Canadian Metalworking

April 2010 • www.canadianmetalworking.com

POWER

Plays

Opportunities abound in renewable and energy sectors

27 MACHINING: Multi-tasking machine

helps Alberta manufacturer reduce the bottleneck in its milling operation.

49 CUTTING TOOLS: Is tool management a cost effective approach for your shop?

53 FABRICATING: Produce more complex

parts and reduce the number of manual operations with laser punch combos.

62 WELDING: Cleaning the air with fume extraction.

Very BIG and beautifully engineered

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VM Series U Series (5-Axis) SR Series (5-Axis) General Purpose Trunnion Table Swivel Head, Rotary Table Mills Mills Mills

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DCX Series Dual Column Mills

Z Series Zone Mills

DCX22 - 50T 86.5″ x 66.9″ x 29.5″ 6k 40 CAT (BT) 50

HTX Series Horizontal Mills

Machines shown with options. Information may change without notice.

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TMX Series High Performance Lathes

TM / TMM Series General Purpose Lathes

“We chose the Prima Platino because after researching the industry, we found that it had just as many, if not more, machine features than the competitors at a better price. Bang for the buck, it was the best machine on the market. I liked the construction of the machine because it had the cantilever arm construction with the single frame so the

Prima Finn-Power is a leading supplier of 2D and 3D laser sheet metal processing systems.

A single-source provider, Prima Finn-Power manufactures the laser source, machine tool, control, software, and material handling.

For more than 40 years, the Prima laser manufacturing division in the U.S. has produced high-quality industrial CO2 laser resonators, providing DC excited, fast axial flow 3000, 4000, and 5000-watt resonators.

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Cantilever design provides tremendous flexibility in terms of operator access and material handling options.

resonator sits on top of the machine. And it was also one of the only lasers that offered the rotary axis option for tube cutting.”

Alfredo Darolfi VP Manufacturing D & R Electronics Co. LTD Bolton, ON

1040 Martin Grove Road / Unit 11 Toronto, Ontario / M9W 4W4

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Inside this issue...

Volume 105 | No.3 | April 2010 | www.canadianmetalworking.com

INDUSTRY REPORT

TOOL MANAGEMENT

ENERGY & RESOURCES

Is tool management a cost effective approach for your operation?

INNOVATE TO SAVE..................49

POWER PLAYS...........................12 Opportunities abound in renewable and nuclear energy sectors.

ENERGY & RESOURCES/CASE STUDY

BOTTLENECK BREAKTRHOUGH ..18 Multi-tasking machine helps Alberta manufacturer cut milling operation bottleneck.

12

FABRICATING LASER PUNCH COMBOS

IN GOOD FORM ......................53

18

Find out if laser punch combos are the right choice for your fab shop.

TUBE BENDING

GOING ELECTRIC .....................57

BUSINESS REPORT EXPORTING

BOOM, BUST, BEWARE .............23

If manufacturers want to survive in the current market, exporting must be part of the equation, say business experts.

Canadian Metalworking speaks with electric tube bending expert Alan Pickering, CEO of Unison.

WELDING FUME EXTRACTION

CLEANING THE AIR...................62

MACHINING TURNING/CASE STUDY

A FAMILY AFFAIR .......................27 Turning centre helps family business expand capacity.

A product report on new introductions for fume extraction.

OVERSPRAY AUTOMATIC FINISHING/CASE STUDY

INNOVATIVE PRODUCTION ROBOTICS

SEEING IN 3D TO CUT COSTS ...37 3D vision could become standard equipment on robots in a decade or less.

CUTTING

Decision to bring automated powder coating operation in-house pays off.

SPRAY BOOTHS/DESIGN

POWDER BOOTH DESIGN ........... 67

67

Powder spray booth design is critical for effective finishing.

DEPARTMENTS

DRILLING

THE FIVE ESSENTIALS.................41 Five critical tips for effective drilling in high speed applications.

Upfront ........................................... 6 News ............................................. 9 Shop Talk ...................................... 10 Metal...Works................................ 72

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“GREEN” POWDER....................63

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EDITORIAL ................................................................

EDITOR Mary Scianna

416-764-1540 | mary.scianna@rci.rogers.com

MANAGING EDITOR Daryl Angier

416-764-1508 | daryl.angier@rci.rogers.com ART DIRECTOR Jill Nelson 416-764-1518 | jill.nelson@rci.rogers.com JUNIOR WEB PRODUCER Jessica Mirabelli 416-764-1316 | jessica.mirabelli@rci.rogers.com PRODUCTION MANAGER Jim Howser 416-764-1684 | james.howser@rci.rogers.com CIRCULATION MANAGER Bibi Khan 416-764-1450 | bibi.khan@rci.rogers.com BUSINESS .................................................................

SENIOR PUBLISHER Larry Bonikowsky

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6 | APRIL 2010 | www.canadianmetalworking.com

Upfront Saving Manufacturing On a recent press trip to Belgium, sponsored by fabrication equipment manufacturer LVD Strippit, I had the opportunity to visit two mid-sized manufacturers—Garmat, a spray booth manufacturer, and P. Lemmens, a heating and ventilation products maker.

Seeing the operations and speaking with representatives at each company confirmed for me what is wrong with manufacturing in Canada: unlike their counterparts in Europe, Canadian manufacturers are not quick to embrace new technologies to make their businesses more competitive.

Canadian Metalworking’s recent benchmarking survey illustrates the point: while close to 40 per cent of survey participants say they use automation in their shops, less than five per cent of chip shops and less than 17 per cent of fabricators said they planned to purchase automation.

Asked why they invested in automated technologies for their sheet metal fabrication operations, P. Lemmons plant manager Christophe Liégeois and Garmat vice president Ben De Mill both said they wanted to gain a competitive edge, improve quality and productivity, and decrease delivery times to customers. Like their Canadian counterparts, these two companies have felt the impact of the recession, but instead of scaling back, both decided to invest in technology to become more competitive.

Canadian manufacturers can do the same. The infrastructure for investing in machinery and equipment and access to capital has not been great, but recent efforts by federal and provincial governments are making it possible to invest in new technologies.

Three recent examples are measures outlined in the Federal government’s 2010 budget: • an extension of the 50 per cent straight-line accelerated capital cost allowance rate for investments in manufacturing or processing machinery and equipment to include investments undertaken in 2010 and 2011; • tariff reductions on manufacturing inputs and machinery and equipment; • an increase in the amount of small business income eligible for the reduced federal income tax rate to $500,000.

Canadian manufacturers are recognized for the quality of products they make. But so too are European manufacturers, who in increasing numbers are turning to automation to produce better quality at faster rates.

Canadian manufacturers cannot rely on their reputation for quality because in a competitive global marketplace, it’s not enough. You must manufacture quality products better and faster than your competitor and the only way to do that is to embrace new technologies such as automation.

As P. Lemmons’ Liégeois said in answer to a question about the company’s 1.3 million Euro investment in robotic automation for its punch presses and bending equipment, the company needed to be able to compete with the growing number of Chinese competitors. To date, the company has achieved a 30 per cent improvement in quality and 40 per cent productivity improvement. Impressed with the results, the company is already considering a second automated bending cell.

Instead of waiting on the sidelines, Canadian manufacturers should take the leap and invest in new technologies before it’s too late.

MARY SCIANNA, EDITOR

If you want to comment on editorial in the magazine, I’d like to hear from you, so please contact me. mary.scianna@rci.rogers.com

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News Ontario Trade mission to highlight industry expertise

The Canadian Tooling & Machining Association (CTMA), the Canadian Association of Moldmakers (CAMM) and the Ontario government have joined forces to attract foreign buyers searching for Canadian metalworking expertise.

The three groups are holding a trade mission to Ontario that will run concurrently during the World Tooling Conference 2010 (being hosted by CTMA) that will be held June 20-22 in Windsor, ON, at the Caesars Windsor Hotel and Casino.

Joan Bachmeier, the project consultant hired by CTMA to oversee the event, says the trade mission will be different from the last one organized by in 2008.

“CAMM’s event was called the “reverse trade mission” but we are calling the 2010 event the “in-bound trade mission” because it will be different. This time we are setting up a formal schedule so that Canadian sellers in the machine tool, die and mould sector can meet face to face with prospective buyers from around the world.”

Les Payne, executive director of the CTMA, says that in 2008, buyers went to see suppliers, but at the 2010 event, suppliers will be coming to see the buyers in one venue in one-on-one meetings.

He adds that “by locating the trade mission within the World Tooling Conference, it has has helpd reduce the overall cost of the 2008 mission by half.”

Bachmeier says the meetings that she is arranging are a “match-making” service. Qualified buyers and sellers must complete detailed profiles “and my job is to put a match together to help bring business into Canada.”

To qualify, sellers must be active in the machine, tool, die and mould industry and buyers must identify reasons for participating in the trade mission.

“Some may be interested in a joint venture with an Ontario manufacturer to satisfy Canadian content rules for products they manufacture offshore and others may simply want an opportunity to access the North American market,” explains Bachmeier.

She adds that part of the mission is to highlight to international buyers the expertise and the diversity of companies working in the machine, tool, die and mould sectors.

“There are lots of opportunities here for a company manufacturing in Europe to build parts here and there are government incentives too. There will be government officials on hand to discuss opportunities with the international buyers.”

To date, five international companies have registered for the trade mission and Bachmeier’s target is to get 30 buyers at the event. The international buyers are expected to come from around the world, including Europe, South America, Asia and Mexico.

For details about the trade mission and the World Tooling Conference visit the CTMA web site at http://ctma.com

DMG, Mori Seiki combine operations, Canada remains status quo

Machine tool builders DMG and Mori Seiki plan to combine their operations in the US and in India following an agreement between parent firms Mori Seiki Co. Ltd. and Gildemeister AG. In the US, the new combined company will be known as DMG/ Mori Seiki USA and will be based in Hoffman Estates, IL. The changes will not affect Canada, according to Lyndi Bandur, marketing specialist for DMG/Mori Seiki USA, although she added that she could not comment on the Canadian sales and distribution operations.

In Canada, the two machine tool builders are sold through

separate entities. DMG Canada, Mississuaga, ON, sells DMG machines, while distributor Gross Machinery Group, Brampton, ON, sells Mori Seiki machines across Canada, except for BC, where Ellison Technologies Inc., Richmond, BC, handles sales in the province.

“The joining of superior technologies and strong sales and service networks brings greater productivity to our customers,” said Dr. Masahiko Mori, CEO of Mori Seiki in a press release.

The new DMG/Mori Seiki USA will assume responsibility for all product support for all of the product lines sold in the US. The new entity will provide after-sales service, spare parts supply, training, and engineering support.

Mori Seiki supplies CNC lathes, multi-axis turning centres, vertical and horizontal machining centres, and application systems. DMG products include turning and milling machines and control systems.

It was last March when Mori Seiki and Gildemeister AG announced their plan to collaborate and agreed to a crossshareholding investment of five per cent, making Mori Seiki the largest shareholder in Gildemeister.

In September 2009, Mori Seiki Co. Ltd. announced it would begin sales and service for DMG machine tools in Japan.

Dr. Rudiger Kapitza, chairman of the executive board of Gildemeister AG says that the “joint innovative customer focus allows us to approach the challenges posed by the international economic crisis in a more targeted manner and to overcome them.”

Joint distributor open house celebrates 5th year, hundreds of manufacturers expected to attend

The 5th Annual 2010 Joint Open House (JOH), which runs May 5 and 6, is expected to draw hundreds of manufacturers from across southern Ontario to see the latest in machine tool technology.

The organizers are five of the country’s biggest metalworking distributors, including DMG Canada, Mississauga,ON, Elliott Matsuura Canada, Oakville, ON, EMEC Machine Tools, Mississauga, ON, Ferro Technique, Mississauga, ON, and SSTCanada, Mississauga, ON. Together, the companies will have more than 50 CNC machines on display in their respective showrooms.

“Not only does this event give customers a chance to see five of the top machine tool builders in the world, but it also allows them to see each of our facilities and talk to each company’s application and service staff,” says Brian Donnelly, vice president of Ferro Technique.

This year the hours of the event (9 a.m. to 7 p.m.) have remained the same because of the success and participation of previous events. The five participants provide transportation to and from all the locations.

For registration information, visit the distributors’ web sites: DMG Canada www.dmgcanada.com Elliott Matsuura Canada www.elliottmachinery.com EMEC Machine Tools www.emecmt.com SST-Canada www.singlesourchetech.com/canada www.canadianmetalworking.com | APRIL 2010 | 9

News Shop Talk Do you use social media like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to promote your company? If you do, has it brought in any new business? If you don’t, are you considering using social media to promote your firm?

“Social media, no. We do have a website, however. I think it does bring in some business. When we’re looking for new business, I refer [potential clients] to the website. We don’t do Facebook or Twitter, though we might down the road.”

-Peter Alden, co-owner, Wessex Precision Machining, Ayr, ON

“I use LinkedIn to promote my business. Other than that, I don’t use any other social media sites and even LinkedIn is at a minimum.

So far, it has not brought me any new business. If anything, it has enabled me to search for companies and find contacts within the company, to get my foot in the door, so to speak.”

-David Glover, Harbour Advanced Machining, Windsor, ON

“No. We have not used this avenue to promote our business and we are not considering it at this time. Further discussions and investigation is needed on this subject.”

-Debbie Blowe, systems manager, Vibra Finish, Mississauga, ON

“Good question. I just signed up on LinkedIn. Looks like a good way to stay in touch with skilled personnel. Here is the kicker, [after joining] I get a bunch of interesting responses and links but I don’t have time to follow them up. It’s the same as my Facebook page, which is kind of non-business. I get three inquiries a day from people who want to be my friend. Who has time to keep up?”

-Rob Muru, president, A-Line Precision Tool, Toronto, ON

“At Mecon, we do not yet make use of social media. I personally have a Facebook account that gets used only sporadically.”

-David Foscarini, president, Mecon Industries Limited, Scarborough, ON

“No, we do not. I have often thought of these types of media as personal programs and I feel that it would promote the wrong audience that I am looking for. We do get customers looking for interactive websites where they can see their orders, but Facebook is too public and not focused on business. I also find these programs very cluttered and difficult to use compared to real business software programs. I really wish there was a business-based Internet that would get rid of all the garbage.”

Calendar APRIL 31 Remote Laser Welding seminar, Canadian Welding Association, Teatro Conference Centre, Milton, ON. 800-844-6790 cwa-meeting@nutech-engineering.com May 5-6 Joint Machine Tool Distributors’ Open House, Mississauga and Oakville, ON May 10-12 Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (EMC) national manufacturing conference, Hamilton Convention Centre, Hamilton, ON. 866-323-4362 conference@emccanada.org May 13 American Society for Quality (ASQ) Windsor section meeting, Six Sigma case study. Caboto Club, Windsor, ON. 519-252-8383 MAY 17-18 Ontario Skills Competition, CNC Machining at Mazak Canada, Cambridge, ON. www.skillsontario.com MAY 17-20 Montreal Manufacturing Technology Show, Place Bonaventure, Montreal, QC. 888-322-7333 www.mmts.ca

Poll Do you plan to attend a manufacturing trade show in Canada such as MMTS or in the US, such as WESTEC/EASTEC/ IMTS this year?

No 16.7%

-Larry Stuyt, co-owner, Ontario Laser Cutting, Tilsonburg, ON

“Although our company is not a commercial business tending to the public, I have found success using Facebook to find new prospective employees. I have also used websites such as Kijiji to find employees or service companies ... for my recent interior painting project, I hired a company that had replied to my want ad on Kijiji.”

-Adriano Oppio, vice-president, Classic Tool & Die, Windsor, ON

10 | april 2010 | www.canadianmetalworking.com

Yes 83.3%

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THE 2010

Specifications subject to change without notice. Not responsible for typographical errors. Machines shown with optional equipment.

INDUSTRIAL REPORT

ENERGY AND RESOURCES

Power Plays Opportunities abound in renewable and nuclear energy sectors

By Nate Hendley For years, “go West” was the manufacturing mantra in Canada, as machine and metal shops sought work in the booming Alberta oil sands. While oil is still a contender, the new mantra is “go green”—or nuclear. Developments in the renewable and nuclear energy sectors portend big opportunities for suppliers, say industry insiders. Many of these opportunities are taking shape in Ontario, Canada’s much ailing manufacturing epicentre.

On January 21, 2010, the government of Ontario signed a massive energy deal with Korean corporate giant Samsung to build clusters of wind towers and solar energy facilities across the province. The plan is to phase out Ontario’s coal-fired power plants over the next five years and dramatically increase the amount of electricity generated by renewable sources. While the province has been tight-lipped about exact figures, The Toronto Star pegged the Samsung deal at a staggering $7 billion.

The contract with Samsung is part of a grand provincial plan, spearheaded by the Green Energy Act, which became law May 2009. Said Act aims to create 50,000 new jobs over three years and make Ontario a global leader in the renewable energy field.

