Honscn Co.,Ltd is where you can find high-quality and reliable cnc machining services. We have introduced the most sophisticated testing equipment to inspect the product quality in each phase of production. All relevant defects of the product have been reliably detected and removed, ensuring that the product is 100% qualified in terms of the functionality, specification, durability, etc.
Many brands have lost their position in the fierce competition, but HONSCN is still alive in the market, which should give the credit to our loyal and supportive customers and our well-planned market strategy. We clearly know that the most convincing way is to let customers get access to our products and test the quality and performance themselves. Therefore, we have actively participated in the exhibitions and warmly welcome customer's visit. Our business now has coverage in many countries.
The minimum order quantity of cnc machining services at Honscn is required. But if the customers have any demands, it can be adjusted. The customization service has become mature since establishment with endless efforts placed.
In the field of machining industry, the precision size control of drawings plays a vital role, which directly affects the assembly performance and quality of mechanical equipment. The main factor affecting the size of precision machining is the error problem, because the error problem is affected by a variety of factors, in the machine precision machining will inevitably appear a variety of error problems, so only the use of various technical measures, the precision control in a scientific range. This requires technical personnel to strictly process according to the production drawings, and strictly require the machining process flow, so as to ensure the accuracy of the size of the precision machining production drawings to the greatest extent.
Today, with the rapid development of social economy and industrial reform, the role played by precision machining has become more and more important, and China's machining industry has also made great progress, not only the quality has been greatly improved, but also greatly expanded in the scale of production. With the development of the industrialization process, the precision of precision machining is also more and more attention, therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the control of precision in the process of machining (precision machining process, the control of precision must be attached great importance, and take reasonable technical measures to solve the problems.
Content of machining and influencing factors
In the field of mechanical processing in China, there is a clear definition of the accuracy of mechanical processing, which refers to the professional and technical personnel after the completion of the processing of mechanical parts, the use of instruments to detect the position of the parts, shape, size and related data, so as to determine the degree of compliance of the parts. Generally speaking, the main factor affecting the accuracy of machining is the various errors generated in machining, and the operators and technical units of technical processing must attach great importance to this problem. In machining, the control and grasp of precision are obviously related to the error problem of machining. Machining error is mainly reflected by the shape, size and position, it is through the use of mechanical size control to achieve the purpose of controlling the precision of machining, in ensuring the surface quality of machining, the machining size error control within a reasonable range. In the process of machining, due to the impact of the benchmark and the machining surface, it will cause the deviation of the position of the precision parts, so the verticality, position and parallelism of the precision machining must be strictly controlled.
In the process of precision machining, there are strict requirements for various production technologies and production processes, so as to reduce or even eliminate the purpose of machining technology errors. In machining, the error between the spindle rotation is an important factor affecting the accuracy. In the process of modern mechanical production and processing, the error caused by the spindle rotation problem is very obvious, which is more obvious in high-tech and high-precision products, which is also an important factor affecting the processing. For the resulting error, the error can be reduced by processing and transforming the machinery. In addition, bearings with higher precision can also be used, which can also significantly reduce the resulting error.
In addition to the error caused by the spindle rotation, the error caused by the problem of the fixture and the tool can not be ignored. Due to the requirements of production, machining manufacturers will renovate the size, type and model of fixtures and tools to a certain extent, which will have a greater impact on the accuracy of machining. In the actual processing process, the size of the fixture and the tool are fixed, which makes it impossible to adjust the size of the fixture and the tool in the process of production and processing. This will cause a certain error flow in the mechanical processing when the technical parameters and the working environment change.
In addition, due to the process of using and installing fixtures and tools, the position of fixtures and tools will be changed, resulting in errors. Of course, the cutting force will also have a certain impact on the machining, resulting in the generation of errors, and ultimately the accuracy of the machining. Due to the influence of the external environment and temperature, the machined parts can easily affect the cutting force. The greater accuracy error is caused by the local change of the process system and the overall deformation. In the process of mechanical production and processing, if the change of the direction of the tightening degree and the insufficient stiffness of the parts are affected, the deformation of the machined parts will be caused, and the machining will produce a lot of errors, which will affect the precision control of the machining.
