Sunday, May 11, 2008

Trailing shields for reactive-metal welding

Welding titanium, stainless steel, and other reactive metals releases gases

When welding large pieces of reactive metal, trailing shields keep the heat-affected zone under an argon shield.

that cause oxidation, coking, and hydrogen embrittlement. Welding in an argon-filled enclosure is one solution to the problem, but with large components and structures, welding in an enclosed environment is not always possible. To combat this problem, Cob Industries Inc., Melbourne, Fla., has developed a range of trailing shields.

The trailing shields keep the welded joint and heat-affected zone under an argon shield longer than normal, allowing faster welding and eliminating the risk of oxidation and hydrogen embrittlement.

Applications for trailing shields include welding of gas turbine and aerospace engine housings and components; titanium and duplex pipes for onshore and offshore pipeline and riser applications; titanium components for racecar structures; stainless steel, titanium, and duplex tanks and vessels for the petrochemical industry; and medical components.

The Cob Shields can be fitted to any make or size of manual or automatic GTAW, PAW, or GMAW welding torch and can be delivered for use on any diameter of pipe or vessel and for welding inside or outside. They are also available in a flat format for welding sheet and plate.


http://www.americanmachinist.com/304/Issue/Article/False/8170/Issue

American Metal & Technology, Inc. Increases Capacity; Part of Four-Phase Expansion Plan

American Metal &Technology, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: AMGY) ("American Metal," the"Company"), a leading manufacturer in the People's Republic of Chinaengaged in the development, manufacture and sale of high-precision metalcasting and metal fabrication products to European and U.S. markets andmicroprocessor-controlled electronic circuit boards in China, todayannounced it purchased an additional four CNC lathe machines during thefirst quarter ended March 31, 2008, bringing the total number of lathes to60.

All of the high-precision lathe machines are equal in size and capacity
to the Company's existing 56 machines. Three of the machines were put intoproduction during the first quarter, and the fourth is expected to be
delivered and installed in April.

"We continue to make great strides in our major expansion plan, and we
are excited by the growth in demand we see from our U.S. and European
customers," said Mr. Chen Gao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
American Metal. "We see this as a year of great opportunity, and yet also
one in which we are preparing for the future, as we grow to meet today's
demand and move toward expansion into additional production facilities in
2009."

To capitalize on the fast-developing metal casting market in China, the
Company is in the midst of the second step in a four-phase capacity
expansion plan. Phase two will add two manufacturing facilities totaling
117,000 square feet. It is intended to increase the Company's annual
capacity for casting products by 50% and should be completed by the end of2008 and begin production in early 2009.

About American Metal & Technology, Inc.

American Metal & Technology, through its wholly-owned subsidiary
American Metal Technology Group ("AMTG"), a Nevada Corporation, and throughAMTG's subsidiaries, Beijing Tong Yuan Heng Feng Technology Co., Ltd. andAmerican Metal Technology (Lang Fang) Co., Ltd., is a leading manufacturerof high-precision casting and machined products in the People's Republic ofChina. The subsidiaries operate in a 53,819-square-foot manufacturing plantwith monthly output capacity of 1 million parts. In 2006, AMTG expandedinto the design and manufacture of electric circuit boards for homeappliances and motion controllers. The Company recently announced facilityexpansion plans to increase casting product capacity by 50% and enhance thedevelopment and manufacturing of its circuit board solutions at itsLangfang manufacturing center. To learn more about American Metal &Technology, Inc., please visit the Company's website at:http://www.ammyusa.com.

Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995: Certain of the statements made in this press release
constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unknown factors
that could cause our actual results to be materially different from the
historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. In addition to statements that explicitly
describe such risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider
statements labeled with the terms "believes," "belief," "intends,"
"anticipates" or "plans" to be uncertain and forward-looking. The
forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to
other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in our
reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.


http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?

New mechanized air plasma package for cutting metal

Hypertherm introduces the PowermaxEDGE, an entry-level mechanized air plasma cutting system for metal, engineered to deliver quick installation, ease-of-use and maximum performance.

Hypertherm, Inc., Hanover, NH, USA, has simplified mechanized plasma cutting system integration with the introduction of Hypertherm PowermaxEDGE*. Hypertherm describes the product as “integration made easy.”

The “bundled” solution integrates a patented Powermax* plasma system with either a standalone Senso* PHC (Plasma Height Control) or the EDGE* Ti CNC with integrated torch height control. According to Bruce Altobelli, Business Team Leader for Hypertherm’s Manual Systems product line, the PowermaxEDGE is “a complete entry-level mechanized air plasma package engineered to deliver quick installation, ease-of-use and maximum performance – all at price significantly lower than prior offerings.” “We take our position as the world leader in plasma cutting seriously,” said Evan Smith, Hypertherm Vice President and General Manager. “And being the leader means introducing technology – like the new PowermaxEDGE and the recently announced Powermax30 manual cutting system* and HySpeed HSD130 mechanized cutting system– to help drive plasma adoption and grow our customers’ businesses. New products like these are proof of our commitment to providing unmatched breadth and depth of technology advantage in the plasma cutting field, from the ultra-portable inverter to the most advanced automated solutions.”

Hypertherm* Introduces PowermaxEDGE for “Integration Made Easy.”

Hypertherm* Introduces PowermaxEDGE for “Integration Made Easy.” High resolution image. photo: Hypertherm





Metal fabricators can configure the PowermaxEDGE for their specific requirements starting with one of three Powermax G3 plasma systems – the Powermax1000, Powermax1250 or Powermax1650 – depending on cutting requirements. Each model features patented Coaxial-assist* technology as well as advanced torch and power supply designs to cut thicker plates, at faster speeds, with better overall cut quality and consumable life. The PowermaxEDGE with a Powermax1650 cuts up to (2235 mm per minute) on 12 mm thick plate.

Sensor PHC is an easy-to-use automatic plasma height control that maximizes cut quality. Designed for easy integration to CNC tables, it features simple operational controls and fault indicators.

Hypertherm’s Edge Ti sets the standard for affordable, high-performance motion control. The enhanced user interface is a touch screen monitor based on surface acoustic wave technology for robust industrial environment performance. The Windows-XP-embedded operating system supports powerful shape cutting software including HyperNest CNC for automated nesting. The Edge Ti is a self-contained unit with integrated drives that offer easy integration for either new installations or retrofit tables supporting brushless motors (which can be ordered with the unit) up to 250W power.

The PowermaxEDGE provides easy integration for small- to mid-range cutting table applications, light duty cycle needs such as HVAC or custom fabricators (12 mm and below), and for retrofit of existing oxy-fuel or plasma tables.

* Registered Trademarks or applied trademarks of Hypertherm Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.

Visit Hypertherm Europe B.V. and/or Hypertherm Inc., May 20-22 at Eastec 2008, Eastern States Exposition, W Springfield, MA USA. Airgas East booth #1156 and ABCO booth #5819.


http://www.jobwerx.com/news/2008/hypertherm-news-949922-312.html

Monday, February 18, 2008

Five Key Concepts Of Modular, Quick-Change Tooling

A number of clear and powerful trends are impacting the metalworking industry. Customers expect higher quality but demand lower costs and quicker deliveries. Machine tools are becoming more capable and more flexible but are, in many cases, considerably more expensive. Lot sizes are becoming smaller. Competition is coming from around the globe.

In light of these and many other developments, shops and plants of all sizes are rethinking every aspect of their businesses. The ones that are adopting new strategies that leverage every technical advantage to the fullest are the ones most likely to succeed in this climate.

Modular, quick-change tooling is one of the tactical options many shops are exercising in their quests to stay on top of the competition. Modular, quick-change tooling systems first appeared about 10 or 12 years ago, but current trends and developments put a premium on the benefits these systems provide. In short, it's time to take a close, clear look at these systems.

The following five concepts sum up some of the most important aspects of modular, quick-change tooling. These points are drawn from material provided by Sandvik Coromant, one of the world's leading tooling companies and one that has been especially active in promoting intelligent applications of these tooling systems. If you keep these concepts in mind, your thinking about modular, quick-change tooling will be most enlightened, and rewarding, regardless of whose tooling system you might adopt.

1. Don't confuse "modular" and "quick-change."

These terms are not synonymous. Although all quick-change tooling systems are modular, not all modular tooling systems are necessarily quick-change.

Moreover, modularity and quick-change capability represent different values. For example, in a pure machining-center environment, modularity is more important than quick-change. Tools that can be changed easily into different configurations reduce tooling inventories and speed tool preparation in the toolroom. A wide range of tools can be put together from a limited number of interchangeable components.

Likewise, the availability of building-block extensions in many modular tooling systems enable long overhangs, difficult reaches and unusual cuts to be handled within the system. This economical versatility represents a gain in the machining center's capacity. Modular tooling lets it take on jobs that might otherwise be excluded, or it can perform more operations in a single setup. This increased capacity definitely improves the return on the capital invested in the machine as a whole.

