cnc turning milling screw is the 'chosen representative' of Honscn Co.,Ltd. By digging into the industry dynamics and market trends, our designers keep innovating ideas, designing the prototype, and then screening out the best product design. In this way, the product has a very competitive compact design. To bring an excellent user experience, we carry out millions of tests on the product to make it stable in its performance and be of long lifespan. It proves to be not only in line with the aesthetic taste of consumers but also satisfy their actual needs.
'Why is the HONSCN suddenly rising in the market?' These reports are common to see recently. However, the rapid development of our brand is not an accident thanks to our great efforts on products in the past few years. If you go deep into the survey, you may find that our customers always make repurchases of our products, which is the recognition of our brand.
We have built a comprehensive service system to bring better experience to customers. At Honscn, any customization requirement on products like cnc turning milling screw will be fulfilled by our R&D experts and experienced production team. We also provide efficient and reliable logistics service for customers.
How to choose the right CNC machining material？
The materials are wrong, all in vain! In order to produce satisfactory products, the choice of materials is the most basic step and the most critical step. CNC machining can choose a lot of materials, including metal materials, non-metallic materials and composite materials.
Common metal materials include steel, aluminum alloy, copper alloy, stainless steel and so on. Non-metallic materials are engineering plastics, nylon, bakelite, epoxy resin and so on. Composite materials are fiber reinforced plastic, carbon fiber reinforced epoxy resin, glass fiber reinforced aluminum and so on.
Different materials have different physical and mechanical properties, and the correct selection of the right material is critical to the performance, accuracy and durability of the part. Starting from my own experience, this article will share with you how to choose low cost and suitable materials among many processing materials.
First, we need to determine the end use of the product and its parts. For example, medical equipment needs to be disinfected, lunch boxes need to be heated in the microwave oven, bearings, gears, etc., need to be used for load-bearing and multiple rotational friction.
After determining the use, starting from the actual application needs of the product, the use of the product is investigated, and its technical requirements and environmental requirements are analyzed, and these needs are transformed into the characteristics of the material. For example, parts of medical equipment may have to withstand the extreme heat of an autoclave; Bearings, gears and other materials have requirements for wear resistance, tensile strength and compressive strength. Mainly can be analyzed from the following points:
01 Environmental Requirements
Analyze the actual use scenario and environment of the product; For example: What is the long-term working temperature of the product, the highest/lowest working temperature, respectively, belonging to high temperature or low temperature? Are there UV protection requirements indoors or outdoors? Is it in a dry environment or a humid, corrosive environment? Etc.
02 Technical Requirements
According to the technical requirements of the product, the required capabilities are analyzed, which can cover a range of application-related factors. Such as: the product needs to have conductive, insulating or anti-static which of the capabilities? Is heat dissipation, thermal conductivity, or flame retardant required? Do you need exposure to chemical solvents? Etc.
03 Physical Performance requirements
Analyze the required physical properties of the part based on the intended use of the product and the environment in which it will be used. For parts subjected to high stress or wear, factors such as strength, toughness and wear resistance are critical; For parts exposed to high temperatures for a long time, good thermal stability is required.
04 Appearance and surface treatment requirements
The market acceptance of the product depends largely on the appearance, the color and transparency of different materials are different, the finish and the corresponding surface treatment are also different. Therefore, according to the aesthetic requirements of the product, the processing materials should be selected.
05 Processing performance considerations
The machining properties of the material will affect the manufacturing process and accuracy of the part. For example, although stainless steel is rust resistant and corrosion resistant, its hardness is high, and it is easy to wear the tool during processing, resulting in very high processing costs, and it is not a good material to process. The plastic hardness is low, but it is easy to soften and deform during the heating process, and the stability is poor, which needs to be selected according to actual needs.
Because the actual application requirements of the product are composed of a number of contents, there may be multiple materials that meet the application requirements of a product; Or the situation where the optimal selection of different application requirements corresponds to different materials; We may end up with several materials that meet our specific requirements. Therefore, once the desired material properties are clearly defined, the remaining selection step is to search for the material that best matches those properties.
The selection of candidate materials begins with a review of material properties data, of course, it is not possible to investigate thousands of applied materials, and there is no need to do so. We can start from the material category, and first decide whether we need metal materials, non-metallic materials or composite materials. Then the previous analysis results, corresponding to the material characteristics, narrow the selection of candidate materials. Finally, the material cost information is used to select the most suitable material for the product from a number of candidate materials.