Technical measures to control machining accuracy
In the process of mechanical production and processing, the problem of processing accuracy must be strictly controlled, and the accuracy problem must be comprehensively considered, so the processing accuracy of each part must be greatly improved, so as to improve the accuracy of the entire mechanical equipment. In the process of machining, the original error plays an important role in ensuring the quality of machining. For mechanical components, it is necessary to classify them according to the requirements of relevant regulations, according to the material, type, model, size and use, and then develop a certain accuracy range, and control the precision error of the machined parts within this range. For the technical staff, it is necessary to determine a reasonable range of the error generated in the machining, and make reasonable adjustments to the fixture and the tool, so as to control the error within this reasonable range, and ultimately reduce the error of the part to the greatest extent. Only by controlling the errors in machining, can the precision control of machining be achieved to the maximum extent, so as to achieve the purpose of improving the precision of machining.
Compensating error method
Error compensation method refers to the use of processing means to achieve error compensation after the machining of mechanical parts, so as to achieve the purpose of reducing the error in the processing of parts. Compensation error method is a very important technical measure to solve the stiffness problem of the process. The main principle is to compensate the original error by creating a new error, so as to improve the precision control level in precision machining. Error compensation method is an important means to reduce the machining error, which has been widely used in practice at home and abroad. In domestic regulations, the original error is generally represented by a negative number, and the compensation error is specified as a positive number, so that when the original error and the compensation error are closer to zero, the smaller the machining error.
Of course, the methods of reducing errors and improving precision control are not only these two, but also the transfer error method is a more commonly used method of reducing errors. Therefore, in the actual production process, it is necessary to choose a reasonable method to reduce the error according to different situations, so as to achieve the best precision control and promote the continuous and stable development of precision machining.
No machine can be made without holes. To connect the parts together, a variety of different sizes of screw holes, pin holes or rivet holes are required; In order to fix the transmission parts, various mounting holes are needed; The machine parts themselves also have many kinds of holes (such as oil holes, process holes, weight reduction holes, etc.). The operation of machining holes so that the holes meet the requirements is called hole machining.
The surface of the inner hole is one of the important surfaces of the mechanical parts. In mechanical parts, parts with holes generally account for 50% to 80% of the total number of parts. The types of holes are also diverse, there are cylindrical holes, conical holes, threaded holes and shaped holes. Common cylindrical holes are divided into general holes and deep holes, and deep holes are difficult to process.
Advantages of U drill
1. First of all, the difference between U drill and ordinary drill is that U drill uses the peripheral blade and the center blade, at this Angle, the relationship between U drill and ordinary hard drill is actually similar to the relationship between the machine clamping turning tool and the welding turning tool, and the blade can be replaced directly after the tool is worn without regrinding. After all, the use of indexable blades still saves material than the whole hard drill, and the consistency of the blade makes it easier to control the size of the part.
2. The rigidity of U drill is better, you can use a high feed rate, and the processing diameter of U drill is much larger than that of ordinary drill, the maximum can reach D50~60mm, of course, U drill can not be too small due to the characteristics of the blade.
3.U drill encounter a variety of materials only need to replace the same type of different grades of blade, hard drill is not so convenient.
4. Compared with hard drilling, the precision of the hole drilled by U drilling is still higher, and the finish is better, especially when the cooling and lubrication are not smooth, it is more obvious, and U drilling can correct the position accuracy of the hole, and hard drilling can not be done, and U drilling can be used as a bore knife.
Advantages of U drill in CNC machining
1. U drill can punch holes on surfaces with inclination angles less than 30~ without reducing cutting parameters.
2. After the cutting parameters of U drilling are reduced by 30%, intermittent cutting can be achieved, such as processing intersecting holes, intersecting holes, and phase perforation.
3. U drilling can realize the drilling of multi-step holes, and can boring, chamfer, eccentric drilling.
4. When drilling, the drilling chips are mostly short chips, and the internal cooling system can be used for safe chip removal, without cleaning the chips on the tool, which is conducive to the continuity of the processing of the product, shorten the processing time and improve efficiency.
5. Under the condition of standard length-diameter ratio, no chip removal is required when drilling with U drill.
6. U drill for indexable tool, blade wear without sharpening, more convenient replacement, and low cost.
7. The surface roughness value of the hole processed by U drilling is small, and the tolerance range is small, which can replace the work of some boring tools.