Quick-change, on the other hand, is usually the leading value for lathe and turning center tooling. The number of positions on a turret or toolpost is limited, for one thing. In addition, the precision and repeatability of the coupling between the cutting unit and the clamping unit allow the position of the cutting edge to be known at all times. Setup times between batches is reduced. Trial cuts can be reduced or eliminated.

Modularity and quick change converge when it's a turn mill machine that requires tooling.

2. Ask these questions when considering modular, quick-change tooling.

Although the following list was drawn up by Sandvik in the context of turning operations, it is useful for milling environments as well. It gives the factors that indicate how beneficial quick-change features will be.

* How many setups will there be per shift? The more setups you do, the more quick-change tooling will help. If setups take up more than an hour per shift, quick-change tooling will probably save enough money in a year to pay for the tooling.
* How many tools changed per setup?
* How many inserts are indexed per shift? If you change edges more than every 15 minutes, quick-change tooling is worth serious consideration.
* How many trial cuts are made per shift? Today's quick-change tooling has the accuracy and repeatability to eliminate most trial cuts and gaging at the machine tool.
* What is the machine tool's hourly burden rate? The higher the hourly rate, the faster quick-change tooling will pay for itself. Today's machines often cost more but produce more, thus making the tool-changing time all the more costly.
* How many hours per year is the machine in operation? Many shops are shooting for 5,000 hours a year. The less time spent in setup or tool changing, the easier that goal becomes.

For machining centers, the value of modularity will be determined by these additional factors:

* How many mills and machining centers are in the shop?
* How many makes and models of machines are represented in the shop?
* How many different spindle tapers are involved?
* How many jobs require long reaches or special tools?
* On how many jobs do you use redundant tooling?

For all of these questions, the higher the number in your answer, the greater the value of modular tooling.

3. Modular, quick-change tooling can't be implemented in a vacuum.

Whether the modularity or the quick-change features or both are sought after, they will yield their full benefits only when accompanied by structural changes in the organization. In other words, to get the most out of modular, quick-change tooling, a shop may have to change its culture. It's been said that any system for quick-change is one-third hardware, one-third information, and one-third discipline.

For example, quick-change tooling promises to reduce setup time. But getting cutting tools ready is only one part of setup. Quick-change workholding fixtures, locating devices to re-establish fixture location, downloading of the machining programs, and automated handling of shop documentation are just a few of the other factors to consider.

Training is critical. Everyone needs to know and understand how modular, quick-change tooling works. Machine operators and toolroom personnel are obvious, but process engineers, NC programmers, estimators, schedulers, inspectors and managers must also be aware of what the new system implies for how they do their jobs. For instance, if new tooling can eliminate a secondary operation or an additional setup, process engineers must plan for it and estimators must factor it in.

Shop managers, some may be surprised to read, are the most likely to be affected by the discipline that a system of modular, quick-change tooling entails. Establishing new procedures often uncovers weaknesses in an organization. Poor channels of communication are the most likely problem areas to emerge. Moreover, the positive effects derived from implementing a new tooling system are quantifiable and measurable. Success demands that managers track these improvements and establish new benchmarks.

4. Consider tooling before a machine is purchased.

Tooling should be an integral part of the capital equipment buying decision. The choice of tooling at the time a new CNC machining center is purchased will have a significant effect on the return on that investment.

Choosing modular, quick-change tooling can reduce tooling costs over the life of the machine by 40 percent, Sandvik product specialists have pointed out. For a new CNC machining center or lathe, conventional tooling represents 5 to 10 percent of the total equipment purchase. For modular, quick-change tooling, a shop can expect to pay an additional 3 percent.

However, in the case of a $500,000 machining center, the extra $15,000 in the tooling budget will likely save $33,000 a year in tooling as long as the machine is in the shop. These savings are mostly in reduced costs for tooling inventory and elimination of specials. Of course, the more machines a shop has on its floor and the greater the variety of spindle tapers or styles, the greater the benefit of modular tooling.

A lathe, on the other hand, is likely to be 30 percent more productive with modular tooling compared to conventional tooling, in medium to short run work.

In short, tooling often determines the earning potential of a new machine as a whole. To maximize the tooling advantage, then, include tooling and toolholding as part of procurement planning.

5. Rethink speeds and feeds for modular, quick-change tooling.

At one time, implementing modular, quick-change tooling meant compromises in cutting rates or machining accuracies under certain circumstances. That is not necessarily the case at all today. Most newer systems offer repeatabilities in the 0.000078-inch range, qualifying them for the vast majority of milling and turning work that is available.

Depending on the manufacturer, some systems have the strength and rigidity to take cutting loads that meet or exceed those applied to solid tooling. Some modular, quick-change tooling systems are actually stronger than conventional tooling. This creates an opportunity to raise speeds and feeds and to boost material removal rates.

Keep in mind that quick-change capability reduces the penalty for frequent edge changing. In other words, in a tradeoff between extended edge life (which reduces tooling costs) and more parts, opt for more parts. Consumable tooling rarely accounts for more than 2 to 5 percent of total part costs. Reduced tooling costs gain relatively little, whereas increased machining capacity gains a lot. This becomes especially true of today's more expensive machine tools.

Sandvik recommends a good rule of thumb for optimizing productivity and edge life when modular, quick-change tooling is implemented: Push the insert edge with higher speeds and feeds until it fails after about 15 minutes of cutting time.

Stainless steels may be especially ripe for a healthy boost in cutting feeds and speeds. Many shops have never adjusted to advances in chipbreaker geometry and insert grades and so, they still run these materials at very conservative machining parameters. Don't let obsolete assumptions rob a new tooling system of its full potential.

A Force For Renewal

Change is good. It stirs things up. It brings out creativity and resourcefulness. It both generates and consumes human energy.

A transition to modular, quick-change tooling might well be the catalyst that leads to a shop-wide revitalization. Implementing a new approach to tooling exercises all of the skills and capabilities that make an organization strong and agile. The lessons in efficiency, teamwork, coordination and discipline that it teaches prime a shop for other, more challenging initiatives. It readies a shop for total quality management, ISO 9000 registration, vendor certification programs and the like.

It is important to look at all of the analyses and evaluations suggested by this discussion of modular, quick-change tooling. The numbers provide the best basis for decision making. But give some thought to what else there is to gain. Modular and quick-change can be read as flexible and fast.

It's not just your tooling that has to be that way


http://www.mmsonline.com/articles/059603.html

Various Metal,Wood workings,Tooling products from Hares And Forbes

Hare and Forbes is leading importers and suppliers of New and Used Workshop Equipments-Metal working,Wood working,Tooling and Machinery tools.

Metal Working includes CNC Machines,Metal Cutting saws,Pipe,Tube And Bar bendings,Lathes,Milling machines,Rolling machines,Guillotines,Drilling and Tapping Machines,Punch and Shears,Sheet metal etc.

Woodworking includes Dust collectors,Planner jointer's, Saw blades,Spindle Moulders,Thicknessers,Wood lathes,Sanding Belt Discs etc.

Machine accessory tools includes CNC tooling and accessories,Cutting tools,Drill and Tapping Accessories,Lubrication,Work lights,Clamp kits,Grinding and Sharpening Accessories.


http://www.ferret.com.au/c/Hare-Forbes-Machinery-House/

Metal stampings and building products available from Sankey

There are various metal products manufactured by Sankey .

Sankey offers metal stampings in broad range according to the needs of the customer which have been designed in a impressive manner and are visually appealing. Various products which have been stamped from metal covers includes bar chairs, rainwater gutter brackets and accessories, supprot brackets and J brackets.

Building products produced by Sankey includes expanded metal products which offers advantages of decoration, protection, support and security. The metal mesh range possess good strength while allowing heat, air and light through it. Some of the metal mesh brands like Sankey Balustmesh which is made of uncoated or zinc coated steel and primarily used for decoration purposes.

Other metal mesh products includes Sankey Gridmesh, Sankey Louvamesh, Sankey Ornamesh, Sankey Maximesh and many more.

Other building products manufactured by Sankey includes various metal accessories which are needed for the construction of buildings like bar chairs used for residential property and brackets and accessories essential for residential guttering.

Sankey manufactures aluminium pressure diecast products for pressure diecasting, die design. There are other services provided by Sankey like aluminium diecasting, CNC machining, Zinc Diecasting, Sandblasting and Powder coating.


http://www.infolink.com.au/articles/

Metalworking fluid eases magnesium machining

Although magnesium alloys are easy to machine, the process requires careful management and this metalworking fluid extends sump life and avoidsresidue build-up

Magnesium is widely recognised for its favourable strength-to-weight ratio and eminent suitability for casting. It is rarely used in pure form for structural elements and is generally alloyed for the production of parts for the automotive, aerospace and electronic sectors. magnesium alloys are amongst the easiest of the structural metals to machine.

They require the least power of any commonly machined metal, for example, 50% less than aluminium alloys and 90% less than nickel and cobalt based super alloys.