On top of this, the Ontario government recently teamed with the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) to launch an initiative called Energy Connections. The CME put on an Energy Connections conference March 4 in Mississauga, ON. Some 300 people attended, to learn about prospects for manufacturers in the solar, wind, nuclear, and oil and gas sectors.

“Make no mistake, the Alberta [oil sands] still represent the biggest overall opportunity for Canadian manufacturers,” says Ron Subramanian, Toronto-based director of special projects for the CME. “But it’s not just oil and gas now. We’ve got to keep our eyes on nuclear, wind and solar as well.”

Good advice, given advances in those segments.

According to the federal government, “natural resources” in Canada (a catch-all category that includes energy, minerals and forestry) generated $155 billion in Gross Domestic Product in 2007, the last year figures are available. This is up from $132.9 billion in 1997. The energy sector accounted for $86.6 billion of the 2007 total, while minerals came to $41.9 billion and forestry, $26.5 billion.

12 | APRIL 2010 | www.canadianmetalworking.com

Until recently, the primary focus in Canada’s energy sector was on Alberta. This is understandable, given that the gooey oil sands in that province hold an estimated 1.7 trillion barrels of crude bitumen. Only a tenth of this is actually recoverable, but that still makes Canada one of the leading oil producers in the world. Recovering this oil is an expensive process, however. So expensive, oil sands operators only make money when the world price for their product is high.

Problem is, oil prices have been on a wild roller-coaster ride over the past two years, soaring to nearly $150/barrel in mid-2008, only to crash below $40/barrel the next year. As of March 22, 2010, crude oil was hovering around $81.25 a barrel. According to the Calgary-based Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI), oil has to fetch $75 – 85/barrel for oil operators to fund expansion. In spite of price fluctuations, the government of Alberta claims that $13 billion was invested in the oil sands in 2009, with $15 billion forecast for investment in 2010.

While the price of oil continues to rise and fall like a yo-yo, the product itself isn’t going anywhere. Natural Resources Canada estimates that our oil reserves won’t run dry for 200 years, at current levels of production.

The CME has been one of the most vocal boosters of Alberta oil. A few years ago, the CME held seminars across Canada to inform potential suppliers (whose ranks included machine and metal shops) of the bounty out west. While this seminar series has ended for the time being, the CME just finished hosting its 10th annual National Buyer/Seller Forum in Edmonton, AB. The event, which is focused on supplier opportunities in the oil sands, attracted 600 people. Still the message is out: while oil remains in something of a holding pattern, renewable energy is soaring.

A few years ago, at the height of the Alberta oil boom, the government of Ontario set up an online directory of potential suppliers eager to work in this field and identified machine shops and metal fabricators as beneficiaries of oil sands’ largesse.

While the oil sands supplier page is still up, it’s been augmented by new online directories of wind and solar manufacturers and suppliers. The province of Ontario is encouraging firms that make rotors, nacelles (housing that holds equipment

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in place in a wind turbine), gearboxes, drive trains and generators, to sign onto the former and companies that deal with silicon, solar cells, inverters, electronics and mounting systems to sign up for the latter. Potential suppliers for the nuclear industry are directed toward an online directory run by the Pickering, ON-based Organization of CANDU Industries (OCI). The province of Ontario urges machining and/or fabrication firms to investigate the OCI directory.

Water, in the form of hydro-electricity, is the top renewable in Canada at the moment. As of 2006, there were 499 hydroelectric stations in Canada, generating a combined total of 73,000 megawatts (one megawatt being a million kilowatts). This accounted for almost 60 per cent of Canada’s total electricity production, making us one of the largest producers of hydro-electricity in the world.

“ For all the buzz about renewable energy, nuclear proponents point out that their sector is far bigger, generating about 15% of Canada’s electricity.”

If water is the category leader, wind is coming on strong as well. As of December 31, 2007, Canada boasted 1,400 wind turbines operating on 85 wind farms, for a total installed capacity of 1,846 megawatts. This is a huge leap from the late 1990s, when Canada only had 60 wind turbines on eight wind farms, generating 23 megawatts of electricity. The majority of Canada’s wind energy capacity is based in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta.

Installed capacity for solar photovoltaic power, meanwhile, has gone up by nearly 30 per cent annually since 1993, reaching 25.8 megawatts in 2007.

Ontario Laser Cutting, a custom manufacturer in Tillsonburg, ON, is one of many shops to land work in the renewable energy sector. The company spent much of 2009 labouring for a Courtland, ON, wind turbine firm called Windmiser.

“We cut many of the parts that made up the housing and mounting assy [of a turbine]. We also did a lot of the Computer Assisted Design (CAD) work because the company was new to Solid Works,” explains Ontario Laser Cutting president and co-owner, Larry Stuyt.

Stuyt, who attended a March 2, 2010 conference in London, ON, on renewable technologies, is optimistic about picking up more work in this sector. He says shop owners should take a collective approach to land jobs in the renewables sector. “What we are doing is teaming up with other companies ... we have teamed with tube benders, machine shops, tool and die shops, bending shops and welders, so that we can be a one-stop shop. It doesn’t really matter which one of us gets the order because we will all work from that order,” explains Stuyt.

Equipment companies are also starting to sense the opportunities in renewable energy. International machine tool firm MAG, for example, issued a press release May 2009 for “a new Agile Gantry five axis multi-processing system that makes short work of long wind blades.” The CNC controlled Agile Gantry system boasts “unlimited X-axis range, 40 m/

industrial report

min traverse speed, automatic tool changes and five servocontrolled axes” says MAG, and is designed to make it easier to manufacture bulky wind turbine blades.

At a May 2009 wind energy show in Chicago, MAG also unveiled a quick-cure moulding system for wind blades. The company plans to introduce a new line of horizontal turning centers (HTCs) for metalworking shops interested in manufacturing wine turbine parts. Back home, a consortium of Canadian renewable energy companies contracted Guelph, ON, auto parts maker Linamar earlier this year to build wind turbine towers and blades.

For all the buzz about renewable energy, nuclear proponents point out that their sector is far bigger.

Nuclear power plants generate about 15 per cent of electricity in Canada—most of it in Ontario.

In fact, over half the electricity generated in this province comes from nuclear plants.

At present, there are 17 operating nuclear power stations in Canada, 16 of them in Ontario. Three stations are in refurbishment while two have been recently retired.

Dr. Neil Alexander, OCI president, says international demand for nuclear remains high. Japan, for example, recently announced plans to open 14 new nuclear plants over the next few years.

The OCI features 165 member companies, representing about 35,000 jobs in the nuclear sector. Alexander hopes the province of Ontario soon comes to a decision regarding the expansion of its Darlington nuclear power station. Ontario has been dithering about whether to build additional nuclear facilities at Darlington, ON, much to his annoyance.

While he acknowledges the rise of wind power, Alexander is dismissive of renewable energy.

“Wind power is like the icing on the cake ... nuclear energy provides 50 per cent of the province’s electricity supply at the moment, while wind power is producing less than one per cent.”

Indeed, for all the hoopla, wind and solar combined account for less than one percent of electricity generated in Canada.That might change very soon, however: the goal of the Samsung project, for example, is to produce “energy equivalent to four percent of Ontario’s total electricity consumption by 2016,” according to a provincial press release.

The first stage of the Samsung initiative involves the construction of a cluster of wind turbines and solar generating facilities in the Chatham-Kent and Haldimand County regions of southern Ontario. If all goes to plan, this cluster will become active in three years and start generating 400 megawatts of electricity from wind and 100 megawatts from solar.

While great for the environment, the Samsung deal—and projects like it—might enormously benefit metal and machine shops looking for energy gigs.

The Samsung project “is something we’ve looked at very closely,” notes Subramanian. “I hope there will be enough contracts out there for local guys [if there are] then I think it could be a very good thing.” CM Nate Hendley is a freelance writer based in Toronto. www.canadianmetalworking.com | April 2010 | 15

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ENERGY & RESOURCES/CASE STUDY

Bottleneck Breakthrough Multi-tasking machines help Alberta manufacturer reduce the bottleneck in its milling operation and boost productivity

By Jack Kohane ....................................................................................................................................................

In a time-strapped world, multi-tasking is the buzzword for boosting productivity.

For E. Brace Tool Inc., an Edmonton, AB, manufacturer that supplies the oil and gas market, a recent investment in multitasking machines has helped the company boost productivity, slash machining cycle times by two thirds, and cut product

About two thirds of E. Brace’s products are now manufactured on the Nakamura Tome machines. Above is the SUPER NTX model, one of three multi-tasking machines the company has installed in the past 14 months.

delivery times by close to 60 per cent.

“About two thirds of our products are now produced on the multi-tasking machines, says Chris Brace, general manager and owner of E. Brace.

He adds that the three multi-tasking Nakamura Tome machines—the SUPER NTX, WT 150 ad WT 300—open up more floor space, and will allow the company to expand its production capabilities without the cost of a new-build facility expansion.

E. Brace serves the oil and gas industry with wireline products. It’s a competitive market, but the company has set itself apart from the competition by building upon a reputation for quality products, service and fast delivery because of its investments in new machining technologies.

“We’ve been more creative with our equipment than the next shop,” Brace. “It’s the advancements in technology that keeps us ahead of everyone else.”

The 30,000 sq ft facility houses 14 CNC machines (including Okuma, Mazak and Nardini), four manual lathes, manual mills, and drilling machines. The main products produced in the facility include surface and downhole equipment, its own designed hydraulic single shot mechanical tubing perforators, sandline 18 | april 2010 | www.canadianmetalworking.com

cutters, selective bridge plug firing heads and other downhole tools used in coil tubing applications.

Some of the raw materials E. Brace uses to machine its products are 4140 HTSR, EN30B, 316 Stainless, and various nickel alloys.

Brace says the company decided to go with multi-tasking machines for the simple reason that “we can make complex parts with fewer setups, reduced tooling and fixturing. Parts or sets of parts come off the machine complete and ready for shipment.”

Adds Lockey Rhynold, shop foreman, “we can produce better quality products at a faster rate, and we are less labour intensive.

They are more auto­mated and more flexible, enabling us to further expand our product lines.”

E. Brace was formed in 1983 by founder Ed Brace to manufacture wireline products for the oil and gas industry. By 1995, the rapid expansion of the wireline industry lead to E. Brace’s investment in higher production machinery. It didn’t take long for the company to expand into offshore markets.

“With the addition of CNC production equipment, and our reputation for quality tools, we realized opportunities for international export in wireline products,” says Brace.

Today, 20 per cent of the company’s annual revenues funnel in from sales outside of Canada, primarily the US, Mexico and the

ENERGY & RESOURCES/CASE STUDY

industry report

E. Brace machines many wireline products for the oil and gas industry including this WJ standing valve.

Middle East. At the heart of this drive for a greater global presence is the company’s state-of-the-art CNC machines.

E. Brace Tool, which employs 40-plus people, also runs a 6,000 sq ft retail shop in Red Deer, AB, and a 4,000 sq ft location in Grande Prairie, AB, (staffed by field experienced wireline technicians). And the company recently opened a 4,500 sq ft inventory, service and repair facility in Alice, TX, to better service its US customers.

Brace credits the multi-tasking ability of his Nakamura Tome machines as key to capturing more customers. “Our productivity has risen dramatically, and we use milling machinery less due to the capabilities of these multi-tasking machines.” Rhynold is impressed with the performance and operational features of his latest Nakamura acquisitions: the Super NTX (purchased in January 2009), the WT150 (June 09) and the WT300 that arrived at E. Brace last October. Machine tool distributor Elliott Matsuura Canada, Oakville, ON, supplied the machines.

“We are committed to investing in quality machinery such as the Nakamura Tome machines,” says Rhynold, because of their reputation for decreased downtime for repairs and maintenance.

Though multi-tasking technology is a relatively new player in the oil and gas industry, it has quickly found a place with manufacturers who need this level of technology to compete in the global marketplace. By merging milling and turning operations, machining processes such as gear hobbing, spline milling, cam milling, and thread milling can now be tacked together in one machine for heightened efficiency.

“This also reduces operator error by lowering part handling

Left: A manual BOP (Blowout Prevention) E. Brace produces in its shop. Right is a hydraulic BOP.

time, fixture, workholding and tooling costs,” adds Rhynold.

A tiny titan, the Nakamura WT150 offers opposed two spindle, two turret construction (an upper turret X,Y,Z,C; a lower turret X,Z,C,B), a 70 mm Y axis on the upper turret (±35 mm strokes), 6,000 rpm milling speed (upper/lower), a 12-station turret with half index capability (48 total), 24 milling tool stations, 20 hp left + 15 hp right spindle motor and a 7.5 hp milling capability. The upper/lower turrets and opposed two spindle configuration of the machine tool helps manufacturers such as E. Brace cut cycle times and improve productivity. Maximum turning diameter and length is 7.5 in. x 15.8 in. (190.5 mm x 410.3 mm).

The WT300 is a twin spindle, twin turret, turning centre. It has an opposed two spindle, two turret construction (upper turret

A stuffing box assembly.

www.canadianmetalworking.com | April 2010 | 19

ENERGY & RESOURCES/CASE STUDY

X,Y,Z,C; lower turret X,Z,C,B), 120 mm Y axis on the upper turret (±60 mm strokes), 3,600 rpm milling speed (upper/lower), 12-station turrets with half index capability (48 total), 24 milling tool stations, and 25 hp + 25 hp high torque L/R spindle motor. This configuration is more suited to higher volume production, especially when working with bar stock material.

Maximum turning diameter and length is 10.6 in. x 30.7 in.

(269.2 mm x 779.78 mm).

“What I like about our WT series machines are their upper and lower turret configuration and 24-station turrets, enabling us to machine complete families of parts with minimal setup time,” says Brace. Even with complex parts, a mill-turn lathe has its advantages. With all the different machine configurations, Brace says the ability to match a configuration to an application has never been easier.

The Super NTX is configured with B axis Automatic Tool Changer capability and is designed with one lower turret and two spindles (left and right sides), allowing for cutting with two tools simultaneously. The flexible machine allows for a variety of machining methods: four axis turning on one spindle while machining on the other spindle; continuous machining through the use of the lower turret during the upper tool change cycle; using the lower turret to support the par while machining with the upper turret. At the same, machining on the second spindle continues. The rotating tool spindle has the ability to turn in both directions using the B axis, and this can be used for heavy duty milling, for angular drilling with the Y, B and C axes, and for simultaneous multi-axis milling using X, Y X and C axes.

industry report

E. Brace’s 30,000 sq ft facility in Edmonton, AB.

Brace adds that the new technology isn’t just good for E. Brace, it’s also a benefit for the machinists on the shop floor.

“In keeping up with technological advances, we keep on educating our employees and keep them engaged in their work.”

While E. Brace will always maintain its milling operation, Brace and Rhynold concur that more products will likely be produced on the multi-tasking machines.

Brace says he recognizes that to ensure success and growth for his business, investments in new technology are a must. And as E. Brace expands its business in the coming years, multi-tasking machine are sure to play a part in the company’s future success. CM Jack Kohane is a freelance writer based in Toronto. www.ebracetool.com www.elliottmachinery.com

A counter wheel assembly.

E. Brace’s investment in multi-tasking has served the company well. For one thing, Brace says that the milling capability of the machines has improved the roadblock that the two axis machines were causing.

“Parts were constantly backed up at that point. Now the multi-tasking machines open more floor space for us. We can take out two, two axis machines and replace them with one multi-tasking machine, and still achieve higher productivity using less floor space.”

Cycle times have also improved significantly, by approximately 60 per cent, estimates Reynolds.

“Long cycle times incur a hefty cost to manufacturers.

Anything that works to reduce the time to make a part provides significant cost savings for us.” www.canadianmetalworking.com | April 2010 | 21 03 Jet Edge.indd 1

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EXPORTING

business report

Boom,

Bust, Beware

If manufacturers want to survive in the current market, exporting must be part of the equation, say business experts

By Jack Kohane.....................................................................................................................................................

Go global or go under. It’s that simple, according to Dave Archer. “In today’s global economy, if you’re not actively pursuing every international sales opportunity available you may not be reaching your full potential and could be risking your future profitability—or even survival,” says the president of International Business Trainers, a Barrie, ON, provider of export strategy workshops for manufacturers. In the metalworking sector, Archer sees plenty of opportunities. “You have to know what you’re good at, find that niche and go for it—relentlessly.”

Trying to crack the mass production market abroad isn’t the place to start an export plan, Archer advises. “Most manufacturers can’t compete on price in international markets. If what you produce is price sensitive, you won’t make much of an impact.”

Despite the growing sense of an imminent rebound in the global marketplace, Archer points out that whether or not the recession’s bottom is behind us, “Canadian manufacturers have yet to find their place on the global economic stage. You have to get out there and build relationships with overseas clients who want the quality your products offer. Trumpet your core capabilities. If you make stamping dies, crow about what’s good about your brand— what you bring to the table that’s above your competition.”