8. The use of U drilling does not need to pre-punch the center hole, and the blind hole bottom surface processed is relatively straight, eliminating the flat-bottom drill.
9. The use of U drilling technology can not only reduce drilling tools, and because U drilling is the head of the cemented carbide blade, its cutting life is more than ten times the ordinary drill, at the same time, there are four cutting edges on the blade, blade wear can be replaced at any time cutting, the new cutting saves a lot of grinding and replacing the tool time, can improve the average efficiency 6-7 times.
U drill in the use of CNC machine tools skills
1. When using U drill, the rigidity of the machine tool and the neutrality of the tool and the workpiece are high, so U drill is suitable for use on high-power, high-rigidity and high-speed CNC machine tools.
2. When using U drilling, the center blade should be used with good toughness, and the peripheral blade should be used with relatively sharp blades.
3. When processing different materials, should choose different groove blade, under normal circumstances, small feed, small tolerance, U drilling length to diameter ratio, choose the groove blade with smaller cutting force, on the contrary, rough machining, large tolerance, U drilling length to diameter ratio is small, then choose the groove blade with larger cutting force.
4. When using U drilling, we must consider the power of the machine tool spindle, the stability of U drilling clamping, the pressure and flow of cutting fluid, and control the chip removal effect of U drilling, otherwise it will greatly affect the surface roughness and dimensional accuracy of the hole.
5. When installing the U drill, it is necessary to make the U drill center coincide with the center of the workpiece and be perpendicular to the surface of the workpiece.
6. When using U drilling, the appropriate cutting parameters should be selected according to different parts materials.
7. When drilling test cutting, be sure not to reduce the feed or speed at will because of caution and fear, so that the U drill blade is damaged or the U drill is damaged.
8. When using U-drill processing, when the blade is worn or damaged, it is necessary to carefully analyze the reasons and replace the blade with better toughness or more wear-resistant.
9. When using U drill to process step holes, it is necessary to start processing from large holes and then process small holes.
10. When drilling, pay attention to the cutting fluid to have enough pressure in order to flush out the chips.
11. The blade used on the center and edge of the U drill is different, must not be misused, otherwise it will damage the U drill rod.
12. When drilling with U-drill, workpiece rotation, tool rotation, and simultaneous rotation of the tool and workpiece can be used, but when the tool is moved in a linear feed mode, the most common method is to use the workpiece rotation mode.
13. The performance of the lathe should be considered when machining on the CNC car, and the cutting parameters should be adjusted appropriately, generally reducing the speed and low feed.
U drill in CNC machining often appear problems
1. The blade is damaged too fast, easy to break, and the processing cost increases.
2. A harsh whistle is emitted during processing, and the cutting state is abnormal.
3. Machine jitter, affecting the machining accuracy of machine tools.
U drill use points to note
1. The installation of U drill should pay attention to the positive and negative directions, which blade is up, which blade is down, which is facing inside and which is facing outside.
2. The center height of U drilling must be corrected, according to its diameter size to require the control range, generally controlled within 0.1mm, the smaller the diameter of U drilling, the higher the center height requirements, the center height is not good U drilling two sides will wear, the aperture will be larger, the blade service life will be shortened, small U drilling is easy to break.
3. U drill has very high requirements for coolant, it must be ensured that the coolant is emitted from the center of U drill, the greater the pressure of the coolant, the better, the excess water outlet of the tower can be blocked up to ensure its pressure.
4, U drilling cutting parameters in strict accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, but also to consider different brands of blades, machine power, processing can refer to the load value of the machine tool size, make appropriate adjustments, generally using high speed, low feed.
5.U drill blade to check often, timely replacement, different blades can not be installed reverse.
6. According to the hardness of the workpiece and the length of the tool suspension to adjust the feed amount, the harder the workpiece, the larger the tool suspension, the smaller the cutting amount.
7. Do not use excessive wear of the blade, should be recorded in the production of blade wear and the relationship between the number of workpieces can be machined, timely replacement of new blades.
8. Use sufficient internal coolant with correct pressure. The main function of the coolant is chip removal and cooling.
9.U drill can not be used for processing softer materials, such as copper, soft aluminum, etc.