Indeed they can be shaped and fabricated by most metalworking processes and are easily welded.

It is not all 'plain sailing' however as a subcontractor to a major magnesium die-caster can confirm.

Although it agrees that magnesium alloys are easy to machine, the process requires careful management.

Inappropriate choice of metalworking fluid can cause a number of production problems and for this particular subcontractor these included short sump life, residue build-up and inefficient pump-out and recharge.

The odour of the fluid also prompted a lot of operator complaints so health and safety was an issue too.

With these prevailing problems the company was keen to trial the new dedicated coolant developed by Master Chemical, TRIM E737.

It has been developed as a cost competitive product that is compatible with virtually all magnesium alloys up to 4000 ppm.

It has been formulated to provide exceptionally clean running and to maintain tool sharpness for optimal cutting.

The results were impressive.

As TRIM E737 virtually eliminates hydrogen generation, the residue build-up the subcontractor had been experiencing with its previous water-based fluid disappeared immediately.

The product's extreme hard water tolerance also had a positive effect in this regard.

As a result machines became cleaner allowing easier part changes and maintenance.

The excellent bio-stability of TRIM E737 proved over the length of the trial to provide a long sump life without the need for any additive.

Complaints about the smell of the product were eliminated and coolant disposal costs were cut by a substantial 40%.

'By changing to TRIM E737 we have reduced our operating costs per machine,' confirmed a company spokesman.

'This product is affordable, effective and has helped reduce production costs for a significant part of our business.'


http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/mas/mas152.html

New control concept for metalworking

Beckhoff presented a new generation of more powerful and price-optimised CNC systems with PC- and EtherCAT-based control technology at the EMO 2007 in Germany.

CNC solutions are used in lathes, sheet metal processing, grinding, sawing and cutting machines. The EtherCAT realtime Ethernet system enables high-speed communication between PC controller and the digital drives. Additional process optimisation is offered by the XFC (extreme fast control) technology, which allows extremely fast, deterministic reactions. XFC is based on an architecture comprising an advanced industrial PC, ultra-fast I/O terminals, the EtherCAT high-speed Ethernet system, and the TwinCAT automation software. It enables extremely fast deterministic reactions creating new possibilities to improve machine quality and shorten reaction times.

eXtreme fast CNC control from Beckhoff
eXtreme fast CNC control from Beckhoff

In principle, the Beckhoff solution comprises:

* A modern Industrial PC as an open control platform.

* Software NC/CNC for motion control and interpolating path movements.

* An open, flexible and configurable .NET-based HMI solution.

* EtherCAT as a fast communication medium for I/Os and drives,

* EtherCAT I/Os for high precision control of actuators and fast sensor signal recording that integrates measurement technology and monitoring.

* EtherCAT Servo Drives from the AX5000 series with a corresponding range of motors.

A new generation of industrial PCs is available for the EtherCAT-based control concept, these IPCs contain two Ethernet interfaces for automation and IT applications. While the 100 MBit Ethernet ports offer optimum performance for all EtherCAT control tasks, a gigabit port is available for connecting higher-level networks.

On the software side, Beckhoff offered two solutions for interpolating path movements in the TwinCAT NC I and TwinCAT CNC: TwinCAT NC I is the modular CNC solution for up to 31 channels, each with up to three main and five auxiliary axes. TwinCAT CNC is the classic, powerful CNC application for up to 64 axes. The basis of both CNC systems is the fast TwinCAT PLC system.


http://www.instrumentation.co.za/news.aspx

Metal Spun Parts With Tight Corners, Sharp Bends And Fine Finishes Are A Specialty Of Acme Metal Spinning

Minneapolis, Minnesota: Metal spinning of custom contoured and formed metal fabricated parts from 1/4 inch up to 140 inches are available for a wide range of applications from Acme Metal Spinning.

Designs include the use of aluminum, mild steel and stainless steel in thicknesses to 1/4 inch and often incorporate very tight corners, sharp bends and fine finishes.

These parts are utilized in critical medical devices, for chemical processing, in vacuum systems, dust collecting systems and for architectural design applications. Through the use of Acme's metal spinning processes, higher quality, lower cost part solutions are possible compared to deep drawing, stamping, hydroforming or die casting.

Acme Metal Spinning produces parts on a variety of specially designed CNC equipment which include 100 horsepower 2-roller spinning systems capable of shaping .750 inch thick mild steel in up to 48 inch diameter. Acme also utilizes a full range of hand, hydraulic and CNC controlled spinning lathes, trimming and beading machines.

To facilitate fast part design and production, Acme maintains a large inventory of various sized tools for hemispheres, cylinders, domes, cones and heads. Tooling is produced in wood, steel and cast metal, depending on project requirements. In most cases, wood tooling is the most economical method providing fast turnaround for low to medium production runs of various alloy steels, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass and precious metals. From print to finished parts, shipment often can be made within 72 hours.

In addition to helping keep tool costs low, Acme's tooling often can be modified easily to develop prototype parts, to test market a part design or to accommodate a design change.

Acme Metal Spinning also provides secondary value-added operations which include beading, trimming, hole punching, circle shearing, and flanging (in/out). These operations can enhance the part design without the need for an additional source.



http://www.acmemetalspinning.com/9777.html

Finishing First in Cast-Steel Machining

When a contract manufacturer prides itself on continual improvement to provide 100% customer satisfaction, every machining problem demands its fullest attention. To Ron Rosso, president of Nebraska Machine Products (NMP; Omaha), it's as simple as "not becoming complacent once we get the opportunity to serve our customers."

Nebraska Machine was founded by Jack Rosso in 1966, and is run today by Ron and his brother Dave. NMP is a specialty screw-machine product manufacturer that produces parts ranging in size from 1/32 to 10'' (0.79-254-mm) diam for the electronics and computer industries for the smaller parts, and the hydraulic, agricultural, oil field, and automotive industries for the larger parts. When its full complement of automatic machines are operating to capacity, Nebraska Machine processes 80-100 tons (72-90 t) of material a month.

Since the early 1980s, the company has offered CNC machining capability, as well as processes including cross-drilling, centerless grinding, broaching, silver-soldering, welding, assembly, and vibratory finishing. Materials processed include plastics, brass, aluminum, stainless alloys, and steel alloys.

Faced with a problem of re-cutting chips in machining a cast-steel valve application, Nebraska Machine turned to Iscar Metals Inc. (Arlington, TX) and machine-tool distributor Productivity Inc. (Omaha) and cutting-tool distributor John Day Co. (Omaha) for help in solving the problem.


The cast-steel application involved machining some 36,000 parts annually on an A-51 HMC from Makino (Mason, OH). Due to the overall length of the part and all the work that needed to be done on the ID, the process was leaving chips that were being re-cut, resulting in catastrophic failure and tool damage.

Other machining problems that had to be addressed included deep-hole drilling to a flat bottom with a 63 pin. (1.6µm) finish and a tight flatness callout that had to be achieved. There was also difficulty in maintaining consistent part finish, in holding tolerances, and in preserving tool life.

Jason Rosso, a tooling specialist from Iscar, along with Dave Atkinson, Iscar milling product manager, evaluated and worked on the applications in collaboration with Dave Nelson from Productivity and Roger Weatherill from John Day.

The 3'' (76-mm) face mill that was being used for facing all the external surfaces was producing large, stringy-type chips that entered the ID of the part and caused its rough bore to fail. Iscar's solution was the F45LN D3.00-09-1.OR-N-15 face mill with the LNMT 150608 ANTN MM IC908 insert running at 800 fpm (244 m/min), 1018 rpm, 0.028 ipr (0.71 mm/rev), and 28.5 ipm (724 mm/min).

Coolant blast was introduced to help remove the chips. The number of parts machined per insert-edge went from 500 with existing tooling to 1200 with the Iscar tooling. The number of parts-per-insert increased from 2000 to 4800.

Iscar then turned its attention to the rough-boring application, replacing existing tooling utilizing a BHR MB25-25 × 50 bore head, STI MB 25 × 6.39 shank, ISHR/IHCR rough-boring insert holder with Iscar's CCMT-2.1 IC 907. While running at 550 fpm (168 m/min), 1573 rpm, 0.0055 ipr (0.14 mm/rev) and 8.65 ipm (219 mm/min), the number of parts-perinsert went from 120 to 280. There was an approximate 50% cost savings with the new tooling versus the existing tooling.

Chip formation and evacuation were the most important issues. The DZ drill with a WOLH 2.5-1 insert performed the next sequence in completing the parts. A 1.312 DZ drill was used to rough out the bottom for the Iscar Multi-Master to finish and hold flatness to 0.002'' (0.05 mm) with a 63 ì in. finish. Existing tooling was able to drill 180 holes while the Iscar DZ drill made 300 holes, an increase of 40% more holes with a cost savings to NMP of more than 28%.

