast iron, but coolant is desirable to help evacuate the material's small, curled chips. Flood coolant can be appropriate for holes less than 1.5 to 2 diameters deep, according to Bob Jennings, product manager for Ingersoll Cutting Tools, Rockford, Ill. Jennings noted that the toolmaker offers standard Qwik-Twist replaceable-point drills to drill up to 8 diameters deep.

Daniel Dean, national sales manager for Tsugami USA, explains the features of the Tsugami newest Swiss-turn machine, the SS32, during a brief demonstration captured on video during EASTEC 2008 by Cutting Tool Engineering. The Swiss-turn machine offers 32mm capacity, as well as a unique modular tool zone, increased capability over previous gang type models, and a roomier tool zone for easier setup, Dean reports in this 4 minute and 38 second video report.

Captured on video at EASTEC 2008, the Milltronics TT24 uses an integrated twin table machining center that Sales Engineer Craig Fostersays will keep CNC operators busy. Foster takes the CTE Plus video crew on a 3 minute and 15 second tour and demonstration of the TT24. The system features a fully integrated twin pallet machine with a unique design requiring no pallet removal, an inline spindle design—24 hp standard—and conversational programming with the Milltronics Centurion control.

Travis Biggs, applications engineer, technical service, for Greenleaf Corp., offers the nitty gritty on the tools used in this 1 minute and 40 second video featuring a 5/8" ball nose tool followed by the company's Extreme Feed Mill 1" dia., 4-tooth cutting tool.

Acoustic emission (AE) sensors detect ultrasonic sound waves emitted when the grinding wheel contacts a part or the dressing wheel and send that information to a process control unit. Monitoring the sound waves and comparing them with reference values allows operators to control the grinding and dressing processes. Variations in acoustic emissions indicate changes in cutting forces, which can then be modified. Some AE sensors are stationary while others rotate with the wheels.n

CTE Plus offers a look at minimum-quantity lubrication in action thanks to video provided by the Horkos Corp.

Greenleaf Corp. introduced its WG-300 ceramic composite tool material about 25 years ago. The ceramic matrix is reinforced with silicon-carbide "whiskers" that boost toughness. Initially applied in the relatively constant cutting conditions of turning operations, the composite tools provided a significant increase in productivity when roughing aerospace alloys. Shops are now using WG-300 tools in hard milling operations.

Though ITI Tooling Co. Inc. introduced the Varia Rapid-Change Tooling System some four years ago, the company's product manager—Lee Hebenstreit—says word of this technology has not yet spread throughout the markets it could help. That's why the company produced a 22-second video showing the Varia tool changing system in action.

Interrupted turning is common in aero-engine machining, said Sean Holt, aerospace specialist for Sandvik Coromant Co., Fair Lawn, N.J. There, a complete, finished component is machined out of a single, large block of material (most commonly Inconel 718) in several process stages that involve accurately removing a vast amount of material to meet strict parameters for the finished part's dimensions and characteristics. Sandvik Coromant claims to have cutting tools and machining methods that greatly improve aerospace component manufacturing.

The new 5-axis micromachining center from AtometricInc. generated some welcome excitement at shows like the recent Medical Design & Manufacturing event in Minneapolis, Minn. Learn more about the company and its new machine in this special MICROmanufacturing report.