At present, Honscn has selected and launched a number of materials suitable for processing, which have been a popular choice for our customers.
Introduction to the properties of metal materials
Metallic materials refer to materials with properties such as luster, ductility, easy conduction and heat transfer. Its performance is mainly divided into four aspects, namely: mechanical properties, chemical properties, physical properties, process properties. These properties determine the scope of application of the material and the rationality of the application, which is an important reference for us to choose metal materials.The following will introduce two types of metal materials, aluminum alloy and copper alloy, which have different mechanical properties and processing characteristics.
There are more than 1000 aluminum alloy grades registered in the world, each brand name and meaning are different, different grades of aluminum alloy in hardness, strength, processability, decoration, corrosion resistance, weldability and other mechanical properties and chemical properties there are obvious differences, each has its strengths and weaknesses.
hardness
Hardness refers to its ability to resist scratches or indentations. It has a direct relationship with the chemical composition of the alloy, and different states have different effects on the hardness of aluminum. The hardness directly affects the cutting speed and the type of tool material that can be used in CNC machining.
From the highest hardness that can be achieved, 7 series > 2 series > 6 series > 5 series > 3 series > 1 series.
intensity
Strength refers to its ability to resist deformation and fracture, commonly used indicators include yield strength, tensile strength and so on.
It is an important factor that must be considered in product design, especially when aluminum alloy components are used as structural parts, the appropriate alloy should be selected according to the pressure under.
There is a positive relationship between hardness and strength: the strength of pure aluminum is the lowest, and the strength of 2 series and 7 series heat-treated alloys is the highest.
density
Density refers to its mass per unit volume and is often used to calculate the weight of a material.
Density is an important factor for a variety of different applications. Depending on the application, the density of aluminum will have a significant impact on how it is used. For example, lightweight, high-strength aluminum is ideal for construction and industrial applications.
The density of aluminum is about 2700kg/m³, and the density value of different types of aluminum alloy does not change much.
Corrosion resistance
Corrosion resistance refers to its ability to resist corrosion when in contact with other substances. It includes chemical corrosion resistance, electrochemical corrosion resistance, stress corrosion resistance and other properties.
Corrosion resistance selection principle should be based on its use occasion, high-strength alloy used in a corrosive environment, must use a variety of anti-corrosion composite materials.
In general, the corrosion resistance of series 1 pure aluminum is the best, series 5 performs well, followed by series 3 and 6, and series 2 and 7 are poor.
processability
The machinability includes formability and machinability. Because formability is related to the state, after selecting the grade of aluminum alloy, it is also necessary to consider the strength range of each state, usually high strength materials are not easy to form.
If the aluminum is to be bent, drawn, deep drawing and other forming processes, the formability of the fully annealed material is the best, and on the contrary, the formability of the heat-treated material is the worst.
The machinability of aluminum alloy has a great relationship with the alloy composition, usually higher strength aluminum alloy machinability is better, on the contrary, low strength machinability is poor.
For molds, mechanical parts and other products that need to be cut, the machinability of aluminum alloy is an important consideration.
Welding and bending properties
Most aluminum alloys are welded without problems. In particular, some 5 series aluminum alloys are specially designed for welding considerations; Relatively speaking, some 2 series and 7 series aluminum alloys are more difficult to weld.
In addition, the 5 series aluminum alloy is also the most suitable for bending a class of aluminum alloy products.
Decorative property
When aluminum is applied to decoration or some specific occasions, its surface needs to be processed to obtain the corresponding color and surface organization. This situation requires us to focus on the decorative properties of materials.
Aluminum surface treatment options include anodizing and spraying. In general, materials with good corrosion resistance have excellent surface treatment properties.
Other characteristics
In addition to the above characteristics, there are electrical conductivity, wear resistance, heat resistance and other properties, we need to consider more in the selection of materials.
Orichalcum
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Brass with different mechanical properties can be obtained by changing the content of zinc in brass. The higher the content of zinc in brass, the higher its strength and slightly lower plasticity.
The zinc content of the brass used in the industry does not exceed 45%, and the zinc content will be brittle and make the alloy performance worse. Adding 1% tin to brass can significantly improve the resistance of brass to seawater and Marine atmosphere corrosion, so it is called "navy brass".