Selling into foreign markets means challenges around distance, language, and culture, Archer continues. “Selecting the right target export market and finding and approaching the right customers and players in that market are crucial to a successful export strategy.”

International Business Trainers (www.ibtrainers.com) conducts business workshops focused on developing export plans designed to tap into the international marketplace, including providing overseas market research, global networking (culture

and relationship building), and customs compliance.

Valiant Machine and Tool Inc., Windsor, ON, boasts a glowing export track record. Starting as a one-man job shop in 1959, the company now employs almost 1,300 workers supplying the automotive, aerospace, construction and forestry industries. Valiant is a prime example of diversification and expansion with an international footprint that includes facilities in the US, Austria, Germany (two plants), Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and India.

“ Canadian manufacturers have yet to find

their place on the global economic stage.”

Although the automotive industry has always been Valiant’s backbone (its first major contracts came from Chrysler, followed by Detroit’s General Motors and Ford), the company’s leadership has long understood that a good business plan never puts all its eggs in one basket. Banking on the company’s particular machining expertise, its management team pursued other business areas, such as aerospace. In one of its first forays outside automotive, Valiant designed, built and supplied mobile tail support (MTS) systems used to support the opening and closing of the massive tail section of Boeing’s new 747 “Dreamliner” cargo freighter.

In 2007, just three years after Valiant dove into diversification of its customer base, the company received a supplier of the year award and a performance excellence award from The Boeing Company.

“Over the last several years, we’ve successfully diversified www.canadianmetalworking.com | April 2010 | 23

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EXPORTING

geographically, as well as through our product offerings, competencies and operating sectors,” says Marty Solcz, Valiant’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Projects such as the MTS technology represent our successful strategic initiatives, so we can better satisfy the complex requirements of our customers in a challenging global market environment.”

It’s a strategy that has helped Valiant soften the blow of a faltering auto industry and smooth out the bumps of an economic slide, and according to Solcz, diversification will remain Valiant’s vital avenue to expand its international operations.

Diversification also means looking beyond the 49th parallel.

“We must get over our reliance on the US market,” emphasizes Joy Nott, a VP for the Toronto-based J.P.Morgan Global Trade Management Consulting team. A specialist in customs and international trade, she’s also the newly appointed president of the Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters (IE Canada), representing over 800 importers and exporters across Canada and abroad.

“We’re used to competing in the US,” she says. “Establishing a presence outside of North America is something fairly new for most Canadian manufacturers and exporters.”

Recognizing that 95 per cent of the world’s people live

business report

outside North American, and 75 per cent of the world’s economy is engineered outside this continent, Nott believes that making the extra effort to seek out overseas opportunities is worthwhile.

“When the US economy melted down, many of my clients realized they were too dependent on one market,” Nott notes.

“I tell them that it’s more urgent than ever that manufacturers look past the US.” Nott cites the findings of a recent IE Canada member survey (not released at the time of writing) showing that when members were asked to identify their key geographic markets, the top five were the US, China, UK, Germany and Mexico (in that order). In keeping with this, when asked to identify free trade agreements that were of interest, the top two were NAFTA and the developing Canada-European FTA. Other nations with economies ramping up again are Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC). They may be tempting target markets, but Nott cautions that there are also caveats. “These countries have customs regulations much different than that between Canada and the US,” she explains. “Their import laws are not neatly integrated with ours. All markets have subtle differences in the way they do imports and exports.”

IE Canada (www.iecanada.com) hosts conferences across the country, including training workshops on customs and trade issues to help manufacturers and exporters develop and enhance their international trade activity. Included in its service roster is consultation with members on trade related matters, representing its members to the Canadian federal government on international trade issues, and communicating information on trade policy developments.

From his perspective, Scott Brownhill, transportation sector advisor for Export Development Canada (EDC), Ottawa, ON, sees signs of growth opportunities to snag more sales due to a “coming round the bend” for many economies and for a range of industries, including automotive, railroad and medical equipment.

“The worst of the recession in the developed markets appears to have run its course. This bodes well for the emerging markets.”

Brownhill references the EDC’s latest Global Export Forecast, “The Race to Recovery.” That study reports that export market growth is expected to surge from a low of 1.2 per cent last year to 4.4 per cent in 2010, and that many EMs could see a bounce back this year with Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa leading the pack.

The EDC study points to pockets of growth, spurred by fiscal stimulus programs that has governments the world over spending liberally for the first time in a generation. Infrastructure spending remains a major part of most of those programs. The report states that “many economies are looking externally for the capacity and expertise to deliver on such initiatives as “green” infrastructure projects. In many cases, Canada has the technology and expertise to deliver solutions.”

Declaring there’s no time like the present to launch into these markets ahead of a coming recovery, Brownhill says, “when balance is restored in these markets, consumption and production could easily surge, and those who are prepared for the rush are likely to reap the largest gains.” CM Jack Kohane is a freelance writer based in Toronto. www.canadianmetalworking.com | April 2010 | 25

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TURNING/CASE STUDY

Family Affair Turning centre helps family business expand capacity

By Jacob Stoller.................................................................................................

There aren’t a lot of odd finished parts lying around the shop at Sympro CNC Machining & Manufacturing Inc., and the owner, Bill Barmi, doesn’t have any industriallooking paperweights in his office either. “We manufacture only to spec,” says Barmi with a smile. Taught the machining trade by his father, Barmi is proud to be running an ISO9001:2008-certified shop that makes only what the customer ordered.

The Burlington, ON-based company recently purchased a Doosan Puma 400L turning centre to expand its reach in selected markets. Complementing a range of equipment that includes two existing Puma 240B machines, the more powerful and versatile 400L will allow Sympro to make larger parts, further satisfying the needs of the diverse markets that it serves.

Sympro owner Bill Barmi reviews control settings on the Doosan Puma 400L turning centre. At right are finished heavy equipment parts turned on the turning centre.

“It was something we needed to expand our capacity,” says Barmi. “In the past, we could only do 15 in. diameter and 25 in. in length. Now we can do 21 or 22 in. diameter and 80 in. length. So it gives us a broad range of product that we can machine.”

Sympro is a family business in every sense of the term. Barmi took the company over in 2003 from his parents, who had started the company in 1998. Barmi is a licensed machinist, as is his father. His wife Kamaljit also works in the business, and their son Jujhar, who is currently studying Mechanical Engineering at University of Waterloo, plans to join the company when he completes his degree. Two of the three employees in the plant are relatives.

Entering the market for larger parts is a common strategy for metal shops in the current business environment, as Wayne Pitlivka, manager of technical sales for Ferro Technique, Sympro’s machinery supplier, points out. “The trend nowadays seems to be getting into the lower volume, larger part type work that some of the shops are going after,” says Pitlivka. “This is a little more difficult for them. You sometimes need to incorporate lift assist equipment around or near the machine. Loading and unloading times are a little bit longer. But now, shops can’t be too fussy these days, so they have to go after some work which they traditionally haven’t gone after.”

As turning specialists, Sympro will use the expanded capacity to better serve its

machining

PRODUCT REPORT DMG

The CTX gamma 2000 TC features a 12-station turret in addition to the standard B axis. The new model offers higher performance due to four axis or parallel machining, and is equipped with a twochannel Siemens 840D solutionline control with the MultiChannel programming system ShopTurn 3G.

The integration of an additional turret for up to 12 fixed or driven VDI40 tools permits four axis machining on one spindle or parallel machining on the main and counter-spindle, plus a whole range of additional manufacturing options.

The company estimates that the flexibility of the new CTX gamma 2000 TC in the V10 extension range has been increased by up to 70 per cent compared to the B axis-only version.

The CTX gamma 2000 TC is designed with a moving column horizontally fitted on the Z axis for optimum force induction.

Wide linear guides in the linear axes ensure perfect rigidity and stability during the process, while linear scales in all slide axes, together with the thermo-symmetric design and active cooling of the main and (optional) counter-spindle, motor consoles and turning/milling spindle, keep precision at the highest level. A torque of up to 3,503 lb ft at the main spindle and rotational speeds of up to 12,000 rpm or, optionally, 8,000 and 18,000 rpm at the high speed turning/milling spindles, ensure an excellent chip removal capacity. The NC controlled B axis, which can be swiveled in the range of ±120°, is positioned by a high-torque motor.

The machine permits turning lengths of up to 78.7 in. (2000 mm), turning diameters of up to 24.8 in. (629 mm) and a bar clearance of 4 in. (101 mm). www.canadianmetalworking.com | April 2010 | 27

machining

TURNING/CASE STUDY

customers, who span a broad range of industries. “Turning is our big thing,” says Barmi. “We don’t just do one industry. We go all over—oil and gas, environmental, as well as pump components, and hydraulics. We are four major categories for people we deal with. We do custom work, we do bar feed work, we do chucking, all types of materials. We don’t shy away from materials–we do plastics up to high temperature alloy and titanium.”

The challenges of making larger parts can be a plus for a company like Sympro with specialized skills. “Their knowledge of turning gives them a competitive advantage when the parts are larger,” says Pitlivka. “Generally, in working with low-volume, large part type production work, there is probably a higher skill level required to design and decipher the certain manufacturing process that needs to go into these types of parts.

There’s the order of processes, how you are going to hold it, how you will machine it, and other processes such as hardening and stress relieving.”

This is quite a contrast to the high volume work that sustained many shops during the boom days. “I’ll use the example of automotive parts,” says Pitlivka, “where generally you set up the machine, program it, put the tools in, and it runs for 24/7. You usually just change inserts and monitor quality and sizes and what have you. Whereas larger parts on this machine require a little bit more planning and the study of the proper process in order to make the part come out properly.”

One of the keys to making larger parts is maintaining quality, and the 400L has a number of features that address this. “Accuracy and repeatability of the machine is not sacrificed with its higher machine capabilities,” says Pitlivka.

“The machine incorporates the latest technology in terms of turret rotation capabilities, with large size curver coupling, and very fast indexing times of .25 seconds from station to station. It also incorporates a drag and drop type tailstock which allows the operator to position the tailstock during the cutting cycle. And so those parts that require some facing work, and support with tailstock, can incorporate the entire process within the cutting cycle.”

The machine also has sensing capabilities that allow it to monitor tool wear. “This feature offers systems, if you will, for tool life, tool wear and 28 | april 2010 | www.canadianmetalworking.com

PRODUCT REPORT In addition to the 12 tools in the turret, the integrated disc magazine with fast tool changer offers space for up to 36 tools for the B axis as standard, plus the option of a chain magazine to increase the capacity to up to 120 tools. www.dmgcanada.com

Fuji

New from Fuji, the ANS-300TTS and ANS-320TTS Twin Turret Automated Shaft Lathes are ideal for high volume applications with short cycle times. Offering four axis simultaneous operation, and Fuji’s own gantry robot, the lathes achieve faster cycle times and faster takt for optimal work piece output, claims the company.

The rigid box way construction of these lathes ensures superior spindle output. Approximately 50 per cent of the process cycle time is reduced by high spindle and cutting thrust. A honeycomb-constructed column enhances rigidity and reduces machine weight. Featuring a compact design, floor space requirements are at a minimum. The footprint of the ANS-300TTS is 5 ft 7 in. wide x 7 ft diameter x 9 ft 6 in. high (1.7 m x 2.1 m x 2.9 m). The ANS-320TTS measures 6 ft 6 in. wide x 7 ft diameter x 10 ft 8 in. high (2 m x 2.1 m x 3.3 m).

The two axis gantry robot enables the ANS-300TTS to carry up to 11 lb + 11 lb (5 kg + 5 kg), while the ANS-320TTS can carry up to 22 lb + 22 lb (10 kg + 10 kg). For faster and smoother simultaneous multi-axis movement to access the front, back, left and right of the traverse axis, both lathes are equipped with FUJI’s SP1 Max Robot Controller. A Fanuc 320i-A CNC Controlis equipped with a 5-place decimal positioning control (English) and a 4-place metric is also included. Both operate at a maximum spindle speed of 3,500 rpm and hard turn with a 20 hp spindle motor. Featuring a curvic coupling, the turret heads on each slide are capable of heavy radial force

developed during cuts. The programmable traveling tailstock features a long stroke of 13.78 in.

The machines turn diameters up to 7.1 in. (180 mm) and shaft work up to 11.81 in.

(299 mm) long (with the option to upgrade to the ANS-320TTS to machine shaft work up to 23.62 in./599.95 mm long). www.fujimachine.com

Haas

Accuracy, stability, productivity and reliability are the cornerstones of a high performance turning centre. Haas Automation says it has created a turning centre sure to outperform anything in its class. The Haas ST-20SS turning centre was designed from the ground up to be extremely rigid, highly accurate and very thermally stable. All castings were optimized using finite element analysis (FEA) to produce the most rigid designs, while improving chip and coolant flow, and simplifying maintenance and service. The spindle head features a compact, symmetric design for thermal stability and rigidity, and the 45-degree wedge design greatly increases the tool-mounting envelope and improves chip flow.

The ST-20SS is equipped with a 24station hybrid BOT/VDI turret that indexes tools in 0.5 second. The machine provides a maximum cutting capacity of 10 in. x 20.5 in. (254 mm x 520 mm), with maximum swings of 31.75 in. (806 mm) over the front apron and 20.75 in. (527 mm) over the cross slide. The ST-20SS’s A2-6 spindle nose has a 3.0 in. (76.2 mm) spindle bore and a bar capacity of 2.0 in. (50.8 mm). It is equipped with a 8.3 in. (210.82) hydraulic

three-jaw chuck. The machine’s 30 hp vector dual-drive spindle spins to 5000 rpm, and provides 115 ft-lb of torque at 1380 rpm.

On-the-fly wye-delta switching yields a wide constant-horsepower band for constant surface feed cuts. Rapids are 1200 ipm on the Z axis and 945 ipm on the X axis.

Standard equipment on the ST-20SS includes rigid tapping, a 15 in. colour LCD monitor and a USB port. Other avail-

TURNING/CASE STUDY

able equipment includes a belt-type chip conveyor, hydraulic tailstock, automatic tool probe, live tooling with C axis, an automatic parts catcher, high-pressure coolant systems, and much more. www.HaasCNC.com

the DL E Series includes a glass scale on the compound resulting in increased productivity and valuable time savings. This easy to read display with convenient keyboard layout provides operator-specific features including default coordinates, calculator function as well

Hurco

The TMM10 slant-bed lathe with live tooling is a multi-tasking machine designed with an extra wide door for easy operator access. The ability to have up to 12 live tools combined with a fast servo driven turret increases productivity. The TMM10 includes the C axis as standard and programs to 0.001 of a degree. With mill/turn capability, the Hurco TMM10 saves time and eliminates inaccuracy

as metric to inch measurement conversions.

The Knuth DL E Series lathes are built with a joystick style control to handle X and Z axis rapid traverse for ease-of-use.

They also feature a hand lever for tail stock adjustments and separate rapid feed motors for the X and Z axis. www.knuth-usa.com

machining

and other high production environments.

The QTSMART 200’s headstock features an 8 in. (203 mm) chuck, mounted on a 20 hp, 5,000-rpm integrated spindle motor with a 3 in. (76.2 mm) spindle bore that is optimized for machining performance. The turning centre utilizes Roller LM guides on the X and Z axes to ensure high rigidity and smooth cutting at feedrates of 1,811 ipm on the X axis and 1,299 ipm on the Z axis. The lathe also features X axis ball screw pretension for high accuracy, as well as a 12-position, high-speed, non-lift drum turret for rapid tool indexing. Additionally, the machine is reliable, particularly when set up for long runs with an automatic bar-feeder system.

Leadwell

caused by repeated refixturing associated with secondary operations. Equipped with the integrated Hurco control powered by WinMax, the TMM10 offers a high level of shop floor flexibility and software productivity tools.

With Hurco multi-tasking machines, you can efficiently produce small to medium sized lots of parts that require both turning and secondary milling/drilling operations in a single setup. www.hurco.com

Knuth

KNUTH Machine Tools USA offers the versatile and robust DL E Series universal lathes for handling heavy duty fabrication and single part production. Featuring maximum stability and high accuracy, the DL E Series lathes can handle everything from rough to fine operations on a wide variety of materials.

Equipped with a 5.1 in. bore, up to a 79 in. (2 m) swing and a 315 in. (8 m) distance between centers, the DL E Series lathes feature a heavy, cast-iron base and machine bed with strong ribbing to minimize vibrations and improve stability.

The Knuth lathes come standard with a powerful 30 horsepower motor to ensure very high chip removal capacity along with induction hardened and grounded guideways to maintain accuracy.

Featuring a three axis position indicator,

Leadwell CNC Machine Manufacturing, one of the oldest CNC machine manufacturers in Taiwan, has introduced its latest addition to an expanding line of heavy application CNC Slant Bed Lathes.

The new LTC-25 features rigid box way construction, 4 ft (1.2 m) Slant Bed, 40 HP FANUC drive, 4 in. (101.6 mm) bar capacity and an oversize turret.