Honscn has more than ten years of cnc machining experience, specializing in cnc machining, hardware mechanical parts processing, automation equipment parts processing. Robot parts processing, UAV parts processing, bicycle parts processing, medical parts processing, etc. It is one of the high-quality suppliers of cnc machining. At present, the company has more than 50 sets of cnc machining centers, grinding machines, milling machines, high-quality high-precision testing equipment, to provide customers with precision and high-quality cnc spare parts processing services.
Long long agoOnce upon a time, people said that the country is an important weaponIt refers to the imperial jade seal handed down by Qin Shihuang on behalf of the heavenly power
Later, it generally refers to the jade seal carved by emperors of all dynastiesOn October 5, 2016, Sotheby's auction house auctioned the Hotan green jade seal "the treasure of the supreme emperor" used by one party after the reign of Emperor Qianlong in Hong Kong for HK $91.48 million. At that time, the auction aroused fierce opposition from many parties in China.Nowadays, the title of national heavy weapon refers to manufacturing equipment
Manufacturing equipment determines the level of processing and manufacturingThe level of processing and manufacturing is an intuitive expression of a country's national strengthHowever, what we are talking about today is only this kind of national manufacturing equipment
CNC machining centerIt can not only process and manufacture precision workpieces full of mechanical beautyCNC itself is also an exquisite and elegant industrial creation
(just a little loud)DMG GM 16|6 series six axis automatic turning centerThat's so bad
What can this CNC machining center do?Let's say soIt is known as the top industrial manufacture with the highest difficulty in R & D and manufacturing
Which can best reflect the highest level of industrial development of a countryTurbofan engineIt is polished with CNC bit by bit
As for various high-precision metal partsThere are too many to enumerateThere are turning, boring and milling, grinding and grooving
There are punching, gear shaper and testingThe tools that appear are not completely duplicatedA large CNC machining center
CNC can shape the precision and shape of complex workpieces at one time. What you eat is iron, and what you spit out is different work with high precision. However, the time is hundreds of times shorter than before, and the precision yield has been improved exponentially. The most irritating thing is that it also has adaptability and can be updated at any time.For example, in the past, if a master of worm gear wanted to make a good worm, you had to practice it for ten years and eight years. Hey, now if you want to process a completely different part and make a new process, you can sit and drink coffee. All this needs the support of equipment (tools), that is, it depends on how the manufacturing equipment of this manufacturing equipment plays with the equipmentCNC equipment: all kinds of machining tools
A CNC machining centerBe responsible for tool storage and tool change equipmentIt is called tool holder, also known as tool magazine
We all know the English word: tool magazine(in fact, the original meaning of the word magazine comes from the warehouse)To improve the working ability of CNC
In addition to pursuing more precise controlIt is also necessary to increase the capacity of the tool magazine and speed up the efficiency of tool changeThere are many ways to achieve this
According to the number of tools stored in the tool magazine and the tool taking methodCan be divided into different typesThe common ones are linear type, hat type, disc type, chain type magazine and so on
The power turret should be regarded as the smallest and most portable CNC tool magazineThe utility model is composed of a rotary cutter head and a box bodyA motor is installed in the box
The motor rotor is connected to the central shaft of the NC machine toolThe stator is fixed on the box for tool changeDMG BMT power turret with motor
A CNC machining center can install multiple power turretsThe upgraded version of the power turret is a hat type magazineIt is similar to the integration of turret and spindle head
It is a hat type tool magazine that automatically changes tools by moving the spindle up and downWhen the tool on the spindle enters the clamping slot of the hat magazineThe spindle moves up out of the tool
At the same time, the magazine rotates rapidlyWhen the tool to be replaced is aligned below the spindleThe spindle moves down so that the tool enters the spindle taper hole
After clamping the tool, the magazine returns to its original positionThe tool position of hat magazine is still limited (generally 16 34 tool positions)And it's always up and down
It takes up a lot of time and is not efficientIt also affects the working stroke of the spindleHowever, for a universal manufacturing equipment
It is not enough to add several independent tool holdersAfter all, a high-precision CNC machining center needs to coverLathe worker, milling worker, grinder worker, line drawing worker, heat treatment and other links
If you want to finish so much work at one timeDon't hide hundreds of knives with you. I'm sorry to leave the factory, okay!For CNC machining center
Linear magazine and chain magazine are its armed beltsChain magazineLarge CNC machining centers often need to carry hundreds of tools
If you don't agree, you have to take out dozens or hundreds of fancy tools to connect ironChain magazine of traditional armed belt typeStill not all competent
So there is a large combined extended automatic tool changing chain tool magazine(does such a long name seem particularly corrupt?)It is also called central warehouse tool magazine
The motor drives the winding chain at high speedQuickly send the required tool to the specified positionThen it is taken out by the mechanical arm and sent to the main shaft
Exchange positions with the tools that have been removed at the same timeTo save tool change timeWheel magazine of DMG mori
The disc magazine has been developed to the extremeThe cutter bases are evenly arranged around the huge hollow runnerOne cutter wheel can hold 40 60 cutters
In the assembly workshop of DMG moriYou can see the spectacular installation process of five or even six layer cutter wheelsOriginal title: the beauty of tool magazine: the arsenal of CNC machining center
The source of the article: official account of WeChat: motor technology and application] welcome to add attention! Please indicate the source of the article.