Tin can improve the machinability of brass. Lead brass is commonly referred to as easy to cut national standard copper. The main purpose of adding lead is to improve the machinability and wear resistance, and lead has little effect on the strength of brass. Carving copper is also a kind of lead brass.
Most brasses have good color, processability, ductility, and are easy to electroplate or paint.
Red copper
Copper is pure copper, also known as red copper, has good electrical and thermal conductivity, excellent plasticity, easy hot pressing and cold pressure processing, can be made into plates, rods, tubes, wires, strips, foil and other copper.
A large number of products that require good electrical conductivity such as electrocorroded copper and conductive bars for the manufacture of EDM, magnetic instruments and instruments that must be resistant to magnetic interference, such as compass and aviation instruments.
No matter what kind of material, a single model basically can not meet all the performance requirements of a product at the same time, and it is not necessary. We should set the priority of various performance according to the performance requirements of the product, the use of the environment, the processing process and other factors, reasonable selection of materials, and reasonable control of costs under the premise of ensuring performance.
Starts with hardware, doesn't stop with hardware. Honscn is committed to providing fastener/CNC industry chain one-stop service.
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.
Nowadays, smart phones have changed from plastic back cover to thin metal body. Although the smart appearance attracts consumers, the production process of mobile phone case parts suppliers is more difficult. Only because the cutting and processing of the case requires quite high precision, even if it is only a small deviation, it may cause workpiece scrapping and erode profits.
In order to improve the yield of CNC processing, mobile phone box manufacturers are often forced to change tools frequently to ensure that CNC machines maintain a normal production beat, but this leads to an increase in the cost of consumables and also affects profits. In addition, the mobile phone case processing industry attaches great importance to the production rate, for fear that the sudden failure of CNC cutting machine will lead to negative chain reactions such as production capacity decline and delivery delay, which will damage customer satisfaction and goodwill. Therefore, it allocates manpower to carry out regular inspection and entrusts outsourcers to provide second-line maintenance support, but these methods are passive, It is difficult to effectively deal with abnormal conditions at the first time.
Mobile phone case is one of the cases of CNC machine application. CNC cutting is widely used in various processing and manufacturing, and various suppliers are facing a similar profit defense war. Xu Changyi, manager of Linghua technology measurement and automation products division, believes that whether you want to improve the machining accuracy or increase the productivity, the axe bottom salary drawing plan is to monitor the cutting process, especially the vibration monitoring, mainly because once the vibration value of the machine rises beyond the reasonable range due to imbalance, resonance or misalignment, It is easy to affect the operation of the machine, resulting in fault shutdown.
PC based monitoring solution is better than PLC solution to capture fine vibration signals
If the CNC processing machine can be endowed with intelligence and built with a set of full-time vibration monitoring mechanism, it can diagnose the health state of the machine at any time. Instead of waiting for the output of the final finished product and judging the cause of the abnormality afterwards, it can detect the unusual state of the processing machine in real time through preventive detection in advance and take corresponding treatment measures quickly, Including optimizing and adjusting processing parameters (such as changing spindle speed), or changing tools, etc. to solve small deviations immediately and avoid causing major disasters in the future.
It can not be denied that the cutting vibration monitoring of CNC machining machines is not a new topic at this moment. In the past, there were some PLC solutions with the demand of simplicity and convenience, which boasted that as long as the CNC machine was connected, it could produce utility quickly; Therefore, it is inevitable that some people wonder why PC based monitoring scheme is needed since PLC is available to assist in cutting vibration monitoring?
The so-called devil lies in the details. Some subtle vibration signals or high-frequency signals reflect some facts to some extent. It may be that the connecting mechanism begins to be unbalanced, the rotating spindle bearing ball breaks and affects the transmission power, or the fasteners become loose, which means that the CNC machining machine begins to "get sick", and the symptoms are different with the different machine characteristics; These subtle and changeable signs are not easy to capture by virtue of the PLC solution with the characteristics of low sampling rate, supporting limited bandwidth range and fixed algorithm. If the CNC monitoring solution can capture small changes and help users quickly grasp the key factors that may lead to reduced accuracy or capacity decline, they can respond as soon as possible.
