On Mfg: Oct 2015

Grinding Belts Improve Throughput

Norton Vortex Rapid Prep Belts from Saint-Gobain Abrasives (saint-gobain.com) have a proprietary agglomerate aluminum oxide grain that’s said to increase belt life by 3X compared with conventional aluminum oxide. What’s more, it reduces to two five grit sequences in blending operations, consequently reducing labor and material costs. The Vortex grain provides 10% faster cut time on aluminum and 20% on titanium and stainless steel. Also, there is a 50% improvement in process time because of the reduced required grinding steps. Belts are available in Low Flex—a premium, high-lift nylon rubber bonded to a strong nylon scrim backing that provides a denser layer of resin bond and grain to extend product life—and Regular Flex—a low-strength design with a premium durable nylon fiber bonded to a strong Y-weight polyester backing. Belts in various sizes are available for both belts, and both are available in coarse, medium, fine, and very fine grit sizes.

Vertical Turning Center

The VM 9 from EMAG (emag.com) is a vertical turning center than can handle chucked components up to 450 mm in diameter; the maximum turning diameter is 400 mm. The swing over the base is 650 mm; the X-axis travel is 330 mm, and it is 500 mm for the Z-axis. The X/Z rapids are both 30 m/min. Its tool turret can handle up to 12 tools, depending on the tool interface (BMT or VDI). The tools can be driven, which means that drilling and milling operations can be performed on the machine. 

Small-Diameter Boring Tool for Roughing

Looking for some small-diameter roughing capability for boring? The BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling MW boring head (bigkaiser.com) can handle bores in a range of Ø16 to21 mm. The tool has a Ø20-mm straight shank and is best deployed with a milling chuck at fixed bore depths of up to 4X diameter. The tool, which is well suited to handling workpieces with die cast holes, features a spiral groove carved into its body for chip evacuation; there are coolant holes located near the end of the groove. The tool can also handle blind-holes thanks to a center hole in the tool. (Stop screws allow the choice of what direction the coolant is deployed.) There are two insert holders with a precision serrated mounting system. Coated inserts are available for a variety of ferrous and nonferrous materials.

Chamfer Body: Done in One

The D4580 chamfer body from Walter USA (walter-tools.com/us) permits drilling and chamfering with a single tool, thereby reducing overall machining time and costs. It can be used to machine a variety of materials, including ISO P, M, K, N, and S groups. It can be used for all holes with 45° chamfers (e.g., on cylinder blocks and heads, sump face holes, turbocharger mounting holes). The D4580 chamfer body is available in 6-in. and metric body sizes. Chamfer widths of up to 0.11 in. The body can be used with solid carbide drills.