Different methods to stay in touch You can subscribe to newsletters if you are a member of any association related to the CNC industry. This will help you to get the latest news in your industry. With the advent of the Internet it is also possible to search for various websites that offer a forum for like-minded people to come together to exchange their views on each aspect of the CNC industry, be it on CNC lathes, CNC routers, CNC engravers, CNC cutters or even on accessories such as spindles, chucks, etc. Training methods, programming, upgrading and expert advice on niggling problems can also be discussed on a real-time basis.
Various modes of extracting information in the CNC machining zone In addition to participating in blogs and receiving online newsletters over the Internet, you can also watch videos of various CNC machines and their functions, such as the 4 or 5 axis CNC lathes, CNC pipe bending machines, etc. You can also download e-books from various websites that offer invaluable advice and tips on various types of CNC machines in great detail. Many online zones also offer vital links to other sites that could help in the procurement or maintenance of CNC machines.
Participate in online forums One of the best methods of gaining knowledge about your industry is to participate in online forums. You can post your queries or narrate specific problems related to your CNC machine and get responses from various quarters. This could help you to view various solutions and choose the one that suits your specific situation. As time goes by, you can also offer advice to fellow members and also enhance your name in the CNC industry as an expert.
Use the CNC machining zone to procure machines, material and manpower You can save a lot on manufacturing and recurring costs by using the CNC machining zone to procure the right types of CNC machines and raw materials to make your production much more cost-efficient. You can also look for talented workers in this zone that can help run your machine at peak efficiency. You can now locate molds, cast-iron, stainless steel or aluminum blocks, support blocks, controllers, motors, etc without any difficulty. You can also outsource certain aspects of your work if you do not have the required resources, thus helping you to complete your orders without indulging in heavy investments or failing to complete your work on time.
You are certain to benefit by entering the CNC machining zone since other members of your industry could willingly help you out of your cutting, milling or grinding problems. You will also be able to locate new suppliers, clients and meet new people that can help your business to attain a cutting edge in these tough and competitive times.
For a machine that not so long ago did not even exist, the uses for CNC machining centers have quickly become vast and continue to grow.
Woodworkers today are using these versatile machines for a variety of uses ranging from high-speed, flat-panel production work to very intricate carvings. Combining high speed boring with routing, profiling, cutting and other features, these computer-controlled marvels are being successfully utilized in shops that produce everything from beautiful high-end architectural woodwork to flanges for take up reels.
In the following pages, WOOD & WOOD PRODUCTS interviews woodworkers from around the country who have increased their productivity and accuracy while reducing labor costs through investments in CNC technology. Following are their stories.
SPEAKER MAKER USES CNC MACHINERY TO MAKE IT'S DIVERSE PRODUCT As an OEM supplier of audio speakers, the products that Tiffin, Ohio-based Ameriwood Industries International Inc. manufactures vary in size from small bookshelf-size speakers to large symphonic speakers.
Jim Harrington, plant manager of Ameriwood, said, "We do a variety of sizes and styles. We work with different types of materials, with different thicknesses and locations of holes. No two things are alike." Because of this product diversity, Ameriwood Industries (formerly Tiffin Enterprises) used to perform multiple machining operations for every item. Multiple operations meant that several workers had to handle each part, "and the more you handle it, the more opportunity there is for the product to be damaged," Harrington said.