In view of this, Linghua launched a cutting vibration monitoring scheme called mcm-100, which boasts that it can carry out 24-hour continuous data acquisition and vibration measurement for rotating transfer machinery and equipment under the condition of high precision and high sampling rate, and integrate the functions of data collection, vibration analysis and calculation, operation, Internet access and so on, Assist CNC machine users to successfully solve various challenges faced by traditional cutting process, and endow CNC machine with intelligence in the most relaxed and burden-free way.Achieve the wonderful effect of preventive maintenance through high-precision monitoring
Xu Changyi explained that generally speaking, there are three detection situations that CNC machines most want to establish. One is "spindle vibration detection", which aims to monitor the vibration of the spindle during cutting. The method is to directly measure the RMS value of the time domain signal. If it exceeds the critical value, reduce the speed or stop running; The second is "bearing quality diagnostic tic", which is intended to diagnose the health status of bearings. It is carried out when CNC does not perform cutting and only idles at high speed; The third is "spindle collision detection", which is used to detect the spindle collision. When the vibration wave pattern meets some default conditions, it is judged that the collision has occurred, and the spindle movement is stopped immediately.
The above situations 1 and 2 are closely related to the accuracy and bandwidth range of vibration signals. PLC solutions can capture very little information, which is difficult to help users establish contingency strategies; In contrast, mcm-100 not only has 24 bit high resolution capability (generally falling in the range of 12 or 16 bit), but also can capture high-frequency signals with a sampling rate of up to 128ks / S (generally only supporting 20Ks / s or even lower), so as to provide users with more vibration analysis materials.New business opportunities for CNC machine equipment manufacturers
On the other hand, the cutting vibration monitoring scheme can also create new business opportunities for CNC machine equipment manufacturers. As CNC machine equipment suppliers are exposed to a large amount of vibration information, once combined with big data analysis, they have a more thorough understanding of the correlation between signal changes and machine failures. CNC machine equipment suppliers can make good use of the accumulated knowledge assets, give birth to value-added services, and even adjust their business model from selling out equipment to selling machine operation hours, Establish long-term stable income. According to Linghua technology, the operator of PC based cutting vibration monitoring scheme, the vibration monitoring scheme has entered the landing stage and has been adopted by various well-known CNC tool machine manufacturers, and its demand has increased significantly in 2017, which shows that both CNC processors and CNC tool machine manufacturers have increasingly keen demand for CNC cutting vibration monitoring scheme.
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.
5-axis CNC machining is an advanced manufacturing process that adds two rotating axes (A, B or A, C) to the three linear axes (X, Y, Z). This type of processing has many advantages. It can realize the multi-sided machining of complex shape parts, greatly improve the machining accuracy and efficiency, and reduce the number of clamping and error. For parts with deep cavity, reverse buckle, complex surface and other features, 5-axis CNC machining can easily cope with. In the aerospace, automotive, mold and other industries, 5-axis CNC machining is widely used in the manufacture of high-precision key parts, such as engine impellers, aviation structural parts, automotive molds and so on.
How to optimize 5-axis cnc machining？
1. Tool path planning:
- Efficient tool path algorithm to reduce empty travel and unnecessary tool movement.
- Optimize the cutting and cutting mode of the tool, avoid sudden stop and turn, reduce tool wear and machine vibration.
2. Tool selection:
- Select the appropriate tool material, geometry and size according to the machining material and process requirements.
- Consider using multi-edge tools to improve cutting efficiency.
3. Cutting parameters optimization:
- Precise setting of parameters such as cutting speed, feed speed and cutting depth to achieve the best cutting results and efficiency.
- Combine tool and material characteristics to determine optimal parameters through testing and simulation.
4. Clamping method:
- Ensure that the workpiece is firmly mounted, reducing displacement and vibration during machining.
- The use of appropriate fixtures to improve clamping efficiency and accuracy.
5. Programming optimization:
- Simplify programming code, reduce redundant instructions, and improve program execution efficiency.
- Use macros and subroutines to improve programming flexibility and versatility.
6. Machine maintenance:
- Regular maintenance and calibration of the machine to ensure the accuracy and performance of the machine.
- Replace the worn parts in time to ensure the normal operation of the machine.
7. Processing sequence:
- Reasonable arrangement of processing procedures, first rough processing, then semi-finishing and finishing.