Success of the Iscar tooling was measured in terms of chip control and the predictability of tool life. The Iscar ITS bore IHRF with CCGT inserts were used to finish the bore due to the tight tolerances. The CCGT inserts doubled metal removal rates, while producing 200 parts-per-edge compared with 45 with the existing tooling. The new tooling resulted in a 50% cost savings to Nebraska Machine on this application.

In finishing the part, Iscar recommended using the Multi-Master eight-flute end-mill head. This head has a 30° helix with a 0.030'' (0.76-mm) radius running in this application at 550 fpm, 3361 rpm, 0.007 ipr (0.18 mm/rev), and 23.5 ipm (597 mm). The number of parts per insert went from 300 to 4000, resulting in a 74% cost savings to NMP on this application.

Using Iscar's Multi-Master family of tools with interchangeable carbide heads, Nebraska Machine is able to hold tighter tolerances on product dimensions and increase tool life. Circle 224


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3618/is_200710/ai_n21100124

Metal Forming, Fabricating, Lasers, and Gear Generation

Flexibility and innovation drive these fields

Gleason Corp. (Rochester, NY) will be offering several new machines with the goal of more sales in the jobbers market.

Their Genesis vertical hobbing machine optimizes dry machining and reduces floor-space requirements. It's intended for spur and helical gear manufacture.

Gleason will also be offering more equipment for gear metrology applications, through their M&M Precision Systems Corp., a manufacturer of gear inspection and process control systems. One of the newer units in their Sigma series is specifically for small-part measurement.

Lincoln Electric (Cleveland) will emphasize welding of aluminum because of its cosmetic appearance, and the fact that it can be welded quickly. "This is a growth area, and there is a lot of opportunity, particularly from the transplant companies," says Geoff Lipnezicius, application manager.

The company is focusing on custom systems and firsttime users of automatic systems. Also, because of new OSHA pollution regulations, there is a growing interest in fume-recovery systems.

"We are offering a new process, a rapid-arc, single-wire application that can provide welding speeds of 90-100 ipm [2.3-2.5 m/min] in aluminum using the MIG process," says Lipnezicius.

Although vision systems for welding are still used, they have been replaced in many applications with smart sensors on robots that can guide the welding operation.

"Increasingly, people are asking for reach analysis. This allows you to just drop-in new systems.

"Another featured product is the E-cell. A compact robotic system that is plug and play, is suited for job shops, and takes up only 60 x 90'' [1524 x 2286 mm] of floor space. It's a good design for the smaller shop or those just getting introduced to welding."

A broad range of equipment will be shown by ESAB (Florence, SC), with a focus on a new hybrid laser welding system that has been in the works for some time. It consists of a 10,000-W, fiber-laser system mounted on a gantry with a CNC control on a MIG welding system. "This unit is 5-10 times faster than conventional welding," says Jeff Hoffart, general manager and senior vp. "It automatically compensates for difficult fit-up. A laser and MIG unit work together. The laser preheats the work area and the welder fills. It's going to change the way manufacturers view welding. It uses 10% of the welding material commonly used and heat input is much less, so the smaller HEZ allows you to do things that couldn't be done before. This includes use of conventional steel in a wider number of applications, and also easier welding of dissimilar materials."

The sensor system evaluates the joint and makes dynamic changes, including wire feed, arc voltage, wattage, and travel speed. Sensors look at both the front and back of the weld, and send corrective signal to the system control.

Jet Edge (Saint Michael, MN) will feature an abrasive waterjet cutting system with upgraded intensifier pumps and controller.

"We are finding new markets as the industry matures and the pool of customers grows," says Tom Macgibbon, VP. "This process can be applied to any industry, from food to hard metals.

"We will show a new cutting head with a nozzle designed for longer life and greater cut accuracy. In addition, programs and software are improving rapidly as we move toward a plug-and-play capability.

"As abrasive waterjet becomes a more widely accepted process, we have to put greater emphasis on service and maintenance."

A 200-hp (150-kW) hydraulic pump will be featured by KMT. It has more capacity than previous pumps and is capable of delivering water at 60,000 psi (42 MPa) to up to 32 cutting heads.

As to trends:

* More turnkey contracts as waterjet becomes better known for its versatility.

* More installations in which a number of cutting heads are run from one pump.

* Greater ease of use. Many of the calculations and setup requirements of earlier machines have been eliminated.

* Key industries are medical and stone work.

The company is working on a new head design that will minimize the erosion caused by the abrasive.

"We've seen an increasing level of interest in cutting with shop air to reduce the cost per part," said Burke Doar, vice president Trumpf Inc. (Plymouth Township, MI). "New technology makes compressed air a viable and cost-effective alternative to oxygen and nitrogen as laser assist gasses. This Trumpf process is well suited to a variety of applications for sheet metal fabricators."

At the IMTS show, Trumpf will focus on "air cutting" on the TCL 2510. In this air-cutting technique compressed air is used as a laser assist gas to cut steel, stainless steel, galvanized steel, and aluminum. Air cutting is faster and more cost-effective than cutting with oxygen and nitrogen, and offers an edge finish with much less oxidation than an oxygen-cut edge.

Cutting with compressed air works differently than cutting with oxygen or nitrogen as assist gasses. Cutting with air generates a plasma. Laser energy brought to a tight focal position and the introduction of compressed air creates a plasma ball at the surface of the material. An advantage of cutting with this plasma is that the heat is transferred more effectively than by the laser beam itself. In fact, the cutting speed is often increased to avoid over-melting the material edge.

In addition, the high-speed laser-cutting TCL 2510 machine is designed to run untended. It has integrated, compact, load and unload capabilities for automated production. All of the components were designed to offer users a cost-effective option for automated laser production. The flying-optic design achieves high processing speeds and consistent accuracy independent of material weight. Optimal cut consistency is assured by integral mounting of the laser resonator to the machine frame. The integrated material-handling system reduces manual labor requirements and frees up the operator to concentrate on other tasks or operate another machine.

Mitsubishi will present its equipment in industry-specific areas: aerospace, medical, tooling, and EDM. The booth will define more clearly which machines have the features needed for a specific project. And this year the company will introduce their waterjet system. Prompted by a growing number of medical applications, the company will show how waterjet married to EDM can reduce production time.

"The two processes often compliment each other, with the waterjet used to remove large quantities of material and EDM doing the finishing work," explains Patrick Simon, manager, Mitsubishi EDM, MC Machinery Systems (Wood Dale, IL).

As to company trends,according to Michael Zakrzewski, executive vice president and general manager, cutting and bending will be featured at the Bystronic, (Hauppauge (NY) booth.

"Our goal is to focus on the highend precision metal markets. Overall, the waterjet is still in a strong growth position. Off-line software programming is getting easier. It's now simple to integrate one of our bending machines with the waterjet, and blend the operation with a CAD/CAM package. Our design keeps a balance between ease of use, and performance flexibility. The company also plans to introduce some larger machines in the US.

The biggest change is in the software, which gives better control over the cutting variables, such as abrasive flow and water pressure. "This gives the benefits of improved edge cut quality, tighter motion control, and improved cutting speed," explains Zakrzewski.

The Bystronic waterjet systems can be linked with a shuttle table to give speedy material handling, so the user can handle material while a plate is being cut.

One trend that Fanuc Robotics (Rochester Hills, MI) will feature at IMTS is the use of intelligent robots, particularly for welding. Intelligent robots are able to perform advanced applications previously considered too complex for robots. They can also make existing applications more cost-effective. For example, intelligent robots with vision eliminate the need for expensive part fixtures.

Fanuc Robotics' exhibit at IMTS will include a wide range of robotic vision applications. In some cases, 3-D vision will allow the robot to find loosely located parts that can be offset in three dimensions. In other cases, the robot will use 2-D vision if the parts only vary in 2-D space (X, Y, and roll). The new Fanuc R-J3iC robot controller will demonstrate the ability to perform vision tasks without the need for an external PC or any additional hardware. All Fanuc robots come standard with vision, and only require a software option and a camera.

Delicate six-degrees-of-freedom force sensing will be used to perform assembly applications that previously required tactile feedback. One example is a robot that will assemble the gearbox of another robot.

Another trend is the use of a single controller to drive multiple robots. In one case, four arc welders will operate from a single controller. In another case, two material-handling toploader robots will use a single controller, demonstrating very precise coordinated motion. In a third demonstration, one material-handling robot will present the workpiece to another assembly robot.

The products that follow this article will be shown in the Metal Forming, Fabricating, and IMSCT pavilion at IMTS. -Roben Arunson


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3618/is_200608/ai_n17171079/pg_1

Castle Metals Continuously Upgrades Waterjet System

Castle Metals' Kansas City Facility has continuously upgraded and improved its abrasive waterjet system.

Today, the company not only provides material, but also offers "toll processing" or custom cutting on its waterjet system for large parts and any size production runs.