Available options include Live Tooling, manual Guide i programming assistance and a programmable tail stock body. Available turning lengths are 41 and 60 in. The LTC range of Box Way lathes extend from 10 in. chuck to 21 in. from 500 mm to 6 m turning length.

Leadwell is represented throughout Canada by Stan Canada Machinery & Equipment Ltd. www.stancanada.com

Mazak

Mazak’s new QUICK TURN SMART series of two axis lathes offers high productivity turning at an affordable price, claims the company.

The line’s QTSMART 200 delivers fast axis feed rates and a new, user-friendly MAZATROL SMART control, making it ideal for job shops

The recently developed MAZATROL SMART control simplifies turning operations on the QUICK TURN SMART series. The control is designed for ease of operation and offers a 10.4 in. LCD colour display and the familiar QWERTY keyboard. A pointing device, acting like a mouse, and USB port for downloading programs are also at the operator’s fingertips.

Conversational part programming can be accomplished in Mazatrol language. The control also accepts EIA/ISO programs.

The machine features an NC servo-driven tailstock to enable automated processes. The tailstock is fully programmable, driving the W axis on its own AC servomotor and ball screw. Through the part program, the tailstock will retract to a known position and its centre makes contact with the part with consistent holding pressure., the tailstock can be used to drill holes on a shaft centerline, because of its positive independent drive system, adding versatility to the jobs it can process. www.mazakusa.com

Nakamura Tome

Nakamura Tome Precision Industry Co. Ltd. has three new multi-tasking turning centres that can produce high added-value parts by simultaneous machining with the structure of twin spindles and upper and lower turrets.

Super NTMX was developed to meet the demands from various industries, such as medical, automotive aerospace. The machine’s feature is the world’s first structure of twin drum type ATC on left and right sides. www.canadianmetalworking.com | April 2010 | 29

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TURNING/CASE STUDY

machining

Turning is the specialty in Sympro’s shop in Burlington, ON. A variety of lathes help the company accommodate a wide range of requirements.

tool breakage,” says Pitlivka. “So the load on both the external motor and the axes motors is monitored, and if the load is higher than or lower than a certain threshold, the control senses that, and signals the operator that either the tool is broken, or has worn excessively and requires some attention in terms of replacement, or whatever.”

These features will help the company ensure quality and prevent costly downtime. “Tool wear is certainly detrimental to the quality of the part,” says Pitlivka, “and even though this is a very capable and powerful machine, if a tool continues to wear this obviously could put the machine into alarm and break the tool, and damage the part, and damage your tool holder, resulting in costly

PRODUCT REPORT With ATC tools on the upper side and turret type tools on the lower side, high performance of both turning and milling is realized. Super NTMX, which is a 6 (152.4 mm) in. machine and has 52 mm diameter bar capacity for L/R, is suitable for machining of various parts ranging from flange work to shaft work.

Two other new models feature Y axis on both upper and lower turrets. Super Mill WY-250L has a wider machining area of 1.2 m and WY-100 is a compact machine with 6 in. (152.4 mm) chuck. www.elliottmachinery.com

Okuma

Okuma’s LB-EX Series of horizontal CNC lathes sets new standards for speed, accuracy and flexibility in the two axis lathe category, claims the machine tool builder.

Strong: Designed for rigidity, power and productivity from the base, to the motors, to the turret and tooling system, and comes equipped with a compact PREX motor, offering top rotation speed, horsepower and torque.

Accurate: Built on a box slant bed with a thermal compensation system, the LB-EX is able to achieve machining dimensional change over time of less than Ø7µm, allowing part runs from a cold start.

Flexible: Easy set-up, multiple bed and spindle sizes and nearly 70 option variations, including milling (M), sub-spindle (W) and Y axis capabilities, make these machines capable of fitting diverse application requirements.

All LB-EX models feature the operator-friendly THINC-OSP control, a www.canadianmetalworking.com | April 2010 | 31

machining

TURNING/CASE STUDY

downtime. So by monitoring the wear, it senses that prior to any type of tool catastrophe, if you will.”

The company runs a lean operation, therefore automated features on the equipment are well utilized. “It’s not a very big operation, but we do okay,” says Barmi. “Four lathes are strictly bar feeding, so we do chucking as well, but we have four machines with bar feeders, so when one job is running, we can do chucking on the other one. We don’t need too many people to run the shop.”

The 400L has a number of features that will make jobs easier for a relatively small number of staff to handle. “The machine incorporates an automatic tool setter,” says Pitlivka.

“Positioned above the spindle, it allows the setup for personnel to incorporate and setup a tool with offsets--it’s the type of tool setter that swings down in front of the chuck, and the operator simply touches the tools off to the tool setter, and the offset is automatically input into the offset memory bank, eliminating the necessity for test cuts and manual measurement and manual measure of the offset, which of course is prone towards errors and mistakes.”

He says that it’s a nice feature and eliminates the chance of error within the offset calculation by the operator.”

Barmi also stresses the importance of support. “We get great support from Ferro Technique,” says Barmi. “If we have a problem, someone is here if not same day the next morning for sure.

That’s a big thing. Our customers rely T U R N I N G

PRODUCT REPORT true PC, Windows-based platform with open architecture, plug and work USB capability and 40GB of memory. This unique control makes it easy to connect to peripheral equipment and utilize other machine tool accessories, improving productivity and data gathering. www.okuma.com

Romi

Romi Machine Tools Ltd. is now shipping its first C620 CNC lathes in one or two meter bed lengths. Swing over the bed is 620 mm or 24.4 in. A2-8 in. spindle is standard.

The C620 is a flexible machine, claims the manufacturer, offering a variety of headstocks, bed lengths, turrets, tooling and operating choices. The control is a Siemens Sinumerik 802 sl with 10.4 in.

LCD monitor. Both manual and hydraulic tailstocks are available.

For chucking work, customers will usually opt for the one-meter version, which offers a smaller footprint, and the two-meter bed length for shaft work.

Customers requiring heavy low-end torque will want the geared headstock. Parts requiring higher rpm and better finishes will be better served with the v-belt, direct drive headstock. Both bed lengths are available with live tooling options.

The C620 can be equipped with an electrically driven disk type turret with VDI-40 tooling or a servo driven WTO tool turret allowing machining with static and live tools.

A 4-station electrically driven vertical axis

M I L L I N G

G R I N D I N G

turret is also available, as is a 3-position quick-change toolholder.

The geared headstock version can be equipped with a hydraulic indexing system with 72 positions allowing milling and drilling operations. With the direct drive headstock, an optional disc brake system allows milling and drilling operations in 360 different angular positions. Rigid tapping operations can be accomplished due to the no-play feature of the transmission.

A C620 Combination Lathe equipped with the optional Romi Manual Machining Package offers three machining modes depending on operator skill levels; manual mode; cycles mode; and teach mode. www.romiusa.com

Tsugami

Two new Tsugami Precision Swiss turns are now available for delivery through Rem Sales, a division of Morris Group Inc., the exclusive North American importer of the full line of Tsugami Precision Swiss CNC machine tools. The new 20 mm models, the Tsugami S205 and Tsugami S206, provide Swiss technology users the flexibility and capability to meet a wide range of needs, at an affordable price.

W O R K H O L D I N G

R O TA R Y

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32 | april 2010 | www.canadianmetalworking.com

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machining

TURNING/CASE STUDY

on us to deliver on time, and the only way we can do that is if we have great support from our machine distributor.”

Barmi hopes to hire more staff in the near future, and perhaps add a wing to the existing 7,000 sq ft building. In spite of the recent economic downturn, he is confident that the business is out there.

“The US market has been tough in the last year, and it is still slow,” says Barmi, “but our customers are dealing worldwide, not just with the US. That keeps us going. We did okay last year, and this year is going to be okay.”

Barmi clearly looks forward to growing the business. “Every day there’s something different. Different problems, different materials, different components altogether, I find it very challenging.

And the satisfaction as well, when you see the customer on the other end very happy with what you’ve done.” CM Jacob Stoller is a freelance writer based in Toronto. www.symprocnc.com www.ferrotechnique.com usa.doosaninfracore.co.kr

34 | april 2010 | www.canadianmetalworking.com

PRODUCT REPORT “This exciting new ‘S’ platform allows our customers a full range of capabilities and enhanced productivity, which will help them differentiate from their competitors,” states Scott Anthony, national sales manager of Rem Sales. “The new machines are a natural

evolution for them as many have embraced the concept of flexibility, as demonstrated by the successful introduction of the ‘Super SwissTurn’ SS Series just three years ago.

The new S205 and S206 models feature a modular tool zone similar to that found in the

SS Series but offer a lighter frame and faster spindle speed, setting the bar high for the 20mm Swiss turn market.”

Both machines are suited for the production of complex parts. Live tools for cross and face operations are found on the main and sub spindle. A two-path control permits true simultaneous operation of the main and sub spindle, reducing cycle times. The modular and roomy tool zone allows driven tools to be moved from main to sub spindle and from face to cross positions with ease by the operator, minimizing down time between different jobs.

The S206 has the same capabilities of the S205 plus backworking Y axis movement. An easy-to-use Fanuc 31-iA control is standard on both models which also can accommodate an optional “chucker kit” that allows the machine to be run as a Swiss turn or fixed headstock lathe. The fixed headstock configuration can use unground bar stock, eliminating costly bar remnants and improving part concentricity. www.tsugamiusa.com

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robotics

Seeing in

3D to Cut Costs

3D vision could become standard equipment on robots in a decade or less, according to experts in the machine vision field

By Steve Prehn . ....................................................................................................................................................

Vision is a very critical technology,” says Jeremy Pennington, a controls engineer at Guide Engineering in Ft. Wayne, IN, an integrator with customers in the auto industry. “It allows integrators to set up cells that do not require extensive fixturing to locate parts.”

Part fixturing adds cost, and reduces the flexibility of a robot cell tasked with handling multiple parts. Tooling is very expensive and it’s very fixed. Vision systems minimize the time required to change a line over to run different part styles.

“With vision, you simply run a different robot program, and don’t need to switch out fixtures,” adds Pennington.

Millions of dollars can be saved on tooling and racks in auto plants alone.

The Added Benefit of using 3D Vision

A vision system takes an image and uses algorithms to find the things an operator trains it to find. An image is basically data, a series of pixels that each have a gray-scale value.

manipulate any part in any orientation,” says David Dechow, president of Aptura Machine Vision in Lansing, MI. “When extracting part positions with a single 2D camera, certain assumptions must be made,” explains Edward Roney, national account manager of Intelligent Robotics and Vision systems at FANUC Robotics. ”2D systems find a part in X, Y and rotation if you assume the Z (distance from the camera) did not change. If the part moves closer to the camera, changes size, or is tipped differently, traditional 2D systems may miscalculate where the part is in space. 3D systems are more robust, and allow the robot to know exactly where the part is, so the robot can pick up the part cleanly.”

“I believe that the technology is moving at a fast enough pace now,” says John Burg, president of Ellison Technologies Automation (ETA), a Council Bluffs, IA-based integrator of robotic systems. “Prices will go down, ease of use will go up, and customers will be demanding more and more of the flexibility that vision brings.”

Burg predicts that 3D vision and robotics will work hand-in-hand in material handling, welding, and loading machine tools, all the while increasing quality and minimizing manual labor. “The reason you do something like install new technology is that in the long run it costs less,” Burg says.

Pennington says that ‘what happens– either with an onboard camera system or a remotely mounted camera–is you can get a snapshot of an object and find out where that object is in space, relative to the robot’s position, and the robot can use that positional data. It makes it able to go out and find that object no matter where you move it.”

ETA’s Burg says his company installed a robotics system with 3D vision for the processing of 4x2x1/4-in. plates. They start as bar stock, are cut to size, dropped into a bucket and transferred into a room where robots are used to put a hard surface on the plates via a welding process to make them last longer.

“The welding process tends to contaminate the gripper. If the gripper encounters a different sized part, the new sized part can be contaminated. Before vision, adjustments needed

“ Ultimately a robot with machine vision will be

able to manipulate any part in any orientation.”

Image processing algorithms have been created that recognize patterns or structures in the image data. With vision cameras, operators can find features and mathematically figure out where the part is in space and guide the robot to the part.

Robot operators know where an image was taken so they can identify where an object is sitting and make judgments about its size, whether it’s part A or part B, and whether it has errors or not. Whatever program the robot is designed to do, it can adapt based on the images and algorithms. For example, if a part is larger than another part, the robot might take a different path.

Or, part A might have to get dropped off at a different place than part B. “Ultimately a robot with machine vision will be able to

www.canadianmetalworking.com | April 2010 | 37

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to be done manually. Now, robot positions can be verified on each part,” Burg explains. “The 3D vision allows them to show the part to the 3D camera, and the robot can adjust all its points and now they run without manual intervention.”

The company had four robots doing this process for ten years, but at any given time, one robot was always in need of manual adjustment. Now the company does the same work with three robots and a lot less labour.

“There’s a job that never could have been done with 2D because you needed the plane of the part, whether it’s tilted up or down two or three degrees or swung to one side a half a degree,” Burg says.

Integrated 3D Systems

FANUC Robotics has developed the industry’s first integrated 3D system into its robot controllers. Picking a part found with vision requires the translation of this position into known robot coordinates.

If a part position is found to move with six degrees of freedom (X,Y,Z, Roll, Pitch and Yaw) this translation into robotic positions can quickly become a daunting calculation. 3D vision processes are executed on the main robot CPU eliminating additional hardware and communication delays, while leveraging the robot’s knowledge of its relative relationships in space (kinematics).

“It’s a big difference having an integrated vision system,” Pennington says. “If you want to integrate a third-party camera and collect offset data, there’s a lot of manipulation of that data you have to do to get it back to the robot. Additional hardware and software is needed to accomplish that. And it takes an experienced person days to get that integrated.”

Setting up FANUC’s integrated 3D system takes just hours, according to Pennington. Burg says the integrated 3D vision system is a “huge step” in the evolution of the technology.

Best Applications for Vision A FANUC 3D laser imaging system is shown finding a wheel that is randomly located within a cardboard bin. The robot is then guided to the found position so the suction cups are square to the flat surface before it is picked out of the box.

A 3D vision case can be made for every robotic application. “Vision’s universal,” FANUC Robotics’ Roney says. “I wouldn’t say it fits in one place and not another. It can do so many things. It’s a data collector.

You just have to decide if you need 2D data or 3D data. It’s an enabler.

Tech-Con Automation Inc. signs Exclusive Agreement with Flow International Corp.

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PERFOMANCE • TECHNOLOGY • EVOLUTION | April 4/5/10 12:33:37 www.canadianmetalworking.com 2010 |PM 39

robotics

Almost any application can benefit from it.”

Burg adds, “We are seeing more and more applications for 3D. It gives us the ability to not only know where the part is in X and Y and rotation, but it gives us the ability to also understand the angle of a surface. Now a robot can come in directly perpendicular to that surface and grip the part more effectively and repeatedly.”

Yet some applications seem to present better opportunities than others–like welding, bin picking, packaging, and machine tool loading–and are leading the way in 3D-vision adoption.

Welding: In welding, robots that use vision can adapt to subtle changes in the presentation of the two components that are to be welded. Other than having a human doing the welding, there’s no way to automatically adapt other than to use vision to tell the robot a part has a slightly different shape and requires a slightly different welding path. Even in a spot welding application, it can be useful for error proofing. In that sense vision could be useful on every welding robot.

Two Fanuc material handling robots equipped with an integrated 3D laser vision sensor pick tubes Bin Picking: In the robotic industry, the premiere that are randomly oriented in a bin and assemble them into an exhaust muffler. The inset shows the camera image as seen by the 3D vision system. application has been the ability to bin pick randomly stacked parts. There are three key elements involved (Vision, Bin Avoidance and Collision Detection). Vision is the machine tool does not have the forgiveness for an out- of-locamost obvious; where is that part? But what about the contion robot placement. We have to put it in there pretty accurstraints of the bin wall? As the robot gets farther into the bin, ately so it clamps properly and the process happens correctly. If the parts become harder to pick out. There’s modeling that’s we don’t do that, you get a bad part. Worse yet, you could cause done in a bin-picking package that understands the picking a crash in the machine tool and that can be very costly.” tool, the sensor and the constraints of the arm itself so that 3D Vision as Quality Control once the part is found, calculations on the robot are made as to While 3D vision makes robots more efficient and effective and whether it can actually get that part out of the bin. Even though therefore enhances throughput, integrators and their customers the models are rather sophisticated, they’re still generalized. also benefit from vision’s quality control capabilities.

Eventually the robot is going to hit the wall. It has to sense if it “A 3D system mounted on a robot provides us with a way was a soft hit or a hard hit since hard contact can damage the to measure and verify several critical dimensions on cast robot. “We’ve been very successful with both structured and parts.” says Bill Yeck, general manager at Epoch Robotics. “The random bin picking,” says Roney. “Structured is where everyflexibility of this approach allows us to move the sensor so it is thing is facing up where-as with random, the parts come in a in the right position on the part, and switch to other part types pile. The latter offers more challenges, but with the technologies easily.” listed previously, they become very doable.”