- Avoid repeated clamping and positioning errors.
8. Simulation and verification:
- Perform tool path simulation before machining to check for interference and errors.
- Verify the feasibility and rationality of the processing technology.
9. Personnel training:
- Improve the skill level and process knowledge of the operators so that they can skillfully operate the machine and optimize the machining process.
10. Adopt advanced control system:
- Upgrade the machine control system to support more advanced machining functions and optimization algorithms.
We can use the above methods to optimize 5-axis CNC machining according to the actual situation.
What factors should be considered to optimize 5-axis cnc machining?
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Workpiece design and geometry: including complexity, feature size and tolerance requirements, which affect machining strategy and tool path selection.
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Material characteristics: the hardness, toughness, thermal conductivity and other properties of the material determine the selection of cutting parameters and tools.
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Tool selection: The material, geometry, blade number, diameter, etc. of the tool should be matched with the processing task to ensure cutting efficiency and quality.
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Cutting parameters: such as cutting speed, feed rate, cutting depth, etc., need to be optimized according to material and tool characteristics to improve processing efficiency and avoid excessive tool wear.
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Machine tool performance: including the accuracy, rigidity, stroke, speed range of the machine tool, etc., to give full play to the advantages of the machine tool and avoid exceeding its capacity.
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Clamping method: to ensure that the workpiece clamping is stable, accurate, and will not interfere with the processing, and to facilitate loading and unloading, improve production efficiency.
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Tool path planning: Optimize the feed and retreat mode of the tool, reduce empty travel and unnecessary movement, and reduce processing time.
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Cooling and lubrication: Suitable cooling and lubrication methods can reduce the cutting temperature, extend the tool life, and improve the surface quality.
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Programming technology: Efficient and accurate programming code helps to reduce errors and improve machine operation efficiency.
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Post-processing program: ensure that the generated CNC code can be executed accurately by the machine tool.
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Processing sequence: reasonable arrangement of roughing, semi-finishing and finishing sequence to improve processing efficiency and ensure processing quality.
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Processing cost: under the premise of ensuring quality, minimize tool loss, energy consumption and processing time to control costs.
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Production batch: Batch size will affect the processing strategy and the selection of tooling fixtures.
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Quality requirements: Strict surface roughness, dimensional accuracy and form and position tolerances require finer processing parameters and process control.
These factors are related to each other, and comprehensive consideration can achieve the optimization of 5-axis CNC machining.
What performance can be improved by optimizing 5-axis CNC machining?
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Machining accuracy: Through more accurate tool path planning, optimized cutting parameters and good machine tool calibration, machining errors can be significantly reduced, and dimensional accuracy and form and position tolerance accuracy of parts can be improved.
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Surface quality: Suitable tool selection, cutting parameter adjustment and effective cooling lubrication can obtain a smoother and lower roughness surface to meet higher surface quality requirements.
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Processing efficiency: reducing empty stroke, optimizing tool path, improving cutting speed and feed speed and other measures can greatly shorten processing time and improve production efficiency.
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Tool life: Reasonable cutting parameters and tool path can reduce tool wear and damage, extend the service life of the tool, reduce the cost of the tool.
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Machine tool stability: Optimizing the processing process can reduce the vibration and shock of the machine tool, enhance the stability of the machine tool operation, and reduce the incidence of failure.
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Material utilization: More accurate processing and reasonable layout planning can reduce the waste of materials and improve the utilization rate of materials.
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Production flexibility: can adapt to the processing needs of different parts more quickly, adjust the processing technology and parameters, and improve the flexibility and response speed of production.
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Energy consumption: By improving processing efficiency and reducing unnecessary machine tool actions, reduce energy consumption, achieve energy saving and reduce production costs.
To sum up, optimizing 5-axis CNC machining is of great significance for improving product quality, reducing costs, and enhancing the competitiveness of enterprises.
Honscn has obvious advantages in CNC aluminum processing. First of all, the precision is high, can make aluminum parts with accurate size and complex shape, and the quality is barbar. Then there is high efficiency, automatic processing, saving manpower and time. Complex shapes are no problem, anything can be done. Full use of materials, no waste, cost can be reduced. And the processed things have good repeatability and stable quality. It is also easy to modify the design, and it is flexible to change the procedure.