Castle Metal's ESAB system, is one of the largest in the Midwest featuring: four cutting heads, two-100 HP intensifiers, CNC controls, two large tandem tables (13' x 25' and 13' x 13') water chillers, four1,000 lb abrasive hoppers, abrasive recycling, and a water purification system.


This specialized system is the result of over five years of work by the Castle Metals' Kansas City crew. The team's effort has not only helped the company develop its current configuration in KC but has allowed Castle Metals to mirror this system in its Wichita, KS facility to support the overall waterjet efforts in the Midwest.

"The company recognized the potential for abrasive waterjet cutting in 1998," stated Dan Bentz, abrasive waterjet sales manager. "Then we realized how inefficient our first system was for the market at that time, so our team went back to the drawing board and designed the layout for our current systems. We focused on improving the process by breaking it down into components: cutting, motion control, pressure, water purification & cooling, etc. and developed a much more efficient and cost-effective system. Now we can offer our customers improved service and efficiency, bottom line cost savings! All of these items combined have helped us make the overall benefits of the waterjet process more affordable for our customers."

A special video section on the company's website: www.castlemetals.com/html/ am_videos.asp demonstrates the waterjet system.

The waterjet team at Castle Metals worked very closely with different manufactures to develop its system. Today, these companies send potential customers to the Castle Metals KC facility to view the stateof-the-art system and take advantage of its unique capabilities.

Any customer that uses a CAD based system can forward DXF or DWG file extensions for ease of conversion.

Besides the abrasive waterjet operation, the KC facility is also a fullservice metal distribution center.

The 155,000-sq.-ft plant, carrying over $6 million of inventory, offers: bar, plate, coil, sheet, tubing and pipe in a wide range of metals including: carbon, cast iron, alloy, aluminum, stainless, nickel, titanium, copper and brass.

Processing and services provided at the ISO 9002 certified company include: aluminum plate sawing, bar cutting, plasma (profile & beveling) & flame cutting, stress relieving, shot blasting, and blanchard grinding.

Castle Metals, a 113-year-old company, has been in the KC area for over 56 years. The KC facility is part of the Central Plains Region, which includes the geographic areas of Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The company has 22 service centers across the U.S. including Wichita, KS and Tulsa Oklahoma.


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3698/is_200306/ai_n9239676

Castle Metals Continuously Upgrades Waterjet System

Castle Metals' Kansas City Facility has continuously upgraded and improved its abrasive waterjet system.

Today, the company not only provides material, but also offers "toll processing" or custom cutting on its waterjet system for large parts and any size production runs.

Castle Metal's ESAB system, is one of the largest in the Midwest featuring: four cutting heads, two-100 HP intensifiers, CNC controls, two large tandem tables (13' x 25' and 13' x 13') water chillers, four1,000 lb abrasive hoppers, abrasive recycling, and a water purification system.


This specialized system is the result of over five years of work by the Castle Metals' Kansas City crew. The team's effort has not only helped the company develop its current configuration in KC but has allowed Castle Metals to mirror this system in its Wichita, KS facility to support the overall waterjet efforts in the Midwest.

"The company recognized the potential for abrasive waterjet cutting in 1998," stated Dan Bentz, abrasive waterjet sales manager. "Then we realized how inefficient our first system was for the market at that time, so our team went back to the drawing board and designed the layout for our current systems. We focused on improving the process by breaking it down into components: cutting, motion control, pressure, water purification & cooling, etc. and developed a much more efficient and cost-effective system. Now we can offer our customers improved service and efficiency, bottom line cost savings! All of these items combined have helped us make the overall benefits of the waterjet process more affordable for our customers."

A special video section on the company's website: www.castlemetals.com/html/ am_videos.asp demonstrates the waterjet system.

The waterjet team at Castle Metals worked very closely with different manufactures to develop its system. Today, these companies send potential customers to the Castle Metals KC facility to view the stateof-the-art system and take advantage of its unique capabilities.

Any customer that uses a CAD based system can forward DXF or DWG file extensions for ease of conversion.

Besides the abrasive waterjet operation, the KC facility is also a fullservice metal distribution center.

The 155,000-sq.-ft plant, carrying over $6 million of inventory, offers: bar, plate, coil, sheet, tubing and pipe in a wide range of metals including: carbon, cast iron, alloy, aluminum, stainless, nickel, titanium, copper and brass.

Processing and services provided at the ISO 9002 certified company include: aluminum plate sawing, bar cutting, plasma (profile & beveling) & flame cutting, stress relieving, shot blasting, and blanchard grinding.

Castle Metals, a 113-year-old company, has been in the KC area for over 56 years. The KC facility is part of the Central Plains Region, which includes the geographic areas of Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The company has 22 service centers across the U.S. including Wichita, KS and Tulsa Oklahoma.


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3698/is_200306/ai_n9239676

Integrated tool making service from Metal Form group

Metal Form group, formerly BMH Engineering, has specialised in press metal tool making since 1966. Metal Form group has a huge equipped tool room with multiple EDM machines and large capacity CNC milling and turning to handle virtually any size tooling job.

Metal Form regularly make tooling for demanding industries including automotive OEM, white goods, and construction that expect on time- on budget delivery every time.

Metal Form group’s component design department focuses on developing innovative manufacturing solutions that maximise productivity and minimise waste using follow on and transfer tooling when ever practical.

Metal Form are importers of tooling components and consumables such as Special Springs, In die tapping and guide pins and bushes allowing for economies to be built into the all up tooling price.

Metal Form group has vast experience in volume press metal production through its in house press shop allowing for tools to be proven in house and production readied prior to delivery. The press shop includes 400 ton machines with transfer and coil capacity to 1 metre wide.

A fast efficient and cost effective tooling maintenance and repairs service is also available from Metal Form.

Metal Form is a full service supplier to the metal forming industry with the ability to supply complete turn key production facilities featuring Seyi Presses, transfer equipment, MFG coil handling and monitoring, tooling to suit any project plus consumables and maintenance for the life of the equipment.

The Metal Form Finance division can even finance your tooling and equipment investments using traditional lease or innovative all inclusive rental packages.


http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/z1/view.asp?id=70481

Creative Metal Fabrication and Plastic Processing Services

Synergic Industries Inc. offers you a broad range of creative metal fabrication and plastic processing services. Our goal is to help you develop and produce metal parts and molded plastic parts that fit, work, and cost as little as possible. With our stable outsourcing supply chain and professional assembly lines, we can work with you to take an idea and turn it into a product. See our Products/Samples page for more details.With more than 10 years of experience, we guarantee that our products will fully satisfy your specifications, and consistently meet all appropriate quality standards.



Product development.We'll help you move new products into the market as quickly as possible. We are accustomed to working with CAD data drawings, including AutoCAD, Solidworks, and PRO-E. Depending on your specifications, we can work together to develop a plan using either low-cost developmental tooling and initial production material or using high end tooling to facilitate long term mass production. This system allows our customers to deliver products to market quickly while minimizing up front costs, or minimizing costs for long-term production. These choices do not sacrifice part quality, function, fit, or appearance. Since our founding in 1996 we have helped our customers to successfully develop and produce thousands of metal and plastic parts, and hundreds of finished products.



Production.

Synergic industires provide virtually any short and long run production that you may require, without the need for extensive capital investment on your part. Our capabilities embrace the full range of metal fabrication and molded plastic production operations. Our main equipment includes: hydraulic stamping machine of 350 tons and 600 tons, punch stamping machines, drilling machines, milling machines, welding machines, injection machines from 80 tons to 450 tons, CNC machines, EDM machines, surface mounting technology machines, etc. We constantly look for opportunities to apply automation techniques to eliminate cost or to meet various requirements from customers.

We are accustomed to working with customers requiring completely finished parts ready for final assembly into their products without further processing or inspection, or products that have final retail packaging. We routinely meet their stringent quality and delivery requirements.



Security.

Working in strict confidence with our customers all designs, models, prototypes, and production operations are carefully protected.



Quality.

In addition to the standards defined in our ISO 9000 system, our team will customize a quality program consistent with your needs. After all QC standards have been approved by our customers’ signature, production can take place. We also provide a final audit inspection prior to shipment. With your input, we will create any additional testing that your situation requires. Team Synergic will even develop and/or design special testing equipment for your specific application.

http://pr-gb.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16080&Itemid=9

CNC Metal Spinning

The figure illustrates the typical setup and the processes involved in multi-pass spinning.

The blank, in this case a plain, sheet-metal disc, is concentrically clamped against the mandrel by the tailstock and driven via the main spindle. Rotating at high speed, the workpiece is then formed by the spinning roller following a pre-set path to produce a series of strokes or passes. In so-called 'continuous' spinning, the roller remains in permanent contact with the workpiece and is driven by frictional contact, the translated motion being generated by the cross-slide. A number of passes are normally needed to form the part onto the mandrel which also prevents premature failure through splitting or buckling.
1. Disc Blank 2. Spinning Roller 3. Mandrel 4. Clamping Plate 5. Blank Support Unit
6. Trimming Plate 7. Spindle 8. Cross Slide 9. Tailstock

The blank support attachment in the forward position, is used in the early stages of the spinning operation. Its purpose is, by means of a pre-set pressure, to apply an axial, compensating load to the workpiece in the zone being worked. Sandwiched between the blank support and the work roller, the metal is thus less prone to failure through buckling. For lighter gauges, the blank is supported by a disc, as illustrated, whilst a cone-shaped roller is used for thicker materials. The roller or disc is usually driven by contact with the blank.


