High Speed Drills for Better Results

A large part of our focus is being able to turn product around to the customers very quickly. That is one of the reasons that we want to see something innovative in machining. Then the search of new drilling technique has brought us to to the more reliable way of drilling process which was by quick drills. After research into high speed drilling machinery and technologies, the new high speed drills model emerged the front runner in carbide tooling capability, ease of operation, accuracy, maintenance and setup for the metal working companies.They collaborated on other factors, such as optimum chip removal processes and the proper sequencing of the Quickdrill machines within the production process.

With the introduction of these high speed drills the drilling capacity immediately expanded in scope and scale. These could be capable of drilling designated patterns of holes in tube sheets ranging in thickness to several inches. These are suited for carbon steel plates that are typically 4 to 6 inches thick.

The ability to use carbide tooling enables better precision, finishing each hole on the machine. Prior to Quickdrills, the process involved using a CNC drill and then transporting each workpiece to a radial drill to complete reaming, ring grooving and deburring processes.

With these drills, 90 percent of all operations can be performed on a tube sheet before the part comes off the machine. In the past, only 40 percent of the work was completed on CNC machines. The Quickdrill's finishing capability combined with the ability to drill deeper holes and maximize speed and feed rates has meant a 30 to 40 percent increase in productivity on the majority of workpieces.

These drills were capable on working often up to 20 hours per day,since the in-house maintenance training offered by these new drills has had good results with the machines.

Everybody talks about how well these machines do on bigger items, but one thing that will impress us is the Quickdrill's ability to also drill the smaller tube sheets. It's pretty amazing the volume these machines can turn out. It is harder to do this with the regular drills with similar set-up.

Maintaining means looking into the future. Most of the experts of machining plan to continue working with this high speed mills. The carbide drilling manufacturers to refine their hole drilling processes focusing on drilling even deeper holes to a finished size faster and at less cost per hole. These new drilling process provide us the platform on which to perform the work.

Taking Care Of Collets

The collets play a critical role in machining. Its design is purposely intended to become a wedge that holds the tool which should be the job of the toolholder itself. By gripping and positioning the tool, the collet determines all the stresses and therefore it can also determine the very ability of the process to produce a good part. So it is better to take good care of the collets to expect longer collet life. Now these are some tips on how to do it:

Perhaps the simplest advice must be cleaning. More often this is overlooked but this is very important. Collets are coated in a thick, rust-prohibitive oil before they are packed and shipped. This heavy coating may be great at preserving the collet, but it's horrible to leave on during use. The oil reduces gripping force and may also affect runout.

If the collet has been in use for a while, it may have picked up deposits on its tapered areas. The deposits can be the result of dirt in the toolholder, workpiece material getting into the collet cavity, dirty coolant or even the burning of any oil that was left on the collet's surface. When trying to remove one of these deposits, avoid implements that will remove or deform the collet's metal. A simple, lightweight brass brush is probably the best cleaning tool to use. This can be used with or without a cleaning agent. If the deposit can't be removed this way, then it's time to replace the collet. Since that would affect the performance of the collet and the machine as well.

Finally, clean the slots. The slots drive the collet to hold the toll thoroughly to increase the stability upon the process. Anything inside the slots that gets in the way will reduce the clamping force and increase runout. So clean the slots with metal or plastic blade to clear out the space before clamping.

These are signs Of Misuse Or Damage after cleaning the collet:

• When there is a gouge around the nose of the collet. This means the collet and nut have been assembled incorrectly. The collet can't be fixed once it has been damaged this way.

• If there is a deep line around the collet gage line, this indicates the tools have not been inserted to the minimum depth required for clamping.

• The collet should be a perfect round in its hole or the outside dimension.

• There should be no burrs in the collet.

If otherwise happen to the collet then it is recommended to buy a new one.

After cleaning and visual inspection, proper assembly of the toolholder is the next important step. There are various ways that even a good collet can contribute to poor runout because of some aspect of the toolholder assembly.

• Improper collet-to-nut assembly. In an incorrect assembly, the collet is placed in the holder first, then the nut is clamped on.

• Not inserting the tool deep enough into the collet. For every collet there is a rated minimum tool depth. If the tool is clamped in place at a more shallow depth than this, runout will occur as the collet deforms incorrectly.

• Turning the nut too tightly will also deform the collet in a way that leads to poor runout.
• The pull stud, or retention knob, is screwed in at the end of the toolholder's taper.
  

Our Main goal is to get better runout and higher clamping force,so here are some reminders:

1. Clean the assembly. From toolholder to nuts and collet..
2. Put a light coat of oil on the outside of the collet.
3. Make sure to attain enough gripping surface for collet.
4. When tightening the nut, torque down on it only to the value specified for this nut. Use a quality torque wrench to observe this limit.

Collet toolholders are ineffectively used in many shops. By following all of the safety measures above, a shop can realize greater holding strength and better precision from its collet toolholders than what many shops are able to achieve.

Tooling Machines

The term "CNC turning center" applies to several types of tooling machine which is more advance than an ordinary machines or the manual machining. Unlike before machines are now becoming more sophisticated that every processes shall be operated by programs with high accuracy and precision. This type of machines works well and faster than that of he previous tooling machines.