“Applications are all over the board,” says Guide Packaging: Packaging is an area where vision is critical.

Engineering’s Pennington. “The use of vision systems is getting Food products often come down a conveyor or slide down a more and more critical, because people who buy the final ramp into a pickup area. There’s no repeatable positioning. The product want everything to be perfect. When you have a camera products end up in different positions and need to be picked up, system, you can have 100-per cent inspection and be confident oriented and placed in the package. Vision allows the robots to that the part you’re sending to your customer is good. A human find the product and make that happen. just doesn’t have the capability to check 100 percent over long 3D vision also offers performance advantages when stacking periods of time.” parts on a wooden pallet, or removing them. Parts may not Aptura Machine Vision’s Dechow agrees. “The principal only shift side to side, but may also be at different heights, or at value of machine vision is to provide a go/no-go decision on different angles. Pallets are easily damaged by fork trucks, and product quality. This avoids adding more cost and operations this damage translates into inconsistencies in the presentation to components that are already bad. It also provides protection of the parts to the vision system. Robots that handle parts or against things like product returns.” CM boxes that are stacked on pallets can’t blindly assume they are always in the exact same place.

Steve Prehn is senior product manager for Material Handling and Loading Machine Tools: “In many of our applications, we’re Vision, FANUC Robotics America Inc. picking up a part and loading a part directly into a machine www.fanucrobotics.com tool,” says ETA’s Burg, “and in many cases the fixturing in that 40 | april 2010 | www.canadianmetalworking.com

DRILLING

Do you Need the Speed?

Tips for Effective High Speed Drilling

By Nate Hendley ..............................................

When asked to define “high speed drilling” Dr. Tilo Krieg, director of the global hole making products portfolio for Latrobe, PA-based cutting tool supplier Kennametal, offers the following: “Let’s define high speed drilling as hole making with high productivity, which can be achieved by either high rpm or high feed rates or bigger stock removal in finishing operations.”

To be more specific, high speed drilling can be said to be drilling at a minimum of twice conventional drilling speed.

Kennametal

PRODUCT REPORT BIG Kaiser

BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc. has expanded its Phoenix drill series with the newest dimension to the Sphinx product line. The heavy duty, solid carbide Phoenix drill helps achieve 10 times more productivity than with conventional solid carbide counterparts, claims the company.

The Phoenix has expanded from 6xD to now include 3xD and 12xD sizes. The drills are available in diameters from Ø1 mm - Ø12.7 mm, in .1 mm increments, with coolant through from Ø2.5 mm and a Helica coating. Special dimensions are available upon request.

The drill’s high performance flute and point geometry assure low cutting forces and optimum chip control. Internal coolant makes the Phoenix ideal for cutting extra-hard materials such as steel, stainless steel, cast iron and titanium. Its ultra-fine grain composition delivers increased wear resistance and toughness for superior speeds and feeds. www.bigkaiser.com

Iscar

The good doctor has some advice for shops that don’t currently engage in high speed drilling.

“Considering the fact that tool cost is only a fraction of the total manufacturing cost, in most cases far below 10 per cent, it gets obvious that time on the machine determines the overall cost … studies show that hole making operations actually use up the biggest time share of all metal cutting operations.

So, it is definitely worth investigating high speed drilling,” states Dr. Krieg.

With this in mind, here are some tips on effective high speed drilling operations:

Concentricity is King

“Drills capable of high speed drilling are generally made of a hard material. The hard material is generally more brittle than [the material in] conventional drills.

Therefore it is essential when high speed drilling to maintain a high level of concentricity. Higher concentricity will require a good rigid spindle with minimal run-out. The tool holding for the drill should have very little run-out so tool holders should be a hydraulic chuck, shrink fit or an adjustable adapter

CUTTING TOOLS

Iscar’s new SUMOCHAM drill family is an evolution of the company’s CHAMDRILL and CHAMDRILLJET drill families. The drill features twisted coolant nozzles with indexable drilling heads which are available in different head configurations for various material groups.

The drills can be used either on milling centres or lathes.

SUMOCHAM features four different standard drill head geometries, designed for optimal performance and high reliability when used on various materials.

The drill head is manufactured with a sharp cutting edge and polished flutes.

The drilling heads are available in the diameter range of 8 to 25.9 mm. The drill head has ground flutes for smooth, uninterrupted chip flow and a ground gash for improved penetration and productivity can be increased by up to 100 per cent.

The drill shank design is according to DIN 9766 standard, with available drilling depth to diameter ratios of 1.5XD, 3xD, 5XD and

8xD. All drill bodies feature helical coolant holes.

The accurate cylinder added to the clamping portion improves rigidity and reduces internal stresses.

The rotation stopper planes on the tool are precision ground, which improves the control on the drilling head position and support, ensuring better tool performance and tool life.

The drilling head pocket features 33 per cent less internal stress, significantly increasing the drilling head replacements.

To prevent the insert from being pulled out during drilling, there is an axial stopper in the pocket, which is effective even after the clamping force has been lost. www.iscar.ca

Kennametal

KSEM PLUS modular drills combine the high feed rates and length/ diameter capabilities KSEM modular drills are known for with the high speed and low consumable costs of indexable drills.

“The benefits are increased metal removal rates and productivity in many applications,” says Allen Poponick, manager, global machining technology at Kennametal.

“KSEM PLUS drill bodies accept a range of head diameters, and users can easily replace inserts or heads without removing the body from their spindle, further improving holemaking efficiency.”

KSEM PLUS tools, suitable for holemaking in steel, stainless steel, cast iron, and nonferrous alloy workpieces, consist of a steel body coupled to a high-strength steel head. A single tool body can handle a range of drill head sizes. The drill body features a central coolant hole that maintains body rigidity while allowing maximum coolant flow through the tool. A margin and relieved clearance eliminate trapping of chips between the drill

www.canadianmetalworking.com | April 2010 | 41

drilling capable of removing any run-out,” states John Mitchell, general manager, Tungaloy Canada, the Brantford, ON based branch of the Japanese parent firm.

Maximum use Doesn’t Mean Maximum Life

Want to get the best use out of your high speed drill?

Don’t take it to the max.

“The number of holes produced, or time the drill has run should be recorded and the tool life monitor on the machine should be set with a tool life 10 to 15 per cent less than the maximum tool life. In the long run it is better to have the drill reach 90 per cent of its potential tool life rather than [risk] an expensive catastrophic failure.

Catastrophic failure will cost much more in down time, scrapped parts and potential damage to the machine, fixture and tooling than the couple of dollars you would save by running the drill to failure. Running the drill to 85 – 90 per cent of the tool life actually saves money since the regrinds costs are usually less expensive since the amount to be reground will be less,” says Mitchell.

High Speed Drilling of Different Materials

“Gummier materials such as aluminum, low carbon steels and some stainless material require abundant coolant supply to reduce the heat generated and to add lubricity to the operation to prevent “chip sticking” or “build up edge.” Increasing the concentration of the coolant (that is, more coolant to water ratio) will help with the lubricity. When drilling non-ferrous materials, Tungaloy offers a polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tipped drill. The PCD tipped drill will allow for maximum speeds, better surface finish and extended tool life,” says Mitchell.

“Polycrystalline diamond (PCD) is state of the art for aluminum,” adds Krieg.

Keep it cool

The above point touched on the importance of coolant—an important ingredient in most high speed drilling operations. Some further considerations: “To optimize their performance, drills must be adequately cooled. Proper coolant flow means better tool life and higher maximum effective cutting speeds.

If not properly cooled, the drill will heat up rapidly.

This causes the drill diameter to expand, which in turn may cause the drill to seize inside the hole,” says Chris Merlin, product manager, solid carbide drills and reamers, at Kennametal.

Having said all that, there is such a thing as “dry drilling” that doesn’t involve coolant.

“Kennametal does provide solid carbide drills for dry drilling. Our B221_HP Series offers the highest metal removal rates when dry cutting or using external flood coolant. Dry drilling up to 5XD (five times the drill diameter) is possible. The HP drill point design provides excellent centering and low thrust to prevent workpiece flexing. Grade KC7315 features a multi-layer titanium aluminum nitride (TiAIN) based coating with high hot hardness (referring to the ability of the tool grade to withstand heat) enabling speed increases up to 30 per cent in most cases. An optimized tool surface finish ensures good chip evacuation even without coolant,” states Merlin.

CUTTING TOOLS

PRODUCT REPORT body and hole wall to increase tool body life and improve hole surface finish, while differential helix flutes smooth chip evacuation and maintain rigidity.

At the spindle, standard WD or SSF shanks provide maximum toolholding security, stiffness, and accuracy with flanged face contact. The flexible shank configuration allows use on machining centers and in lathes with an inexpensive coupling system.

Mating the body and head is the proprietary Flexible Drilling System (FDS) coupling system, which uses radially activated locking screws to guarantee high repeatability and minimal runout. Assembly and tool change are fast and easy, and the FDS allows one head to fit several body length/diameter ratios.

KSEM PLUS modular drills are available in standard lengths of 5, 8, and 10 × diameter in metric and inch sizes from 1.250 in. (31.75 mm) to 2.756 in. (70.00 mm).

Custom tools with HSK, KM, FCM, or ISO tapers; length to 17× diameter; and intermediate diameters are also available. www.kennametal.com

Sandvik Coromant

To meet growing demand from the aerospace sector for reliable and efficient hole making technology in composite materials, Sandvik Coromant is launching CoroDrill 854 and CoroDrill 856. Released as part of the company’s CoroPak 10.1 new product introductions, the two new drilling tools were developed to withstand the harsh demands of the latest CFRP materials and aluminum stacks, offering long and consistent tool life to meet tight tolerances time after time.

Producing holes in various carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) demands unique geometries

to achieve hole tolerance and quality, as delamination and splintering are common problems.

Combining CFRP with a stacked material such as aluminum adds another dimension as the two materials vary in machining techniques.

The geometrical shape of CoroDrill 854 is designed to improve hole entrance and hole exit quality on high fibre content materials. Correct selection is critical to successful composite hole making: CoroDrill 854 is preferred where splintering or fraying is the problem, while customers will find more benefit with CoroDrill 856 if delamination is proving to be the difficulty in resin-rich materials.

Producing holes in high resin materials is optimized by the geometry design of CoroDrill 856.

Small point angles and high rake angles help to improve hole quality as well as reduce axial forces, which is particularly critical on thin-walled surfaces. Both CoroDrill products help with the elimination of burrs and the enhancement of surface finish.

Offering customers a choice of diameters from 0.157 in (4 mm) up to 0.500 in (12.7 mm), the standard N20C solid carbide versions with diamond coating are available as stocked items. Options are also available upon request.

Typical aerospace applications include wing box and structural airframe components. www.sandvik.coromant.com

Seco Tools

Seco Tools’ Duratomic drilling grade DP2000 consistently shows a 30 per cent increase in productivity in combination with longer tool life, up to 100 per cent in certain applications, claims the company. Available in a –P2 geometry, the grade should be used with a strong drill body to gain the benefits that can be achieved by running at higher cutting speeds. Seco’s low-friction

www.canadianmetalworking.com | April 2010 | 43

We’ve got saving money

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At the Modern Art of Milling event, we'll show you techniques and creative solutions to help you Earn Smart. Learn about the most modern programming techniques, utilizing the latest tooling technology, to become more cost efficient than ever.

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drilling PRODUCT REPORT coated Perfomax drill body offers excellent bending and torsion rigidity, as well as excellent chip evacuation.

The new grade can also run with Seco’s SD542/SD572 indexable drills or Seco Capto drills. DP2000’s main application areas are steel and cast iron where high feed per revolution is used. www.secotools.com/wps/portal/corp/Epi_1478

Sumitomo

Sumitomo’s solid carbide GS Drill Series is being termed the new “global standard” in solid carbide drilling, by the manufacturer. With an advanced carbide substrate and highly wear resistant DEX coating, the new drill series allow for increased feed rates and running speed. The DEX coating has alternately stacked AlCr and SiNi coating layers that not only provide high heat resistance, but also exceptional chipping resistance.

Another feature of the GS Drill is wider flutes to accommodate excellent chip evacuation when machining steels, stainless steels, cast irons, super alloys, and non-ferrous materials. Also with its newly configured point geometry, the GS Drill reduces cutting forces and promotes stable drilling. The GS Drill Series is available in external coolant and coolant-through styles. External coolant drills are available in 2XD and 4XD lengths, while coolant-through drills are offered in 3XD, 5XD and 8XD lengths. www.sumicarbide.com

Tungaloy

Tungaloy has revamped its indexable drilling line resulting in major improvements to the drills performance, claims the company. Twisted coolant holes allow for larger diameter coolant holes providing 50 per cent more coolant flow. The twisted coolant holes permit larger chip gullets. Together these features provide better chip evacuation resulting in higher penetration rates and better surface finish. Laser treatment at the pocket area prevents chip erosion, extending the life of the drill.

An economical insert design allows for four cutting edges per insert. There are two centre cutting edges and two outboard cutting edges each with its own chipbreaker design on one insert. The desired chip formation is different between the centre cutting edge and the outboard edge. This insert design allows the inboard edge to produce the desired inboard chip while the outboard edge produces the desired outboard chip.

Numerous chipbreaker designs including a wiper insert that runs 50 per cent faster than a conventional insert while producing a good finish.

Available in 2XD, 3X5, 4XD and 5XD. Diameters start at 0.500 in. (12.7 mm) and go up to 3 in. (76.2 mm) www.tungaloy.com

CUTTING TOOLS

Don’t Neglect Your Coatings

“Coatings are critical to a drilling operation … coatings assist in reducing heat, adding wear resistance and adding lubricity to aid in chip evacuation,” says Mitchell.

“Tungaloy has developed its own proprietary coatings known as ‘Flash Coat’ to its entire coated drill line. Different flash coats offer different properties to the drill,” he adds.

Ceramic, Carbide or Something Else?

What’s the best drill material? Carbide wins kudos from industry experts, particularly when compared to ceramic.

“Coated carbide is today offering the best combination of heat resistance, wear resistance and toughness for high-speed drilling operations,” says Krieg.

“Ceramic drills have a very narrow application range, are limited in the types of material they can perform in and are generally very brittle. Carbide drills on the other hand are much more forgiving and have a wider application range. In many instances machinery in most of today’s machine shops cannot run fast enough to take full advantage of carbide drills, making the ceramic drill redundant,” states Mitchell.

“Solid-carbide drills have a much higher rigidity than conventional high-speed steel drills. This enables machining close-tolerance holes with a position accuracy of plus or minus 0.001’’. However, it also means that such holes require rigid machine tools with good spindles,” adds Merlin.

“Carbides are not the only choice,” he continues.

“Kennametal provides an excellent line of cermet-tipped reamers for matching steel, stainless steel, cast iron and nonferrous

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www.canadianmetalworking.com | April 2010 | 45 TNT Tools April.indd 1

3/23/10 9:37:10 AM

FaSt. FaSter. FaSteSt. Duratomic GraDe tP0500 For Steel turninG ®

Seco’s grade chain philosophy of “advance the capability then engineer for the possibilities”, has led to a complete solution for steel turning productivity. TP0500, the latest addition to the mighty Duratomic family of grades, ensures the ultimate performance and broad application for high-speed, high-heat machining.

Unique properties of the extremely wearresistant coating also allows the insert to run cooler, transferring the heat into the chip and away from the part and the carbide substrate.

With fewer machine offsets, longer times between indexes, and the ability to machine harder parts while holding tighter tolerances, TP0500 will speed up your throughput.

www.secotools.com/us

AUTOMOTIVE • POWER GENERATION • GENERAL ENGINEERING

drilling

CUTTING TOOLS

Kennametal

A final parting thought

materials at accelerated speeds. “

“In conclusion, common sense still rules when considering high-speed drilling jobs. Look at all the considerations you can to achieve the highest metal-removal rate at a speed that optimizes tool life, the resulting surface finish of the part and the hole considerations you have to achieve. Use your technology partners to your best advantage,� says Merlin. CM

Do You Need the Speed?

These tips beg one question: is high speed drilling always preferable? The answer according to Merlin is no. “High speeds are not desirable for all applications. For example, hole depths that are deeper than three times the drill diameter may require a speed reduction. A 15 per cent lower speed is suggested,� he states.

Nate Hendley is a freelance writer based in Toronto. www.kennametal.com www.tungaloy.com

PRODUCT REPORT

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WIDIA

The new WIDIA Victory TOP DRILL M1 Modular Drill, part of the new WIDIA Victory platform of milling, turning, and holemaking tools, gives users the best of both worlds by combining the economic benefits of modular drilling systems with machining performance and hole quality comparable to solidcarbide tools.

Available over a standard diameter range of 8.00 to 20.99 mm (0.3150 to 0.8264 in.), and in length/diameter ratios of 3Ă— and 5Ă—, drill bodies come in either flanged-shank (metric) or round-shank (inch) configurations.