To improve finish and accuracy, intermediate and finishing passes, generally called planishing passes, are made. The planishing passes are designed to remove any waviness resulting from different stages in the spinning process. High feed rates are usually applied to minimize tangential flow and improve accuracy.



http://cnc-info.blogspot.com/search/label/cnc%20metal

Metal detectable plastics machines easily

Metal detectable engineering plastics is X ray visible, has excellent wear resistance, is high impact resistant and is is easy to machine

E-Components and Chains of Pocklington, UK, are pleased to announce the launch of their Detectamet Metal Detectable Engineering Plastic Detectathene. Specifically developed for the food, pharmaceutical, packaging, bottling and canning and general engineering industries, this novel Detectamet Detectathene has the following features.

Metal Detectable.

X-ray Visible.

Excellent wear resistance.

High Impact Resistance.

Easy to Machine.

Self Lubricating (good bearing properties).

Abrasion Resistant.

Water repellant.

Acid resistant.

Corrosion resistant.

Vibration and noise dampening.

Blue Colour.

Chemical Resistant.

Lightweight.

Cost Effective.

Dirt Repellant Suitable for low temperature environments (-260 deg C to +80 deg C).

Available in Sheet Sizes: 3m x 1m, 2m x 1m, 1.25m x 1m.

From 8mm - 160mm Thickness.

Typical applications include: wear strips, guide rails, corner wearbends, chain guides, bearings, bushes, scrapers, rollers, idler wheels, liners and general machined parts.


http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/epo/epo140.html

Acme Metal Spinning Produces 6 Foot Diameter Stainless Steel Hemispherical Parts

Acme Metal Spinning, a well-known 88 year old metal spinning company, successfully achieved production of four identical, 72" diameter, one-piece design hemispherical parts.

Acme designed and produced a laminated wood tooling pattern (a common technique used in the metal spinning industry) for production of the hemispherical parts. The tooling was designed on Acme's CAD system and then machined on a 140" diameter capacity lathe.

Production of the parts started out with 3/16" thick, type 304 stainless steel blanks measuring almost 8 feet in diameter. The parts where produced on a specially equipped hydraulic spinning lathe customized by Acme to enhance part size and overall finish quality.

The four parts measured 72" in diameter x 36" deep. Acme used an annealing process during the production to help relieve material stress and work hardening. Finally, the parts were polished to a #4 finish.

Acme is considered a specialist in hemispherical and large diameter spinnings. Secondary value-added operations can be easily incorporated on one of Acme's additional CNC systems.

Other common industries using components produced by Acme include:

* air-moving
* cryogenic tank building
* food processing
* agricultural
* architectural.

If your requirements are as small as .50" in diameter or as thick as 3/4" in mild steel, Acme is your one-stop-source in metal spinnings.






http://www.acmemetalspinning.com/pr01.html

Thermal metal cutting CNC controller

HYPERTHERM, represented by Westgate Hi-Tech Machinery, has introduced the Voyager II CNC controller for thermal metal cutting, that replaces all earlier versions of Voyager products and offers users increased performance and enhanced flexibility.

The new six-axis Voyager II features a 15-inch touch screen display and 2.4GHz Intel processor utilising Hypertherm Automation CNC Software Version 6.0. The screen incorporates patented IntelliTouch Surface Wave technology for drift-free touch accuracy and screen clarity.

Voyager II comes standard with a unique machine interface that converts SERCOS (Serial Real Time Communication) fibre optic communication to a traditional analogue interface for motion commands and input/output (I/O).

This SERCOS/analogue technology allows increased system flexibility by offering three different styles of machine interface: a traditional enclosure-mounted analogue, a standard SERCOS communication ring, and a remote-mounted SERCOS-to-analogue conversion card.

The SERCOS machine interface was first offered by Hypertherm with the Mariner CNC controller and allows expansion of up to 12 axes of motion and more than 1000 I/O signals. SERCOS is available on all Hypertherm CNC hardware.


http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/e7/0c0385e7.asp

Metalwork machinery from around the world

WITH more than forty year's experience, Ron Mack Machinery is a premier supplier of specialist metalwork machinery and continues to provide the market with innovative and technologically advanced machinery.

Austech 2004 provides an opportunity for Ron Mack Machinery to feature leading metalwork machinery from around the world.

Making its first appearance at Austech will be the Goodway GS-280 CNC turning centre. Goodway is one of Taiwan's largest manufactures of CNC lathes, producing in excess of 700 lathes annually.

The GS-280 features a swing of 470mm, maximum turning diameter 400mm, turning length of 570mm, 10" Kitagawa chuck, 75mm bar capacity and 25hp spindle motor. Live tooling and sub-spindle are also available for the GS-280.

Also on display at Austech 2004 will be the Australian-made Scalen 970FX. The 970FX hydraulic press brake features technological advances including the Delem control panel with a Windows-based operating environment.

The Scalen 970FX is sure to attract attention with its powerful networking functions, high speed operation allowing greater productivity and improved performance and advanced design ensuring a hydraulically stable and rigid machine.

Making a return appearance at Austech after a successful year will be the Mitseiki VMC-40. The VMC-40 offers a versatile heavy duty vertical machining centre with substantial power, large travels and simple yet powerful Siemens Conversational Control.

The Mitseiki comprises a solid four box way construction for heavy duty cutting and integrated chip auger allowing no fuss swarf removal.

Other machines featured on the Ron Mack Machinery stand include a TOS TRENS universal centre lathe, an Akyapak section roll, a Ficep hydraulic punching and shearing machine and a GRIT universal belt and pipe notch grinding machine.





http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/96/0c01eb96.asp

Advance Metal Products acquires Bosco Storage Solutions

ADVANCE Metal Products, a leading CNC sheetmetal component manufacturer, recently purchased the business of Bosco Manufacturing Pty Ltd, an office storage manufacturer.

Office storage from Bosco Storage Solutions.
Advance Metal Products has rebranded their new acquisition, calling the company Bosco Storage Solutions.

In line with Advance Metal Products’ drive for excellence and commitment to research and development, the team at Bosco strive towards improving methods and components in order to create the most innovative, space-efficient storage solutions.

With functionality and aesthetics inbuilt, the Bosco product range is smart, versatile and durable - finding the unique blend between style and function.

The experienced personnel at Bosco can assist with the engineering and electronic design of any product, can accommodate any size job and will provide a competitive quotation to meet any storage requirement.

As an ISO 9001 accredited manufacturer, Bosco processes are designed to ensure premium customer service and quality of the final product is always delivered.




http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/6c/0c03676c.asp

CNC bending and forming

ADVANCE Metal Products (AMP) uses the latest technology in computer controlled sheet metal bending and folding machinery.

With 15 units in operation from a variety of manufacturers such as Amada, Toyokoki and Gasparini, Advance Metal Products can fold sheet metal from the largest designs to the smallest components, with minimal lead times.

With the latest technology in large CNC folding machinery, Advance Metal Products is capable of folding large components with lengths up to 3500mm. These folders have 4 axes, and are driven by hydraulic motors with a 500mm throat for folding large cubicles while maintaining tight tolerances on angles and dimensions.

AMP's highly intelligent panel bender is an extremely efficient bending cell combining universal tooling, responsive software and agile material handling into a single operation. Whether imported as a new CAD drawing or selected from the programme's archive of previously manufactured designs, quality is apparent in every part produced by Advance Metal Products.

In addition, Advance metal products offer 3-point bending, an innovative process similar to block bending for simple and complex bending processes with extreme angle precision.

Advance metal products take pride in offering a complete CNC sheet metal manufacturing solution un-surpassed in the Asia Pacific region, with services including:

* CNC Sheet Metal bending

* CNC turret punching

* CNC laser Cutting

* Robotic welding

* In-house design studio

* Roll levelling

* Linishing and deburring

* Turnkey assembly

* Digital video inspection

* Project management

* In house powder coating

The Advance Metal Products website includes comprehensive explanations of services and video footage of the production facility and equipment in action.



http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/07/0c042b07.asp

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Gweedore metal firm plans to break into key international markets

A GWEEDORE metal firm has secured the safety kite mark award which will help launch it to the international market.

In 2005 brothers Brendan and Declan Ward started a metal pressings business- Irish Pressings' on the Gweedore Business Park.

Having gained valuable experience in pressing metal brackets for the automotive market while working with Kirchhoff Ireland and Germany, they decided to branch out, into business for themselves, and thus "Faisc Miotail Eireann Teo" trading as "Irish Pressings", was born.