Let's take a closer look to the features of these machines:


Bar machine-These units are capable in the preparation of the bar stocks ready for machining. They are ideal for short and long runs and allow quick setups and changeovers. Typically, automatic feeders are standard on bar machines, so you can place large bundles of pipe, tube or bar stock in the feeder and run the machine unattended if desired.

see www.topbarfeed.com

Swiss type CNC machine- This type of machine uses a sliding headstock with stationary tooling to machine parts. A bar constantly feeds out of the spindle as a stationary cutting tool removes metal. By cutting as close to the spindle as possible, maximum workpiece and cutting tool rigidity are maintained.

The Swiss type machines typical has faster revolution of spindles and greater feed rate performance . Therefore, certain parts can be machined more efficiently than on a traditional CNC turning center. Good turning center must have parts of the least diameter and four times longer than their larges diameter.

see www.eurotechelite.com/newFrame_tss_15~.htm

Slant-bed turning center. The slantbed machine is a high-performance unit—a marvel of technology. It offers positioning accuracy and repeatability in the millionths of an inch, with rapidtraverses exceeding 1,100 ipm on several models. In addition, some units come with 30-, 40- or even 50-hp spindles. They can rotate a workpiece at up to 6,000 rpm, depending on chuck size. Standard acceleration is from zero to full-rapid in 0.01 sec., with the turret indexing in less than 0.01 sec.

Slant-bed turning centers allow fast setups by incorporating precision turrets and indexable tooling. The turrets have eight to 12 tool positions and accommodate both ID and OD tools. The slant beds generally have a larger turning diameter than the same size flat-bed machine.

Twin-spindle turning center. This version of the slant-bed turning center is designed for longer production runs and is especially useful when machining the faces and backsides of parts. Upon completion of the first operation, the sub-spindle—instead of a tailstock —moves forward with its chuck in the open position and clamps onto the part. The main spindle releases the part, which is retracted to its new machining location. The rear of the part is then machined. This type of setup reduces operator intervention.

Twin-spindle/twin-turret machine. Similar to the twin-spindle arrangement, this type of turning center has a second turret that allows you to simultaneously machine both ends of a part.

Turn/mill center. This machine, also known as a turning center with live tooling, was designed for part runs of 100 to 1,000. It may be equipped with a C-axis or Y-axis for cross-drilling, keyslot milling, producing bolt-hole patterns and other operations. It can produce very complicated parts.

Depending on the part configuration, a turn/mill center can eliminate secondary operations. It comes with a hefty price tag, though, so it is not for the faint of heart. These units can be very efficient and lead to high profits, but the performance-to-cost return should be weighed carefully. And, successful operation of a turn/mill center requires a functional knowledge of machine tool programming language.

Because of this requirement, turning center builders offer training in conversational programming, G-code programming and offline programming systems. Most builders, because of the level of machine sophistication, recommend up to a week of training at their facilities. Additionally, some include training in the base price of the unit; others sell it as an option. Of course, the buyer covers travel, hotel and meal expenses for trainees.

CNC lathe options

Choosing the right option(s) for your CNC lathe is another important aspect of machine selection. Some of the most common add-ons builders offer are described in the following paragraphs.

Chuck. Most CNC turning centers come with a standard chuck. It may be a collet chuck or a simple hydraulic, 3- jaw chuck. Other types of chucks are available.

Bore size. Most CNC turning centers come with a standard through-hole. The size is dependent on the manufacturer. Bores larger than standard are usually available. Touch probes deserve serious consideration. Some machine builders include them as standard equipment, especially with production CNC turning centers. As the touch probe swings in, the operator jogs the tool to the probe in the X and Z axes. Then the touch probe transmits tool length and diameter offsets to the controller, automatically eliminating any operator error. On some turning centers, the operator simply inputs what tool he wants and the rest will be done by the machine program and its tooling part.

Live tooling. Live tooling allows crossdrilling, key-slot milling, milling flats and so forth—the normal operations of the machining center. The motors that drive the live tooling can range from 4.5 hp to 7 hp or higher. They have a relatively low rpm and torque.

Tailstock. Although some manufacturers consider tailstocks to be standard items, they probably rank at the top of the list of options for both combination lathes and CNC turning centers. They are available in several versions: manual tailstock with manual quills, manual tailstock with programmable quills, programmable tailstock with fixed quills and programmable tailstocks with programmable quills.

The Right Way For Milling Titanium

Milling titanium is like milling other hard-to-machine metals in that a small increase in cutting speed can lead to a big increase in edge wear. Speed and heat will somehow become directly proportional to each other when it comes to hard metals. Working with titanium is different from milling an ordinary metal. For the reason that heat conduction is greater for hard type of metals that its molecular structure are closer and rigid than that of a regular metal for machining.

Shops cutting titanium are familiar with the practice of using low radial immersion to control heat. In a low-radial-immersion pass, the radial depth of cut is much less than the radius of the tool. As a result, every cutting edge spends more time out of the cut than in it, giving each edge relatively little time to heat up and much longer to cool down.

This practice works so well at controlling heat, that many users fail to realize how much extra speed they may be able to observe. The light depth of cut exclude a high metal removal rate, but the shop make finishing passes using this method can partially compensate by leaving the recommended speeds behind.

The rules from the experts:

• When radial depth is less than 25 percent of diameter, increase the sfm by 50 percent (over the nominal speed used for heavier cuts).
• When radial depth is less than 10 percent of diameter, increase the sfm by 100 percent