They feature solid coupling for consistent performance from insert to insert and easy insert changes on the machine due to a frontclamping mechanism.

Inserts are offered with a UP(M) geometry in grade K20FTiAlN, featuring an application-oriented differentiated point design aimed at costefficient holemaking in steel and cast-iron components.

The modular tools offer feeds/speeds and performance levels commonly achieved with solid-carbide drills. Metal removal rates are up to 50 per cent higher than competitive modular drills, claims Widia, while providing longer tool life and improved hole quality. Nonregrindable inserts eliminate the logistical and tool life challenges associated with using reconditioned inserts.

The Victory TOP DRILL M1 even provides an alternative to competitors’ HSS, spade, and brazed drills in tough applications, allowing speed and feed increases of 40 to 50 per cent with longer tool life and improved hole quality. www.widia.com

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www.canadianmetalworking.com | April 2010 | 47 SCT Final.indd 1

3/4/10 9:30:49 AM

Find your way to the

NEW Canadian Manufacturing Week.

It’s the ultimate destination for the innovation, industry education and connections you need to stay competitive.

Attend or exhibit:

www.cmwshow.ca or 888.322.7333 New Technologies.

New Location. New Format.

October 5-7, 2010

Featuring Weld Expo

Toronto Congress Centre Toronto, Ontario

TOOL MANAGEMENT

CUTTING TOOLS

$AVE

Innovate to

Is tool management a cost effective approach for your operation?

By Tim Wilson ......................................................................................................................................................

When exploring the costs of tool management systems, and weighing those against the benefits, it helps to get a handle on the types of innovation that are changing the marketplace.

Knowing how these technologies and methods can drive measurable efficiency is the first step in planning out a comprehensive return on investment (ROI).

“Some machines work best in production type environments where you need to be deep but not broad into the skew,” says Steve Pixley, CEO of AutoCrib, based in Santa Ana, CA. “In these cases a narrow variety of tools are going to be removed into a workcell, but you are also going to use a lot of them.”

These were the types of environments where tool management vendors got their start, because there was demand to keep high volume work centres up and running. But then the technology migrated to job shops, where it could deliver more breadth.

Now, instead of going deep with a few dozen tools, management systems are sorting through thousands of tools.

“That’s when carousel technology started,” says Pixley.

“We brought it out in the 1990s-–it gave us wide breadth and could still go deep. We had to deal with cumbersome, oddly-shaped parts, and the standard helix of ‘candy machine’ delivery system couldn’t do that.”

AutoCrib builds machines based on the number of skews or items that people need in a specific work centre. As a result, a customer can come to the table with a clear understanding of what their tool management requirements are, and have a machine custom configured for their needs.

“A specialized machine might include gloves for food processing, casting metal, or foundry environments,” says Pixley. “There are challenges here because the packaging means a glove won’t work in a carousel or helix system.”

To solve this problem AutoCrib has devised an elevator-based system that pushes the glove from the bottom, and doesn’t require any special packaging. In effect, to be relevant a vendor needs to be able to deliver efficient management and dispensing systems for all manner of items used on the shop floor.

“This is why we have gone in a different direction,” says Pixley. “One machine doesn’t solve everyone’s needs--you need a variety of machines.”

AND AN INTERFACE THAT INTEGRATES

Guhring Corp also offers a range of vending systems in several different styles. Using a fully computerized system with a touch screen interface can make things easier for an operator.

“The machine can have a written description with a picture of the tool as well,” says Ben Condon, technical representative for Guhring Canada in Kitchener, ON. “You can add a lot of information such as cost, availability, and get into more

detailed CAD drawings of a specific tool.”

Guhring has been pushing its machines in Canada for the past four years. As with Pixley from AutoCrib, Condon says that flexibility of custom orders determines the price--and the value to the end user.

“Our machines are always on a custom order basis,” says Condon. “We have different drawer heights that have lockable compartments in each drawer, and can have an open style drawer or spiral.”

Siemen’s 840D power line is built in as a standard feature in the company’s SML solution line, allowing for the intergration of tool management into sophisticated CNC systems.

Guhring will go on site to assess the types of tooling and assist the customer to configure drawer heights. But of course there is much more to this than basic configuration: the machine has a full PC on top that is hooked into the Internet and can be used to integrate with inventory and accounting, thus making it easy to generate reports.

“When an accountant looks at the reports they can see who used what tool,” says Condon, “as well as what the cost of that tool was.”

AUTOMATION ALL THE WAY

Tool management is now integrated into the most sophisticated CNC systems, but this is a relatively new phenomenon. Siemens, for example, has its SML solution line, which now has the 840D power line built in as a standard feature.

“Before, tool management was optional,” says Sagar Arora, product control manager for Siemens in Burlington, ON. Arora adds that end users can see the value of integrating tool management functions into the control, as it provides more flexibility. As with the Guhring machines, a graphical interface makes things easier.

“Graphical software for the operator interface, with our ShopMill product for milling or ShopTurn for turning, helps the www.canadianmetalworking.com | APRIL 2010 | 49

CUTTING TOOLS

TOOL MANAGEMENT

“ Tool management systems increase personal accountability,

reduce theft...and allow shops to pull tools in the same quantity that they use them--not in the batches made by manufacturers.”

operator manage tools more efficiently. A lot of tool management functions can be programmed on the screen without having to go into detailed code programming.”

At his level, of course, tool management is integrated with the CNC, which is a step above the selection process of a vending machine. Tool management technologies have to move even higher up the value chain if manufacturing is to get to a truly ‘lights out’ operation.

“We don’t sell cribs,” says Mike Herman, Chicago-based sales director for machining company Stama, which is headquartered in Germany. “For us, tool management is centred on the machine itself. We specialize in twin spindle technology, and manage the cutting tool for time and cut.”

Because the tool change is the slowest part of the manufacturing process, it’s important to have it happen as quickly as possible. Stama can get chip to chip times down to 1.9 seconds.

“There is CNC processing time, and tool magazine time. If you have a big belt with 196 tools in it, our system can exchange two tools simultaneously in and out of the spindle.”

The Stama system uses a laser curtain to check if a tool is broken-- if so, the process stops, and if not then the tool is inserted into the magazine. The system can measure torque accurately and determine when a tool becomes dull.

“If it bumps up 2% above normal operating systems, we will change tool out, if it bumps to 10% or more we have a problem and can stop the machine to see why the tool is wearing.”

Leveraging RFID

In most instances, however, tool management is still a people problem. The challenge is to get the right tool into the right hands, to do it quickly and efficiently, and to reduce waste. In this regard, radio frequency identification (RFID) holds some promise.

“We have an RFID portal product,” says Pixley from AutoCrib.

“With RFID a user can walk into the portal area, and any tool that is picked up off of the RFID tag creates a user transaction. When they return, it is done in reverse.”

When a user enters the portal doors lock behind him or her, and when they check out the various tool RFID tags are read within a three foot radio ‘cloud’. This method is popular because it lets people get tools the way they always have – there is no need to adjust to using a dispensing machine – yet it includes all the control levels of a fully automated system.

“This is a technology that’s gaining traction in the marketplace,” says Pixley. “It means you can take people out of the tool crib and reassign them to more productive tasks.”

As well, the nice thing about an RFID portal is that you can have an infinite number of skews, as opposed to the limits imposed by machine-based systems. The cost? About $50,000.

That sounds steep, but Pixley says the systems usually pay for themselves in two to six months.

“We can prove ROI based on a 20 per cent to 40 per cent reduction in consumption,” says Pixley. “We do a tool box 50 | april 2010 | www.canadianmetalworking.com

AutoCrib’s IntelliPort industrial vending solution for tool management.

audit – we can clean out everyone’s tool box and come back with $100,000 in tools. This represents a huge amount of waste in inventory, and goes all the way up the supply chain.”

Pixley says that tool management systems increase personal accountability, reduce theft and hoarding, and allow shops to pull tools in the same quantity that they use them – not in the batches made by manufacturers. Usage controls can be set and, most important, time is saved from having fewer people traveling back and forth to retrieve or look for tools.

Tips ✔ Know your requirements. Most tool management systems are customized to reflect shop use. Before you consider buying a machine, get a handle on what your needs are. ✔ Take the free advice. Vendors that offer on site assessments, or can offer references, are worth talking to. The numbers speak for themselves – they are either going to prove ROI, or not. ✔ Consider RFID. RFID is a great option because it means you workers get to do what they always did – walk to a crib and pick up tools – yet they are now working within an automated tracking system. ✔ Go visual. One of the hindrances of tool management has been the lack of standardized notation. Machines that offer digital image interfaces can help solve this problem. ✔ And CNC, too. Tool management can be facilitated at the CNC level, with tool life tracking, load/unload functions for tool magazine allocation, and monitoring that includes automatic tool life messaging.

“Trip times average 15 minutes without a system,” says Pixley. “With a system, after three or four months trips are down to four minutes.”

AutoCrib’s database is hosted on a server in California, which allows them to get their solution into smaller plants while leaving the door open to build proprietary technology for larger plants.

Given the range of shop sizes in Canada, the company sees plenty of opportunity here.

“Adoption is still fairly low in Canada,” says Condon. “Most people are using an open drawer system. But we can see companies really benefitting from these systems; if they don’t have one they are throwing money out the door without realizing it, because there can be substantial cost savings with tool management software.” CM Tim Wilson is a freelance writer based in Peterborough, ON. www.autocrib.com www.stama.com www.siemens.com www.guhring.com

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LASER PUNCH COMBOS

Fabricating

Good In

Form

Are laser punch combos suitable for your fab shop?

By Jack Kohane ....................................................................................................................................................

When his old turret punch press couldn’t keep pace with the quickening turnaround race and a mounting workload, Steve Bussières knew time had come to retire his aged workhorse. To increase productivity he purchased a new, high tech machine that would address his company’s need for current and future capacity and flexibility. “We wanted to add laser capacity as we were subcontracting all of our laser work” he says.

The St. Henri de Lévis, Québec-based company, Recouvrements Métalliques Bussières (RMB) was founded in 1978 by Clément (Steve’s dad) as a supplier of metal siding to the local construction industry. Its sister company, Produits Métalliques Bussières, Inc. (PMB) was formed in the early 1990s manufacturing a range of metal supplies targeted primarily to the construction industry. Other sectors were later added to PMB’s client roster, including outdoor recreation, heating, transportation, agricultural controls, and electrical panels.

Steve joined PMB in 2000, bringing with him new ideas to accelerate growth in the job shop side of the business.

Following a search for automated technology, PMB’s management team chose Prima Finn-Power’s LP6 laser/punch combination with the LSR load and stacking robot. “After seeing the laser punch in action during a Finn-Power technology trip…we knew it filled all our needs,” explains Bussières. “We wanted to commit to automation, so the LP6 with the LSR was a logical choice.”

He’s not been disappointed. The combination machine has created new synergies, including reduced labor costs—instead of four operators over two shifts, just two operators can do the same job. And by delivering more capacity than two manual machines, it has proven to be the key to opening up new markets for PMB. “When the subcontractors were doing our laser cutting we faced many quality control problems,”

Bussières recalls. “But now we control every step of the process, from the loading of the sheet through unloading of the part. The automation gives us the capacity to cut stainless and polished material without scratching the part.”

The Prima Finn-Power laser/punch combo consists of a turret punch press and a separate frame holding the laser resonator and providing the beam delivery path to the cutting head. The frame is located alongside the turret punch press and both the frame and punch press utilize the same coordinate table moving the sheet metal underneath the punching tool or the laser cutting head.

This advanced technology is offered in six different models: the LP6 Servo Hydraulic manufacturing cell for sheet format 60 in. x 120 in. (1.5 m x 3 m) or LP8 60 in. x 169 in. (1.5 m x m 4.3 m); LPe6 Servo Electric (introduced in 2009) manufacturing cell for sheet format 60 in. x 120 in. (1.5 m x 3 m) or LPe8 60 in. x 169 in. (1.5 m x 4.3 m); and the LB6 Laser Brilliance Servo Hydraulic manufacturing cell with linear motors for sheet format of 60 in. x 120 in. (1.5 m x 3 m) or LB8 60 in. x 165 in.

(1.5 m x 4 m) and a 30-station turret tool magazine to accommodate over 200 tools with Multitools.

Why do customers buy laser punch machines?

“Because they hate tooling machine set-up,” declares Lutz Ehrlich, punching/automation product manager for Prima Finn-Power North America, Inc., Arlington Heights, IL. “Lasers solve many problems associated with tooling set-up times, such as no burrs, frequent tool changes, no crossed punch and dies, no nibble marks, no die clearances, and no sharpening of tools,” he says. He says that this adds value to the product by being able to pre-punch instead of piercing (extends optical life);

Left: Murata’s M2558 laser punch combo. Far right is Murata’s M5000 model.

www.canadianmetalworking.com | April 2010 | 53

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LASER PUNCH COMBOS

allowing to punch, form, tap and laser cut in one single set-up.

From his perspective, the laser/punch combo is top-of-the-line technology in offering the ability for job shops to produce more sophisticated sheet metal products, while reducing the number of manual operations needed.

As for which industries can derive the most benefits from the marrying of laser and punch technologies, Ehrlich says, “those manufacturers who require high accuracy and repeatability with forming features inside the product, as well as manufacturers with machinery requiring frequent machine set up and set up time exceeding machine production time.”

TRUMPF’s laser punch combo machine.

Though the mix of laser and punch press has been around for decades, more job shops are now recognizing the main advantage that such machines offer: reduced floor space. Instead of two machines, which normally occupy about 1,000 sq ft each of floor space, one hybrid requires only half that footprint.

Original combo machines were designed as a router system connected to a punch machine, where the router cut complex geometry onto sheet metal. Plasma punching, another precursor to modern hybrids, was a gas plasma cutting torch mounted next to the punch location that made the machine a plasma cutter and turret punch. The positioning accuracy of the punch made the plasma cuts exceptional. So the turret with plasma option turned into a plasma with turret option.

“Hybrids today are designed to reduce or eliminate machine set up, to produce from raw material to finished good in one single set up,” explains Mike Kroll, a sales engineer for TRUMPF, Farmington, CT. “But with the advent of lasers has also come the quality cut customers need for working with parts that have lots of curves and arcs. Using a laser punch machine means no compromises in the performance and quality of forming and cutting. Punching, forming, even tapping and laser cutting is performed in a single set up, so the part quality and accuracy is more consistent than with methods where the component is transferred to the different cells.”

In laser punch combination systems, the punching operation can be generated either with a hydraulic system, with the possibility of more than 1,000 hits per minute on 1 mm axis movement, or by a servo motor driven mechanism.

Its principle is made possible by a combination of electrical servo technology and mechanical power transmission.

Further enhancements include linear drive motor technology

Fabricating

allowing the punch laser combination to become not only as fast as the three axis high speed laser systems, but making the new combination machine one of the most universal sheet metal fabrication centres on the market.

Kroll cites two recent TRUMPF entrants into the laser punch hybrid market. The TruMatic 3000, with a punching force of 20 tons, maximum simultaneous X/Y speed of 71 in./ sec., working range (X,Y) including repositioning of 100 in. x 50 in., (2.54 m x 1.27 m) and an hydraulic punching head featuring all tool rotation and controlled stroke length. The diffusion cooled TruCoax 2000 laser provides cutting speeds typical of higher powered lasers.

The TruMatic 6000 has a new punching head with a stroke rate of 900 hits/min in punching and 2800 hits/min during marking. Its punching force is 25 tons. The machine’s maximum simultaneous X/Y speed is 4300 in./min, with a working rage (X,Y) 100 in. x 50 in. ( 2.54 m x 1.27 m). The TruMatic 6000 (medium format) has 19 tool stations (190 with MultiTool) and two clamps; and the 6000 (large format) has 18 work stations (180 with MultiTool) and three clamps.

How can a customer determine if laser cutting or laser punch combinations are best for their fabricating operation?

Kroll uses what he calls the “30 per cent rule” to determine whether or not a customer should go with laser-punch. “That is, if more than 30 per cent of your work is done in two stages, you do need a hybrid,” he remarks.

Much of the attraction to laser punch is that automation on these hybrids will continue to evolve. “New developments in resonator technology of laser light have changed every five years, and the recent fiber laser design will eventually get to be common in the industrial world,” observes Lloyd Keller, national sales manager, forming machines for Murata Machinery USA Inc., Charlotte, NC. “And as technology gets cheaper the machines will become more affordable and more available.”

Pointing to Murata’s new Motorum 2558 hybrid, Keller describes its advanced mechanics as combining high speed processing, highly accurate punching and forming, and the flexibility of laser cutting. It incorporates a high performance CNC control and laser oscillator that can increase overall productivity by integrating bending, forming, tapping and other processes with standard punching and laser-cutting operations. This system, he says, “provides a high quality edge cut with features such as a cutting monitor, user-friendly laser cutting head with crash protection function, non-contact height sensor and a laser power control function for complicated edge cutting.”