To minimize parts handling -- and thus reduce their labor costs -- the company made an investment in a CNC machining center from Roger Stiles & Associates.
MACHINING CENTERS Vinyl overlayed particleboard is trimmed, cut-to-size, drilled and routed on the machining center. Computer programs are downloaded from a computer system directly into the machine's controller.
"We used CNC routers for a number of years," Harrington said. "The machining center is taking the place of routing and vertical-type drills." The machining center allows the company to do up to 12 workpieces at a time, Harrington said. After all the machining operations have been completed it is a "totally finished part" without need of further machining, Harrington added.
EFFICIENT PLANT HELPS COMPANY CONTROL COSTS In the past two years, Warvel Products-North Carolina has experienced dramatic price increases for the raw materials used to produce curved plywood components. These components are then sold to contract furniture manufacturers such as Haworth.
"We had 30 percent increases in our raw material costs," said sales manager Robbie Wiltcher, "so we have improved plant efficiency by purchasing machinery and technology that would allow us to absorb as much (of the price increase) as possible without passing these costs on. It is important for us as a vendor to help our customers be as competitive in their markets as possible." One of the ways Warvel did this was through the purchase of a multiple-station, four-axis CNC machining center from C.M.S North America. The machining center allows the company to mount up to six components at a time, and complements the company's existing three and five axis machining centers, Wiltcher said.
This is important, considering the amount of product which is shipped from the company's plant in Linwood, N.C. Approximately 100,000 parts a month are produced at the facility, the majority of which are customized. The company has a catalog with standard components, but Wiltcher said that 80 percent of the company's orders are made per customers specifications.
"The machine is capable of multiple machining tasks," Wiltcher said. "In most cases all that's left to do is light sanding and tee-nut installation where required." Another benefit, Wiltcher added, is the very tight tolerances obtained with the machine. The company supplies curved plywood which must integrate with plastic and steel components in ergonomic chairs.
"It is essential to be able to maintain tight tolerances in the various required operations such as drilling on angles, profiling and notching so that all of the different chair components fit together the way they were engineered. This machine provides all of these things," Wiltcher said.
To increase productivity even further, the company purchased machines and software that complement the machining center, including a digitizing machine. The digitizer will read a template part and the software will create a program which is downloaded into the machining center. The company also uses the system to internally produce its own compound tooling.
"The system has reduced the lead time on new tooling from months to days," said Wiltcher. "All of these capabilities assists our customers in bringing many new products to market rapidly and competitively." HIGH-TECH HELPS HIGH-END ARCHITECTURAL FIRM Powell Cabinet & Fixtures of Sparks, Nev., is a high-end architectural woodworking company whose work ranges from luxurious residences to glistening casinos.
The 42-year-old company, which bills itself as the oldest architectural woodworking company in the state of Nevada, is owned by the father/son team of Roger and Bill Powell.
One of the company's most recent projects was for the new Luxor Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas. The company did a variety of work at the hotel, including a 3 1/2-inch thick, 13-inch wide, solid-mahogany handrail that was built on a 255-foot radius. The handrail also featured solid-cast bronze support pieces and etched glass.
The handrail was manufactured utilizing a Komo VR 512 CNC machining center the company got in January 1993. Prior to that, the company had been doing everything with multiple machines. "The machining center is exceptional on irregular shapes and curves," Bill Powell said.
"It is more adaptable than to have a journeyman do it by hand. The radius work takes more time to program, but instead of having a journeyman woodworker spend several days on something, the machine will produce the same product in significantly less time." Powell added that there is a learning curve to the machine. "The purchase of the machine is just the first step," Powell said.
"The time that it takes to learn how to program and operate it is a major expense, as is the tooling and all the programming updates that are needed to keep up-to-speed." But while these factors need to be taken into account, Powell said he thinks it is becoming essential for companies to invest in high-technology equipment. According to Powell, one of the reasons the company purchased the machining center was because "the quantity of qualified, journeyman cabinetmakers that can produce this type of work is diminishing. You have to rely on the technical aspects of the industry to help fill that void," he said.