The Kincasslagh brothers in association with Udaras na Gaeltachta acquired a vacant factory unit on the Gweedore Business Park and opened for business in January 2006.

A year down the road has seen many physical changes in the structure inside, outside and around the premises.

New machinery has been added, and recently a new Wood Burning heating and hot water system has been installed.

QUALITY

When they started out in business Declan and Brendan vowed that quality would be to the forefront of their business.

`They applied for the ISO9001:2000 before they had actually started production in the factory, and were delighted that they gained this standard, when the initial audit was carried out, a few months after the manufacturing process started.

Since then all the products they are manufacturing are subject to independent testing and certifying to European standards, which is carried out in the UK, on an ongoing basis.

Irish Pressings have also recently established a connection with "The Institute for Higher and Further Education" in Derry, who also carry out certain tests on materials and products, and help in the design and prototype of new products.

The most recent Quality Award gained by the company, is the acquisition of the "CE" mark for quality, which was presented by the current minister for "Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs", Mr Eamonn O`Cuiv, on his recent visit to the Business Park.

"This award will now allow us to market our products anywhere across Europe and will be of great benefit to us in the future, when hopefully the British and European markets open up for us," Declan said.

On the business front the company started manufacturing metal brackets used in the construction industry, and so far they have established a working relationship with well over one hundred customers, all around the country.

They have also recently become an approved supplier to the Associated Hardware group who trade under the Homevalue Hardware brand, and thus gaining access to over sixty potential new customers.

CONSTRUCTION

"The emphasis now is to expand the construction end of the business and establish a new direction where we are currently working with and sourcing potential customers in the automotive sector and any other areas that use pressed brackets in their business" continued Declan.

"The company is now equipped to provide a product design service to any potential customer. We offer 2D or 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) facilities and can offer completed designs in a very short time frame"

"We can also offer significant "Part Development" facilities, where parts and or prototypes can be developed in conjunction with a company. This can be done through the medium of a company providing drawings, basic information or samples".

"We are also in a position to have prototypes tested to ensure they reach the required standards"

Both Brendan and Declan have extensive experience in tool-making and they offer a consultancy to any company who may see metal pressings as a more efficient method for their business.

They also offer a service for the design and manufacture of tooling.

The comprehensive tool-room, equipped with a "state of the art" CNC machine centre, and wire erosion machine among others, and a fully equipped quality control room, makes this option attractive to any potential users of tooling, who need a speedy affordable solution.

With these quality awards, and the hard work currently being carried out by the Ward brothers and their staff, in Irish Pressings, the future looks bright for this young company.


http://www.nwipp-newspapers.com/dn/free/289076046747345.php

GMP Metal Products, Heavy lifting

Metal Products draws on deep roots in times of change. Jenn Monroe reports

It isn’t by accident that GMP Metal Products remains family owned after nearly 120 years in business—investments in longevity seem to have been a core business strategy from the start.

Even though it isn’t owned by its founders, the company still operates out of its original site in

St. Louis, MO. Early on, GMP made signs for Anheuser-Busch and running boards for the Ford Motor Company. Eventually the company evolved and expanded, establishing long-term relationships with customers, while adding capabilities and a second manufacturing facility in Humboldt, TN. “We’re constantly trying to find ways to add value for our customers,” says Dan Martus, general manager. “If that means we need to acquire a new piece of technology, we’re more than willing to do that. We’re not happy with status quo.”

This is obvious from efforts made by GMP Metal Products to support a new product being offered by long-term customer Caterpillar in the past year. Working directly with Caterpillar, GMP designed a self-contained robotic manufacturing cell to build a rear door for Caterpillar’s new skid steer. “We were able to work with their engineers on the door for manufacturability,” Martus says, “and provide a high-quality product while taking cost out of the process by making the door so efficiently.” This cell was installed in the St. Louis facility in February and went live in March.

Finding a place for the new assembly cell wasn’t as much of a challenge as might be expected, but it was well planned. “The tooling fits in with our large 1,500-ton presses, and the assembly cell is near the presses to reduce material handling,” Martus explains. “It also is close to the finished goods area, so it has a nice flow through the process. So far it’s working out great, and Caterpillar is very satisfied with the quality of the door.”

Those presses are used for more than this new cell, however. In fact, GMP has 70 presses to support its stamping operations and is well known for its deep-draw capabilities. “There’s a combination of things that you need to have for deep-draw,” Martus says. “A lot of people just don’t have the press tonnage and the technical know-how. There aren’t many manufacturers who can produce large parts with thick materials.

“We take on some difficult jobs for our customers,” he continues. “For example, the rear door for Caterpillar is heavy-gage material, and the blank weight is 173 pounds. We have mechanical manipulators that move the materials in and out of the presses, and the robot moves the door around in the assembly cell. We don’t have to handle it manually at all, and there are not many stampers who can efficiently handle big, heavy parts like that.”

In addition to its stamping capabilities, GMP also has recently invested in two 5,200-watt, state-of-the-art lasers for cutting and an 8-axis CNC brake press for fabrication. In addition to Caterpillar and other off-highway customers, GMP also serves the defense, agriculture, and transportation markets.

Equipment investments are just part of GMP Metal Products’ plans for continued success. The company recently started its lean journey, running 5S programs in both the Humboldt and St. Louis facilities with solid results. “It really has helped improve the flow of the product through the plant, free up floor space, and improve the working conditions and morale of our employees,” Martus says. “They take more pride in their workplace, their jobs, and the quality of products they produce. And the customers are totally impressed when they see it. It’s just been a tremendous benefit to our organization.”

Martus says the company is taking lean one step at a time, with its next efforts focused on quick die change for the large presses in St. Louis and kaizen training. “Our first steps were to get the place clean and organized and get folks fired up about improving processes,” he says. He also brought in a new quality assurance manager—a Six Sigma black belt—to guide continuous improvement efforts.

Working on the large presses is important because demand on that equipment is high. “It’s prudent that we optimize the efficiency and utilization of that equipment,” Martus says. “It’s a major investment, and we need to make sure we’re utilizing it effectively.



http://www.themanufacturer.com/us/profile/5485/GMP_Metal_Products

Metal Casting Patterns Produced on CNC Machine Costing One-Fourth Normal Price

Millennium Patterns, Leeds, Alabama, produces wooden and plastic metal casting patterns on a CNC machine that costs only one-fourth as much as those normally used for the task. When the pattern industry switched to CNC several years ago, most companies purchased small machining centers that cost in the area of $80,000 including programming software. Millennium Patterns, when it started operations one year ago, decided instead to purchase a lighter-duty CNC machine designed specially for wood and plastic machining. Co-owners Joel Busler and Jim Collins said that with less overhead than its competitors, the company was able to reach full capacity within a few months of opening its doors by providing its customers high quality patterns at a very attractive price.

Patterns are used in the foundry industry to produce sand molds that are used to cast the actual part. Patterns for parts that are produced in quantities of thousands require metal patterns that must be produced on machining centers. On the other hand, wood or plastic patterns are used for parts that are produced in smaller quantities because of their lower cost. Just a few years ago, these patterns were typically produced on lathes and bandsaws by highly skilled operators who often spent days or even weeks finishing each piece. The problems with this approach were 1) it was very labor-intensive, 2) accuracy depended on the skill of the worker and 3) a mistake made it necessary to scrap the piece and start over.

The advent of CNC machining changed this business in a major way. Pattern producers could now define their pattern to a very high level of accuracy on the computer and have it automatically cut to the precise geometry that they specified. The only problem was the cost of the machine tool. A working area of about 14 by 24 by 5 inches is normally considered to be the minimum required for pattern work. A machining center of this size would be ideally suited for a pattern company that produces metal patterns but has far more rigidity than is required for wood, plastics and lighter metals.

Using CNC routing methods has been a key to Millennium's success in the pattern business.

The two owners of Millennium Patterns had each been in the pattern business for about 12 years when they decided to start the firm. Their primary concern in starting the business was the need to finance an expensive machining center that they felt they had to have to be competitive in the business. That’s why they were pleasantly surprised, shortly before going off on their own, to discover a machine designed specially for lighter duty machining at a much lower price.

The Techno Series III gantry router from Techno, Inc., New Hyde Park, New York is similar in function to a CNC machining center. At about $20,000 including software, the machine is considerably less expensive than a machining center and designed for lighter duty work. Yet, it provides the same surface finish and accuracy as a machining center. Its working area of 29.5 inches by 21 inches with a Z-axis height of 11 inches, is larger than nearly all machining centers in the under-$100,000 price range. The machine can handle virtually any type of material although it is limited to relatively small depths of cut in ferrous and other tough-to-machine materials. In fact, one key feature is the Techno servo system's ability to cut 3D continuous contours at up to 200 inches per minute, far faster than most machining centers.