Optional functions include in-turret bending, retractable forming dies, 8 and 4-station tapping units, tapping slug suction unit, tapping tool life counter, and all-around deburring and pinching operation.

While they’re not for everyone, laser punch combination machines and automation will continue to play role in some fabrication shops.

“All of our future thinking will be around automation, including maybe another LP6,” notes Bussières, emphasizing that he reaps additional benefits every day with his laser-punch combo.

“When our customers see the LP6, we gain in credibility and it gives us increased visibility.” CM Jack Kohane is a freelance writer based in Toronto. www.finnpower.com www.muratec-usa.com www.us.trumpf.com www.canadianmetalworking.com | April 2010 | 55

TUBE BENDING

Ask The Expert:

Electric Tube Bending Canadian Metalworking asks Alan Pickering, CEO of UK-based Unison, a company that is considered to be a pioneer in the all-electric tube bending machine market, about new developments in tube bending.

Q:

Metal fabricators handle different types of materials from basic stainless steel to aluminum and other alloys. Does one particular type of material present any specific challenges in tube bending? Does it require specific types of bending equipment?

The material we get most calls about is titanium tubing, which is very strong, brittle and splits easily when being bent. The cost of any scrap resulting from this is, of course, extremely high. Speaking from an all-electric bending machine perspective, this application is handled well by having a rigid machine and slowing the bend process right down--times of up to 45 minutes to make a 90º bend depending on percentage elongation are sometimes required. Certain all-electric machines also allow the automatic setup of all the moving parts on the machine, such as clamp, pressure die and mandrel axis, as well as the traditional YBC axes (Y: distance tube is pushed out, B: rotation, C: degree of bend). Consistent slow speed bending like this is very difficult on hydraulically powered machines and they have traditionally relied on hot tool bending to increase the percentage elongation. This process is time consuming and one involving typically special lubrication and an additional cleaning stage.

Q:

What have been the key technological/design changes in benders in recent years? What issues do these changes address?

I think the issues that have become most prevalent in this market are the environmental ones, and finding highly skilled machine operators/metalworkers.

Right from the outset, all-electric machines have offered a way forward in these areas. The machines consume very little power overall as they generate the force through gearboxes and only consume a large amount if energy when they are bending, resulting in a machine typically only drawing 10 per cent of that of a comparable hydraulic machine. The other added benefits of low noise, no oil leaks all add to the environmental argument. These attributes aren’t new but they are still at the fore that in virtually every sale we make today as companies face up to their social responsibility.

In terms of technological changes, I’d say the most significant introduction has been more sophisticated benders that can fabricate really intricate parts, thanks to having left and right-handed heads or rotating heads. They’ve now been around for some five years or so.

Q:

How important is automation for tube bending machines? What advantages can this provide a fabricator? What challenges does it represent for a machine operator?

Automation can be considered on two levels: for the tube bending machine itself, and the introduction of higher level solutions in the form of automatic cells.

FABRICATING

PRODUCT REPORT Jancy Engineering

The JB2400 tube and pipe bender’s solid steel construction is balanced on a set of heavy duty casters and built around a 110v/25A 3HP Baldor motor. These features make this a durable and mobile machine, suitable for use almost anywhere. The 35 second cycle time for 180º bends makes the bender a highly productive machine.

The machine has an auto stop feature which allows for repeatable parts production and decreased scrap. It’s capable of producing 180º single shot bends, with no ratcheting or pins required. Its 2 in. sch. 40 capacity easily satisfies most job requirements.

The machine is equipped with an auto stop feature for repeatability and requires no tooling to change forming and pressure dies.

It can bend pipe, round and square tubing, solid round and flat stock.

Bending capacities of select materials includes: pipe (I.D.) 2 in. schedule 40; tube (O.D.) 2-1/2 in. .095 in.; chromoly 2-1/4 in. .083 in.; square tube 2 in. x 2 in. .125 in.; flat stock ¼ in. x 2 in.; solid rod (O.D.) 1 in.; aluminum (O.D.) 2 in. .125 in. and stainless (O.D.) 2 in. .093 in. www.jancy.com

Soco

The “NEW” SOCO SB-80x 5A-3SV has four electro servos, multiple bending stacks and patented DGT technology. The machine has an elongated bending neck that reduces the amount of interference usually found on similar size benders. The touch screen control is easy to use and allows for a remote on-line connection for machine diagnostics. Bending and rotating accuracies are at +/- .1º and feeding tolerance is at +/- .004 in.

All V series benders have roll-bending capabilities to form complex radius during the bending process. Also, with the unique rear booster system radius of 1x D can be achieved. It has a capacity of 80mm diameter tube.

SOCO machines are available in Canada through distributor Westway Machinery Ltd., Mississauga, ON. www.westwaymachinery.com www.canadianmetalworking.com | April 2010 | 57

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TUBE BENDING

PRODUCT REPORT

FABRICATING

The automatic machine set-up that was introduced with all-electric bending machine technology was a critical step forward, in terms of both the reduction of manufacturing time and the reduction of the operator skill levels. This attribute is possibly even more important today as, in mature economies at least, skilled metal fabrication labour becomes scarcer and more expensive and we are left with the more difficult applications.

The demand for cells has increased in recent years, at least for my company, which is based in a developed economy, as companies have tried to reduce costs and exercise more control over their overheads.

Both forms of automation help to simplify life for metal fabricators, allowing them to pick from a wider pool of labour and skill levels when employing people.

Unison

Unison has introduced a new class of tube bending applications made possible by the launch of all-electric benders for handling tubing diameters of up to 175 mm (7 in.). The company’s newly-extended all-electric tube bending machinery range brings the process flexibility and business advantages of software-controlled set-up and bending to a large range of heavy-duty applications. Machines from the Unison Breeze family can now generate bending torques as high as 165,000 Nm/121,698 lb ft.

Breeze 170 machines open up new application possibilities for aerospace and shipbuilding companies. The ability to accommodate 175 mm (7 in.) diameter tubing makes it particularly suitable for handling lightweight high-strength ducting manufactured from specialist materials. Fast, software-controlled set-up enables the Breeze 170 to handle batch sizes as small as one in a very efficient manner.

The new large diameter capability is already being proven in the field, with one of the latest Unison machines recently entering service in an aerospace manufacturing facility, and a second machine currently being built to support naval shipbuilding.

“All-electric machines have become preferred over hydraulic actuation in tube bending applications involving precision shaping, exotic alloy materials, or small batch sizes,” says Unison’s CEO Alan Pickering. “Expanding the scope of all-electric machines to seven in. diameters provides the means for new classes of users to improve their production procedures and processes, allowing radical improvements in a large number of areas including machine set-up, the operator skills required, minimum batch sizes, post-bend testing operations, and the need to make sample bends on new material batches to understand the material’s characteristics.”

Q:

Can you identify the key points to consider in selecting the right type of bending for a specific application?

• The cycle time that needs to be achieved to meet your volume demands • Material costs (can you afford to waste any material?)

• Number of batches/machine changes per day • Operating costs

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The company has also introduced a new generation of its Unibend Control Software, which the company believes delivers the most versatile tube-bending capability available worldwide.

Among many new software features are a brand new intuitive graphical user interface, and a simple bending simulation facility to help users develop collision-free programs for the most complex part shapes.

Unison’s tube bending machines are available in North America exclusively from Horn Machine Tools. www.unisonltd.com/products.htm www.hornmachinetools.com/

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| 59 AM www.canadianmetalworking.com | 11/14/07 April 201010:08:28

FABRICATING

TUBE BENDING

“ All-electric machines are more suited to bending higher

value materials that demand precision...hydraulic machines are more suited to lower value products.”

-Alan Pickering

• Lifetime of the project • Environmental issues • What the next process might be • Technical skills to operate a CNC control system?

“As a general rule, all-electric machines are more suited to bending higher value materials, and in applications that demand high precision.Hydraulic machines are more suited to lower value products.

Q:

What role does control/automation software play in tube bending equipment? What advantages can it provide?

By and large, the hardware in tube bending machines has stayed much the same over many years. Software is where a lot of advances are being made. The core attribute of software-driven all-electric machines is the ability to accurately control the bending process, including the fine detail of what’s happening to the clamp, pressure die, mandrel during a bend, and then to store that ‘perfect’ set-up for future batches. However, more recently we have seen a lot of investment in the human-machine interface aspects. This allows you to visualise a part before you make it, to check the bending process on the machine to see if there are any collisions or difficulties, to try out alternative bending strategies (by starting the bend sequence from the other end, performing intermediate carriage/rotation movements etc to avoid collisions or speed the cycle). These enhancements are adding a lot of value to the bending machine, especially at a time when highly skilled operators are becoming scarcer.

Q:

What would be the typical ROI on fully automated bending cell type systems? What type of fabrication operation would best suit this type of system?

4548 CStrip 178x38 (L) that AW.pdf 3/3/08 17:39:43 The commonest scenario today justifies the development

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60 | april 2010 | www.canadianmetalworking.com

of an integrated cell is a high volume application, such as in the automotive industry, and particularly where there are multiple operations to perform on the tube: bending, end forming, punching, stacking etc. The return on investment time of the ‘typical’ cell is probably 12 months. However, in one notable case we were involved with for a client using exotic alloys, a payback time was achieved in just 12 weeks. Making automated cells more flexible is one of the keys to progress in our industry sector. With a little thought and relatively marginal extra investment at the start of tube bending cell projects--to make it possible to accept wider ranges of raw materials and sizes for example--it is possible to add significant extra flexibility to extend the likely lifetime of cells.

Q:

What top technological changes do you foresee for tube bending equipment in the next five years?

The recession has set back the industry I think, and most machine builders have recently been more focused on staying in business than investing in longer term R&D. However, developments in networking of the control and motion systems inside a machine such as deterministic Ethernet standards are now making it easier to build and extend machines--that’s one trend that is already starting to appear on the market.

More integrated processes is our bet for the near term future. We think machines will start to incorporate more features that make them more flexible, such as loading and unloading, transferring material from bending to end forming stages, and so on. Over the years we’ve produced a number of cells that use highly articulated robot arms to perform tasks like these. I think we could start to see that sort of flexibility appearing on machines in the next five years.CM Unison machines are sold in North America by Horn Machine Tools, Madera, CA. www.hornmachinetools.com www.unisonltd.com

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WELDING

FUME EXTRACTION

Cleaning the Air A product report on new product introductions for fume extraction

1

ENVIROFLEX INTERNATIONAL

The ENVIROMAC portable welding smoke extractor is ideal for portable and fixed welding, dust and oil mist applications.

The unit comes standard with a high efficient washable filter and activated carbon in both doors. You utilize a precoat powder (Envirocoat) to maximize the filtration efficiency and prolong the life expectancy of the filter. The high efficient washable filter can be cleaned with an air hose or a pressure washer. There is also an optional throwaway paper filter.

The unit comes standard with the Snorkvac Fume Extractor Snorkel Arm which is 10 ft (3 m) long and 6 in. (160 mm) wide. The fume arm is externally supported to minimize the restriction to the air flow (pressure drop). It also makes arm adjustments or hose replacements much easier than an internally supported arm. The arm has a handle at the hood plus an additional handle on the first tube. The hood has an air diverter in it to increase the face velocity thus increasing the capture distance. The air diverter also gives you uniform air flow.

The units have 25 ft. of primary cable. The MAC1 runs off a 120 volt, 20 amp service outlet. The MAC2 runs off a 120 volt, 15 amp service outlet. The motors have thermal overload protection on the actualmotor.

There is also a standalone adjustable contactor overload which is located behind the Electrical Control Panel. This maximizes the protection to the motor.

The top panel (Electrical Control Panel) of the machine allows easy access to the electrical components. www.enviroflex.com

2

LINCOLN ELECTRIC

3

MILLER

Lincoln Electric’s Statiflex 400-MS is a stationary, wall-mounted low vacuum/ high volume system designed for light to medium duty extraction and filtration of welding fume. A self-cleaning filter is standard on the unit. The unit is ideal for facilities with fixed location work stations and little available floor space, including general fabrication, job shops, welding schools and maintenance departments.

It features a generous airflow of 735 CFM with LFA 3.1 or 4.1 extraction arms and a SF 2400 fan. The internal spark arrestor also functions as a pre-filter for largersized particulate.

Welders can choose from cellulose or high efficiency cellulose/polyester. The unit comes equipped with the company’s RotaPulse automatic cleaning system, simplifying maintenance.

The unit weighs 85 kg (187 lb.) and measures 1040 mm x 670 mm x 660 mm (41 in. x 27 in. x 26 in.). www.lincolnelectric.com

Miller Electric Mfg. Co.’s latest line of welding fume extraction devices include the FILTAIR 130. Designed specifically for welding, the FILTAIR 130 provides contractors, maintenance and repair operations and other intermittent welding applications with the highest level of fume filtration in its category in a light and portable package.

Whereas nearly 90 per cent of welding fumes are between .1 and .4 microns, the FILTAIR 130 captures particles down to .1 micron, compared to competitive units that only capture particles .4 microns and larger.

For reduced operator downtime and maintenance costs, the FILTAIR 130 features a quick manually cleanable filter using compressed air for extended filter life. The FILTAIR 130 is easily carried or rolled wherever welding is required. Plus, the unit’s variable speed 1hp motor filters up to 132 CFM at just 68.5 decibels, making it one of

Continued on page 71 62 | APRIL 2010 | www.canadianmetalworking.com

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AUTOMATIC FINISHING ■ By Jack Kohane

“Green”

Powder

Decision to bring automated powder coating operation in-house pays off for BC window component maker

Because its products provide quality that is measured in decades, not years, Starline Windows offers its customers only the most durable coatings possible.

It must be doing something right. The Langley, BC, maker of specialized aluminum and vinyl window components for high end, high rise residential projects for builders across Western Canada and the US West Coast has been doing it steadily for 40 years.

“High rise construction demands that shipments arrive on time, because unloading space and cranes must be booked days or weeks in advance, and often there is no second chance,” says Pat Murphy, lean manufacturing manager at Starline. The company shapes about 140 different extrusions of aluminum profiles (such as window flashings, panels and corners) sourced from Sapa Canada in Vancouver, BC, and from Apel extruders located in Calgary. To help ensure the parts his crew produces continue to be done right the first time, Murphy gave the green light to several critical decisions.

A critical first decision was switch its outsourced finishing operation from liquid to powder coatings. Parts were sent to outside vendors who sheathed the components in Duranar, a liquid fluoropolymer. Finished parts were then returned to Starline’s facility and stockpiled until shipment to construction sites.

During his exploration of the available options, it was clear to Murphy that the best approach was not simply to move to powder coating, but also to bring the entire finishing operation in-house. “Powder coating was chosen for several reasons. It is environmentally friendly and extremely durable, thus meeting the exacting demands of our customer base,” he explains. And by partnering with good quality powder and chemical suppliers he says Starline is now able to ship products that not only meet stringent AAMA 2605 requirements, but are also superior to liquid coated products in many ways.

The cost of a coating failure on a high rise is substantial. As such, Murphy takes extraordinary measures to ensure that never happens. He adheres strictly to tight process controls and precise tracability, combined with rigorous internal and external testing protocols. “By having the right

Starline’s aluminum extrusions now powder coated in house using an ITW Gema system (powder feed system seen below) offer longer-lasting quality.

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equipment in our plant allows us to confirm we have conforming product rather than trying to weed out rejects,” he says.

The next critical decision was selecting the right powder coating equipment.

When he came across ITW Gema’s Magic Compact booth, (ITW Gema is based in Indianapolis, IN, with a Canadian office based in Oakville, ON) he liked what he saw. The Magic Compact has Luminaire plastic sandwich-wall booth surfaces that are non-conductive to minimize powder accumulation in the cabin for a faster colour changeover. The mono-cyclone system has a built-in sieve that screens out contaminates for easier clean-ups. Dense-phase transport technology, that uses less compressed air than traditional transfer pumps, offers improved material handling of the recovered powder from the cyclone.

Murphy cites key reasons for selecting the booth: “on top of the benefits of quick colour change and coating quality, these booths are amazingly efficient. From a quality standpoint, we need the best equipment to maintain consistent coating thicknesses over a wide range of extrusion profiles. We use an ultra-durable flouropolymer powder from Akzo Nobel that has a very tight allowable thickness range of 2.4 to 3.2 mils. We must be within that tight window to achieve AMMA 2605 certification.”

Top left and bottom right: ITW Gema’s Magic Compact powder booth has allowed Starline to improve finishing efficiency.

®

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AUTOMATIC FINISHING

Since powder is typically a much more durable finish, Starline has found that rework has virtually been eliminated; there are no more blemishes caused during manufacturing or shipping.

While recognizing from the outset that the Magic Compact could provide performance to match his company’s increasing volumes, currently numbering at about 80,000 units per year, it was only a month after having it installed that Murphy determined that his other old booth also needed to be replaced by a second Magic Compact.