COMPANY GROWS A STEP AT A TIME When Denny Beuter and Bob Bloss formed Diamond Cut Inc. eight years ago they had a plan. The two men wanted their South Bend, Ind.-based company to become a leader in the field of commercial sound equipment. A daunting task made all the more difficult considering they did not own any sophisticated equipment.
"We went on the premise that we needed extremely good equipment to make a really good product," said Beuter. "But in order to get good equipment you have to have a product with enough volume to keep the machine running." What Beuter and Bloss did was to start slowly, acquiring equipment and producing parts for other companies. "We would do cutting and edging, anything to get work into the plant," Beuter said. "To sell machine time you have to do everything a little bit better than what the (source) companies can do in their own shop. We got real good, real fast, because otherwise we had to eat the cost of the job." From doing this job-shop-type-work, the next step was doing contract work. "My partner (Bloss), whose background is in the speaker business, went out (to speaker companies) and said, 'We can make speakers boxes for you and we can do them with high precision,'" Beuter said.
Diamond Cut began producing speaker cabinets for such companies as JBL and Panasonic. The product Panasonic wanted the company to produce necessitated an equipment upgrade. "The Panasonic people wanted a (speaker) box that was trapezoid shape," Beuter said. "This product would have been almost impossible to make with the router we were using." Beuter and Bloss chose a U-26 Morbidelli machining center from Tekna Machinery. The machine not only allows them to produce the trapezoidal shapes, it also has reduced labor costs. "For example, we had one full-time worker on the payroll whose only job was to make jigs, Beuter said. "I have no more jigs." While Diamond Cut has grown, with sales projected to reach around $2 million in 1994, the company continues to move toward that plan. In 1993, the company started a proprietary line of heavy-duty commercial sound equipment under the moniker, Bull Frog.
The Bull Frog equipment is sold throughout the United States and a number of countries around the world. "For 24-hours a day, for the last three months, we have been so busy with our own proprietary work that we have not been able to do any outside work, Beuter said.
"Hopefully by the end of the year we will be completely out of contract work." BOOTH MAKER FINDS SIGN TO SUCCESS Utilizing a variety of materials, Farmington Displays of Farmington, Conn., creates trade show displays for companies in industries as diverse as food, computers and guns.
Farmington Displays, which was founded in 1973 by Paul DiTommaso Sr., counts 278 companies as its clients. On average, Farmington Displays' clients update their booths every three to five years.
"We have a pretty good job flow," said general manager Sal DiTommaso, son of Paul Sr. and one of three sons and a daughter currently working for the company. "Not everybody is building their booth at the same time." Farmington Displays boasts an impressive client list, including General Electric, NEC and gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson. In the traditionally very labor-intensive field of display manufacturing, the company stands out for its use of high-technology equipment. More than three years ago, after extensive research on available machinery, the company began its investment in CNC machinery.
"The first thing that sparked my interest in obtaining CNC machinery was watching one of my men cutting out an eight-foot circle," said Sal DiTommaso. "It was so archaic, I just said there had to be another way to do it." Farmington Display's plant now features two Heian CNC routers and a computerized panel saw from Stiles Machinery, as well as a computerized graphic/design laboratories linked together as a Local Area Network.
The Heian machining centers have allowed the company to branch out into areas such as manufacturing signage and store fixtures. Farmington Displays had always created graphics for signs, but the CNC routers allow the company to manufacture them in-house. Additionally, the company is now doing contract machining for other, non-competing manufacturers.
To create their distinctive products, the company utilizes a variety of materials. On its CNC routers, the company utilizes everything from acrylics to solid woods. On a separate metal machining center the company works with brass and other metallic alloys. "We don't farm anything out," DiTommaso said. "We try to keep everything in-house so that we have complete quality control over the finished product." FAMILY-OWNED LUMBER YARD SEIZES CHANCE TO DIVERSIFY ITS BUSINESS In 1922, Hans Lars founded Hansen Lumber in Galesburg, Ill. Over the next 70 or so years, the business would be handed down from family-member to family-member, and would remain a traditional lumber yard.
It remained solely a lumber yard until two years ago when Hansen Lumber seized an opportunity to diversify. The company was asked to do some circular panel cutting for a Galesburg-based manufacturer of wooden reels. Approximately a year later that manufacturer, who believed the reel industry was going to dominated by the use of plastics, first contemplated shuttering the facility and then offered to sell the business -- and its client list -- to Hansen Lumber.