Installing the two-booth powder line, which runs 24 hours a day, has proven efficient because it allows painters to paint whatever quantity of a colour is slated for the day’s production. Each booth is equipped with two older model manual guns and eight Gema OptiGun 2AX automatic powder guns triggered by menu-driven computer gun controls.

One painter (per shift) runs the two booths, charged with the primary responsibility to select the correct menu for the profile being painted. X and Y light curtains at the entrance of the booths determine the target distance to the profile and move the guns to the proper location automatically. The stroke and travel speed of the guns are also automatically adjusted based on how many parts are on a load bar and where they are located. “It took some time to dial in the parameters when we set the equipment up, but it works flawlessly,” remarks Murphy.

The self-cleaning feature of the booth is another element that appealed to Murphy. “They stay amazingly clean even when we are painting dark powders. Along with the self-cleaning guns, the booth floor has flaps that rotate up making cleaning very easy. We have found that quickly blowing the walls and floor down is all that is required between colour changes, even going from dark to light.”

In choosing Gema’s powder finishing equipment, Murphy says his team has taken a giant stride towards Starline’s Lean manufacturing goal.

With a paint line that makes 25-plus colour changes a day, he needed equipment that would allow his to meet that requirement. “Our power and free conveyor sends a load bar out every four minutes and our one painter is able to clean and prepare a booth for a new colour in eight minutes (two bars),” he explains. “This is an incredibly powerful tool for us because we need to be responsive to our production schedule, and our rushes from installation crews on construction sites.”

The booth walls stay clean while in use and the floor is automatically cleaned by an air blow system.

“When we do a colour change, the gun cleaning is done automatically by the integrated colour management system and the booth floor opens up for easy access,” says Murphy.

Pretreatment, part of Starline’s finishing operation above, and the ITW Gema powder booth system control at bottom.

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The [ITW Gema] Chameleon Colour Management System uses PLC intelligence to automate cleaning by pulsing compressed air over the gun exterior and throughout the powder path, including suction tubes, pumps, powder hose and gun.

A big plus is that powder coatings are “green” finishes so there’s no costs associated with hazardous waste disposal. TE is also good; tests Murphy has conducted show a 97 per cent TE. “We have realized a substantial cost reduction over our previous system in scrap powder,” he lauds.

In its quest for LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), including no VOC emissions and using chrome-free conversion coatings, fluoropolymers help boost Starline’s profile as an environmentally conscious organization.

Murphy says that the move to bring a green finishing system like powder in-house was the right decision for the company.

“It has had nothing but a positive impact on our business, both for us and our customers,” he declares. “We’re extremely happy with the results achieved.” CM

Starline’s dual-booth system has helped boost productivity and keep up with the demand for products.

Jack Kohane is a freelance writer based in Toronto. www.starlinewindows.com www.itwgema.com

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SPRAY BOOTHS ■ By Pierre Bachand

Designing a

Powder Spray Booth Not all spray booths are created equal and powder spray booth design is critical for effective finishing The powder spray booth is an indispensable element of any powder coating line. Finishers often forget that a well designed powder booth should confine the powder within its walls, meet safety requirements and maximize transfer efficiency of the application equipment.

The powder booth is typically a square, rectangular or round box with some kind of powder extraction equipment attached to it. Dimensions, materials of construction design, footprint are a few of the critical elements of construction.

They should satisfy the owner’s needs for today and for the future. For the operator, the basic differences between booths will be the safety equipment he must wear weather he works inside or outside. There are two types of reclaim systems: cartridge collector and cyclone separator.

The diagram illustrates how a well-designed spray booth operates.

Powder Booth Functions Powder confinement Confinement of the overspray paint within the powder booth is a function of the reclaim/extraction system relative to number and size of the openings. All charged powder that doesn’t adhere to the target (part to be coated) or the booth itself will naturally migrate to ground eventually outside the booth if there is no ventilation. Other elements that impact on this migration include operator distance to the target, overspray, distance to openings, part dimension and shape, target’s resistivity (quality of ground), air draft, powder

particle size, quality of charge and naturally direction of sprayed powder (towards the reclaim or towards the exterior of the booth).

Normally if there is one or more opening, air flow will vary between 100 and 120 fpm and sometimes up to 150 fpm in the new technology booth. Some batch installation may run as low as 70 fpm. Even if locally acceptable this is not condusive to good housekeeping. The higher velocities are also used for very high openings. If the air flow is too high the paint may actually be removed from the painted part as it exits the booth.

CFM requirements Calculations: size of opening in sq ft x linear speed in feet = cu.ft /min Batch booth, cross-draft one opening of : 10 ft W x 8 ft H (i.e 80 sq.ft) The total cfm requirement for this booth may vary between 5600 cfm (70 fpm) and 9600 cfm (120 fpm) .

As the distance between the operator/target and the booth opening increases, the powder loses its velocity.

Conversely, as the distance between the operator/target and the reclaim system diminishes, the powder’s velocity increases in the reclaim system direction. In both cases, the cfm requirement is reduced.

Typically, the larger the target the easier it is to confine the powder as transfer efficiency improves.

Air drafts are a problem. They will aways exceed a booth’s reclaim capacity.

If there is an air draft affecting the booth, confinement may become impossible.

A wind speed of only 10 mph translates into 880 fpm linear velocity. Wind speed can be represented as a vector.

If the airflow is in the same direction there is an increase in speed and in the opposite direction there is a reduction. In this case, because of the booth silhouette the actual negative air speed will not be as high but there will be loss of confinement to the right. The powder is likely to exit the booth.

To maximize efficiency, the basic rule is the lower the air speed inside the booth the higher the application efficiency.

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SPRAY BOOTHS

Safety requirements The powder booth must meet all safety requirements for the safety and protection of personnel and to protect the owner’s investment.

All powder booths must meet all NFPA 33, 70, 69, 654, etc.

Hydro Ontario, Hydro Québec and other such guidelines as well as local regulations that may apply to this type of installation. These regulations and guidelines include materials of construction, safety devices required and distances to be respected. The main objective is to prevent a situation in which the suspended powder per volume is sufficient to cause an explosion if there is a generated energy source sufficient for ignition. This detonator is usually an electrical arc generated by the electrostatic applicator. NFPA 33 gives a limit of 50 per cent of the LEL (Lower Explosion Limit). This is one reason why the collector must have a plate clearly indicating it’s capacity in ft³/min or m³/hr).

Calculations are easy: Number of applicators X flow per minutes (oz or grams) divided by 0.015 oz/ft³ (15 g/m³) equals minimum cfm required.

Exampl e: 10 guns, 400 grams/min or 141 oz /min (4000 gr/min) 141 oz/min // 0.015g oz/ft³ = 9400 cfm In a large batch booth, the air volume requirement is more often dictated by the volume of the booth than by the LEL, particularly if the booth has doors and few powder guns.

Transfer Efficiency People typically refer to Transfer Efficiency (TE) only when discussing application equipment, not the spray booth. TE is basically the ratio of powder applied on the target to the amount of sprayed paint multiplied by 100. There is also cyclone or collector efficiency: the percentage of overspray reclaimed and recycled. A poorly designed booth will waste thousands of dollars of powder per year. This is especially the case when a ¨shoot-to-waste¨ unit is considered. A poorly designed booth will make it difficult to achieve uniform thickness on parts mainly because of air flow velocity reducing the TE of the application equipment. When finishing inside corners or complex parts, anything that increases air speed reduces TE. When there is not adequate space around the target or when the application equipment is too close to the reclaim unit, especially if the extraction opening is relatively small and air velocity is very high,

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68 ■ April 2010

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SPRAY BOOTHS

Booth construction criteria

An ITW Gema powder spray booth and powder guns set for powder finishing.

Design • Available floor space: booth footprint and required free space around it.

• Selection of suitable building materials.

• Visibility and lighting: quantity, type, positioning. The basic rule is that there is never enough lighting.

• Parts opening: size, location.

• Reclaim system positioning.

• Application equipment location.

• Platform, guard rails, and steps.

• Piping and plumbing: compressed air and electricity.

• Intended use of the booth: small portion of production, large volumes, off line cleaning , samples, recoats.

• Useful extras: soft start, damper and variable speed drive.

• Filter selection (primary, final) Air to cloth ratio • Contamination: possible sources, and possible need for environmental room.

• Available budget. CM

transfer efficiency decreases. More powder must be sprayed Pierre Bachand is an industrial finishing consultant and trainer for a given thickness. The negative impact will be augmented based in Montreal, QC. as the operator increases powder delivery to keep up with conveyor speed. Even in a system where powder is reclaimed and recycled, increased Coating Thickness Gages for powder costs and reduced product quality are to be expected. Remember that each time powder goes through a cyclone separator anywhere from 8 to 25 per cent of the powder will be lost. If the reclaim unit is a cartridge collector, more of the smaller particle (fines) will be accumulated in the collector, further reducing TE and eventually the quality of the product coated.

Several factors must be considered in the design, construction and the purchase and installation of a powder booth/recovery system.

Part size and production volume NEW Non-destructively determine the type of powder M o d e l sl e booth and consequently the global measure single Ava i l a b investment. Batch or conveyor system? or multiple layer Is the powder to be recycled? The answer to this will determine what kind coatings on Wood, of reclaim system is to be used and the Plastic, Concrete, type and construction of the booth consequently the size of investment.

Composites & more The basic question for ROI: Does the dollar per year value of the powder The Measure of Quality 800-448-3835 or www.defelsko.com saved justify the time lost in cleaning and loss of production?

Ogdensburg, New York USA • Tel: 315-393-4450 • Fax: 315-393-8471 • Email: techsale@defelsko.com

Non-Metal Substrates

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April 2010 ■ 69

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Advertising Information: Larry Bonikowsky, Senior Publisher 416-764-1489 larry.bonikowsky@rci.rogers.com

Editorial Information: Mary Scianna, Editor 416-764-1540 mary.scianna@rci.rogers.com

Jason Lofkrantz, Account Manager 416-764-1521 jason.lofkrantz@rci.rogers.com

Daryl Angier, Managing Editor 416-764-1508 daryl.angier@rci.rogers.com

www.coatingsmagazine.com

Canada’s 1 choice for industrial finishing readers and advertisers.

FUME EXTRACTION

WELDING

Continued from page 62

4 the quietest units available.

The FILTAIR 130 comes with a standard 8-ft. collection hose; also available are optional 17 and 34 ft hoses, all of which connect to funnel or slotted nozzles or a fume extraction welding gun.

“The FILTAIR 130 is the ideal fume extraction solution for intermittent welding applications that require portability, durability and submicron particle removal. We understand the importance of fume extraction as well as the need to maintain productivity and efficiency, so we designed the FILTAIR 130 to be easy to operate, transport and clean,” says Al Hilbert, product manager, Miller Electric Mfg. Co. www.MillerWelds.com

4

SENTRY AIR SYSTEMS

Sentry Air Systems’ SS-400-PFS is a portable floor fume extractor that combines small size, quiet operation, mobility and high efficiency HEPA or activated carbon filtration to provide what the company claims is an excellent choice for applications where clean air is a must.

A patented fan/filter assembly provides strong suction at the inlet to deliver source capture for particulate or chemical fumes. The modular design and sturdy construction make it a good solution for welding, manufacturing, chemical, soldering and other industrial applications. The mobile unit can be equipped with an optional handle for portability and a magnehelic gauge to monitor filter conditions. www.sentryair.com

EUROVAC

Eliminate welding fumes at the source with a Eurovac II Welding Portable, used with source capture welding guns and fume attachments. A 2.5HP, 1440 watt pump produces 110 in. of water column; 103 free flow CFM. The quiet operation Motor housing is insulated and baffled for sound. The company says that if offers superior filtration featuring a combination of true cyclonic filtration, plus secondary cartridge filter. A standpipe surrounding the cartridge filter prevents particulate-laden air entering the inlets from going directly to the cartridge filter. The standpipe forces the air to move down the canister to the cyclone where 85 per cent of the particulate is removed before it reaches the secondary cartridge filter. This results in the unit operating much more efficiently than products which do not have true cyclonic filtration.

HEPA filtration is available by adding a chamber between the pump and regular filters. The HEPA filter removes the remaining 99.7 per cent of sanding dust to a minimum of .3 micron particle. www.eurovac.com www.canadianmetalworking.com | APRIL 2010 | 71

ADVERTISERS INDEX ADVERTISER

PAGE

600 Machine Tools 42 Bohler-Uddeholm Corporation 36 Canadian Welding Bureau 71 SME (CMW Show) 48, 68 SME (MMTS Show) 35 DeFelsko Corporation 69 DMG America Inc. 26 Elliott Matsuura 4, 24, 51 ESAB Group 61 Fein Canadian Power Tool 58 Ferric Machinery Inc. 56 Glass Shield, Inc. 66 Global Finishing Solutions 64 Haas Automation, Inc. 11 HACO Canada Inc. 52 Hardinge Inc. 32 Horn USA Inc. 7 Hurco Canada Ltd. 2 ISCAR Tools Inc. 74 Jesse Engineering Co. 59 Jet Edge Inc 21 MAG Advanced Technology 30 Mazak Corporation 33 Mitutoyo Canada Inc. 14 Multi-Distributor GTA Open House 8 Prima Finn-Power North America Inc. 3 Reid Supply Company 31 Renishaw Canada Limited.

38 Retention Knob Supply 72 Sandvik Coromant Company 44, Cover Flap SCHUNK INTEC CORP 34 Scientific Cutting Tools, Inc. 47 Seco Tools 46 Sigma Tek Corporation 54 ScotiaBank 13 Strippit, Inc. 60 T.N.T. Tools Inc. 45 Tech-Con 39 Thermadyne Welding Products 20 Tungaloy Canada, Ltd. 73 8CMM20186 Wagner Systems Inc.01/07/2008 08:19 66 AM WIDIA Kennametal Inc. 16

IN STOCK

American Standards and specials.

Japanese Standards inch or metric.

FOR FAST DELIVERY: Contact your local tooling dealer or order direct.

TEL 937-686-6405 FAX 937-686-4125 www.retentionknobsupply.com Retention Knob Supply Company P.O. Box 61 Bellefontaine, OH 43311

72 | APRIL 2010 | www.canadianmetalworking.com

Metal...works The Seven Deadly Sins of Machining

By Mike Cousineau ......................................................................................

In this economic environment it is vital to get the most for your tooling dollar. Read down the following checklist to see if you are guilty of any of the following: Incorrect machining parameters. This is by far, the most common cause of poor tool life. Every manufacturer has recommendations for feed, speed and depth of cut for a given tool and material. Check the literature, to see if you are within the guidelines. If the recommended parameters do not provide an acceptable cycle time, think about upgrading to a premium product. See below.

Wrong tool selection. The easiest way to create an unfavourable impression of any product is to use it in a purpose for which it was neither intended, nor designed. There are so-called general purpose tools, but

machining with a dry-only tool.

Poorly maintained equipment on durable tools.

Speaks for itself. Machines with run out or tools with damaged pockets will not give expected tool performance or life.

Chip control issues. Even if you cut dry, it is imperative that long chips do not interfere with the cutting process. In most cases the chips will be small enough to control if you use the correct feed. Do not let them accumulate in cavities either.

Even if they are the right shape, re-cutting chips will prematurely wear or break the tool.

Improper setup or process. Examine the order of operations to minimize the number of cuts required. Ensure rigidity. Bear in mind that tool life is directly related to the chip load and cutting speed, but not

“In this economic environment, it is vital to get the most

for your tooling dollar...incorect machining parameters are the most common cause of poor tool life.”

Page 1

for best results try to match the tool to the material. Note that tool costs should be amortized into every job anyway, so the excuse that it would be “too expensive” to carry the inventory does not apply.

Incorrect or inappropriate coolant application.

There is no middle ground; coolant should be either applied copiously or not at all.

Many new tools, especially for milling, are designed to cut dry. They cannot withstand the thermal shock of coolant, and tool life will be reduced. For chip evacuation, try an air blast instead. Drilling, of course, does require coolant and through the tool/spindle is the best solution. Assuming you already have the appropriate coolant for your work piece, it should be checked regularly for correct concentration and presence of impurities. Note that if you have previously used coolant in another operation any drips or puddles on the work piece must be dealt with prior to

the depth per pass. Therefore make as few passes as the machine and setup will allow. So-called skim cuts prematurely dull the edge, overheat the part and can degrade surface finish.

Blaming poor performance on the wrong tool.

For example, drilling a pre-hole 0.005 in. undersize will have a marked effect on tap life. Finish bore insert life not up to snuff? Maybe your rough boring tool is leaving too much stock to clean up. It is imperative to take a holistic approach and make sure each step is correct before proceeding to the next.

How many of these points are you guilty of commiting? An honest appraisal of your practices will pay off in the long run in reduced tooling costs and less downtime. CM Mike Cousineau is a sales representative with EM Precise Tool Ltd., St. Catherines, ON. www.emprecise.com