The family-owned company, currently being run by Shard Hansen, the founder's grandson, with help from his daughter Karen (the fourth-generation family member in the business), decided to purchase the company, and quickly realized the need to upgrade its equipment.
"Taking up wire or rope around a reel must be done at very high feed rates, especially if it is a small diameter wire, because unless your doing it at a 1,000 feel a minute it would take forever to wind," said Hansen, "so the arbor hole has to be exact. If the arbor hole is off center the whole thing will be jerking." A little more than a year ago the company purchased a CNC machining center from Accu-Router. The machine features two vertical routers, which can machine 1 1/2 inch southern yellow pine industrial grade plywood used for the flanges on the reels and maintains tight tolerances.
Prior to working with the machining center, the company would have to cut out a square and in subsequent steps radius the panel down to the required size and shape.
Having a high-technology machining center not only provides for accuracy, it also helps to utilize the plywood. "Our flanges range in size from eight inches to 48 inches round," said Hansen.
"When we are cutting the circles, we can nest them in such a fashion that we get great yield and waste is very nominal." CNC EQUIPMENT HELPS CARVING COMPANY MAKE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC Investing, not only in new equipment, but also in the training of its workforce has helped this Thomasville, N.C.-based carving company increase its capacity while reducing its overhead.
Founded in 1968, Piedmont Carving carves furniture parts -- specializing in chair parts -- and parts for such musical instruments as the cello and guitar.
Over the last few years, the company has sold some of its older carving machines and invested that money in computerized machinery including CNC Robot Carvers from Thermwood Corp.
"We used to have 13 carving machines and we would run all of them in one shift," said Gay Jones, who along with her twin brother Ray, and her father, company-founder Jimmy, own the business. "We sold three carving machines and still are projecting to triple our capacity with the robotic carvers." The company has reduced its labor costs in part by computerizing its carving, but also by cross training its 29 employees so that they can work on other machines in the shop.
Learning to efficiently use the CNC robot was a difficult challenge for the company, Gay Jones said, "but I'm glad we did because it gives us an advantage over companies who are just now getting into robotic carving." Piedmont Carving bought its first robotic carver four years ago. The company is planning to purchase additional machines.
One of the benefits of computerized machinery is consistency. This is important when Piedmont is crafting its furniture and musical instrument components.
"Chair parts have to fit together perfectly when they're sent to the manufacturer," Jones said. "With the robotic carving everything stays so consistent. This consistency is also very important when we are doing the musical instruments because the craftsmanship that goes into the part can affect the sound." CARVING WOOD PARTS 20 AT A TIME Intricate handcarvings are being quickly and accurately duplicated by Carving Research Inc. of Huntersville, N.C., using a 20-head Kitako CNC Machining Center distributed by Tekmatex Inc.
Carving Research is a 2-year-old, 12-employee company with projected 1994 sales of $840,000. The company supplies intricate wood carvings to such major residential furniture makers as Henredon Furniture Industries Inc. and Baker Furniture Co.
What once had to be done one at a time by master handcarvers can now be done 20 at a time by the company. This results not only in time savings but cost savings as well, without sacrificing the look of the product, according to company owner Tom Bowker. An example of the speed of the machine is a rice carved bed post; typically it would take a master handcarver approximately six to eight hours to complete, "while we can do it in an hour," Bowker said.
To produce the carvings, an initial handcarved template is made. This carving is sent to Tekmatex, where a digitizing machine creates a computer program which can be downloaded into the machining center. Once this program is completed, an infinite number of a given carving can be created with precision.
There are certain "essential ingredients" to creating the carvings, said Bowker. Tooling is one of the most important. Because of the nature of the product, the Carving Research utilizes unique tooling, including a razor-sharp veining bit developed by Oertli Woodworking Tools Inc. that leaves such a clean cut, that secondary carvings are not necessary, Bowker said. Another example is a 1/16-inch flat-bottom or straight router bit which is used on many of the carvings.
"Nobody else uses anything like that," Bowker said.
"Because of the intricacies of many of the carvings, we have to use a wider variety of tooling including some carbide tooling, than what you would use if running a normal carving operation. Many of our bits have to be small because you have to get in and do a cut and make it look like it was done with a chisel.