Millennium purchased the machine and its owners were able to teach themselves to operate it in a day or so. This was largely because the Mastercam CNC programming software, from CNC Software Inc., Tolland, Connecticut, supplied with the machine was easy to learn. Although originally designed for metal working, Mastercam is also well-suited for industrial design models because of its ability to generate the most complex contours with little programming effort. Mastercam includes IGES, DXF and CADL converters so that geometry can be uploaded from many CAD systems.

The machine proved to be ideally suited to pattern making. When they first opened their doors, they didn’t have any work and used the machine to machine 12 foot long signs that helped draw attention to their business. As business started trickling in, they demonstrated that they could produce patterns to the same high level of quality that is achieved by more expensive machine tools. The Techno machine's .0002 inch resolution and repeatability and 0.003 inch/ft. absolute accuracy are the result of several features inherent to the table, such as the use of ball screws and servo motors. For example, anti-backlash ball nuts permit play-free motion that makes it possible to produce accurate circles and inlays.

Millennium showed that they were able to produce patterns at the same high level of quality as that attained by more expensive machines.

Once they proved that they could match the quality of larger shops using more expensive machines, business really started to take off. The firm was able to offer lower prices than many of its competitors because it didn’t have the burden of having to pay off an expensive machine. Another factor that helped keep costs down was the many years of programming and machining experience possessed by both of its owners. It was also often able to offer faster delivery times than the larger pattern shops. Within a few months, Millennium Patterns was operating at 100% capacity.

The majority of the company’s business so far has come from the construction industry. (One customer is Allen-Robbins Architectural Metals, one of the nation's largest ornamental and historic restoration suppliers). For example, they have produced patterns for stairways, balconies and lamp posts. One of their most interesting projects was a 14 foot long fluted support for a hotel restoration project in Selma, Alabama. On this project as in many others, the Millennium owners traveled to the site to take measurements and make a reproductive mold to insure the accuracy of their pattern. The ability to produce high-accuracy patterns at a reasonable cost has in several cases made it possible to produce one of a kind or very low volume castings that would not have been economical using earlier methods.

In approximately 3000 hours of operation, Millennium Pattern has had no problems with the Techno machine. This is partly due to the strength and rigidity of the table, which is constructed from extruded aluminum profiles that provide easy clamping capability. The machine also has four ground and hardened steel shafts and eight re-circulating bearings in each axis. This rolling contact ensures longer life and greater rigidity during the life of the system because of the reduced wear as compared to ACME screws and nuts or rack and pinion systems, which have a sliding friction contact.

Millennium co-owners Busler and Collins say that the use of the cost-effective CNC router has been instrumental to their overnight success in the pattern business. "This machine has helped to make us the low-cost producer in the pattern business in this area while achieving the same or better quality as our largest competitors," Busler said.



http://www.techno-isel.com/CNC_Routers/Testimonials/Articles/Millenium.htm

Metal Working Tools

Metal working tools allow home machinists and hobbyists to make some very amazing projects. People all around the world are making internal combustion engines, additional workshop machines, pumps, turbine engines, engine parts, automobile parts and much more with the help of their metal working tools. The machine, cut, shape, plane, weld, drill a variety of metals to create these items and projects. Some of these machinists are hobbyists and others are trained craftsmen who have retired from machine shops or are experimenting with processes and projects outside of their work environment.

These DIY and home hobbyists use a number of metal finishing tools and materials in completing their projects. These tools include such things as band files, grinders, polishers, buffers, buffing wheels, abrasives, polishing cloths and other products. These products are all designed to shape, polish, recondition, remove excess material and deburring. These products are used by home hobbyists, machine shops of all sizes and in large factories.

Websites Are Devoted To Metal Forming Tools

The home hobbyists and DIY also uses a variety of metal forming tools. The tools commonly found in home workshops and machine shops include a variety of sheet metal cutters and rollers, hammers, crimpers, saws, grinders and shears. With the metal forming tools that these hobbyists are able to acquire and build, they are able to accomplish some very interesting tasks.

Not many home hobbyists are likely to have a cold saw. This machine is used to cut metal and the blade and piece being cut is kept cool by continually injecting a cooling fluid against the cutting area. The advantage of the cold saw is that it makes precision cuts without any of the distortion caused by the heat generated by normal sawing. The cold saw makes a cut that often does not need secondary finishing processes.

There are dozens of websites devoted to metalworking and metal working tools. Many of these sites also provide access to plans for metal working projects. These projects are often offered for free to keep hobbyists interested in metal working and to encourage them to buy additional metal working tools.



http://www.insidewoodworking.com/metalworking/metalworkingtools.html

Metal spinning

Metal Spinning is a process by which circles of metal are shaped over mandrels (also called forms) while mounted on a spinning lathe by the application of levered force with various tools. It is performed rotating at high speeds on a manual spinning lathe or performed by CNC controlled automated spinning machines. The flat metal disc is clamped against the mandrel and a series of sweeping motions then evenly transforms the disc around the mandrel into the desired shape.

Metal spinning ranges from an artisan's specialty to the most advantageous way to form round metal parts for commercial applications. Artisans use the process to produce architectural detail, specialty lighting, decorative household goods and urns. Commercial applications range from rocket nose cones to public waste receptacles. Other methods of forming round metal parts include hydroforming, stamping and forging or casting. Hydroforming and stamping generally have a higher fixed cost, but a lower variable cost than metal spinning. Forging or casting have a comparable fixed cost, but generally a higher variable cost. As machinery for commercial applications has improved, parts are being spun with thicker materials in excess of 1" thick steel.

The basic hand metal spinning tool is called a spoon, though many other tools (be they commercially produced, ad hoc, or improvised) can be used to effect varied results.spinning tools can be made of hardened steel for using with aluminium or solid brass for spinning stainless steel/mild steel. Commercially, rollers mounted on the end of levers are generally used to form the material down to the mandrel in both hand spinning and CNC metal spinning. Rollers vary in diameter and thickness depending the intended use. The wider the roller the smoother the surface of the spinning, the thinner rollers can be used to form smaller radii.

The mandrel/chuck can be made from wood, steel alloys, or synthetic materials. The choice of material is dictated by the hardness of the material to be spun and by how many times the tool is expected to be used.

Metal spinning can be accomplished using a wide variety of materials from soft tempered aluminum and copper to structural plate steel and stainless steels.

The manual lathe in question is sometimes a regular woodworking lathe, although a wilson lathe is the most common manual spinning lathe in the UK. The mandrel having been formed from wood on the lathe or steel chuck machined on a CNC lathe previous to mounting on the metal stock. Cutting of the metal is done by hand held cutters, often foot long hollow bars with tool steel shaped/sharpened files attached. This is dangerous and should only be done by skilled trademen. All stock sizing is done prior to the spinning.



http://www.omnipelagos.com/entry?n=metal_spinning

Metalworking

Metalworking is the craft and practice of working with metals to create structures or machine parts. The term covers a wide range of work-from large ships, bridges and oil refineries to delicate jewellery and instruments. Consequently, this craft covers a wide range of skills and entails the use of many types of tools.

History

Metalworking is a trade, art, hobby and industry that relates to metallurgy - a science, jewelery making - an art and craft, as a trade and an industry with ancient roots spanning all cultures and civilisations. Metalworking had its beginnings millennia in the past. Early humans, we speculate, realized different stones had different properties. These were freed metal ores on the earth's surfaces. We can further speculate that some indigenous groups attributed magical and spiritual significance to them. At some imprecise point humankind discovered that these lustrous rocks were meltable, and ductile and able to be formed into various articles for tools, adornment and practical uses. Humans over the millennia learned to work raw metals into objects of art, adornment, trade and practicality.

Through trial and error, and crude harnessing of the malleability of metals, inquisitions as to the sources of these elements probably began. By the historical periods of the Pharohs in Egypt, the Vedic Kings in India, and the Tribes of Israel, and Mayan Civilization in North America among other ancient populations, precious metals began to have value attached to them, and in some cases rules for ownership, distribution, and trade were created, enforced and agreed upon by respective peoples. By the above periods skills at creating objects of adornment, religious artifacts, and trade instruments of precious metals (non-ferrous), as well as implements of inhumanity, and other weaponry usually of ferrous metals and/or alloys were finely honed and flawlessly executed skills and techniques practised by artisans, blacksmiths, atharvavedic practitioners, alchemists, and other categories of metalworkers around the globe. For example, the ancient technique of granulation is found spontaneously around the world in numerous ancient cultures before the historic record shows people travelled seas or overland to far regions of the earth to share this process still being used, and attempted by metalsmiths today.

As time progressed metal objects became more common, and ever more complex. The need to further acquire and work metals grew in importance. Skills related to extracting metal ores from the earth began to evolve, and metalsmiths became more knowledgable. Metalsmiths became important members of society. Fates and economies of entire civilizations were greatly affected by the availability of metals and metalsmiths. Today modern mining practices are more efficient, and conversely more damaging to the earth, and the workers that are engaged in the industry. Those that finance the operations are driven by profits per ounce of extracted precious metals and today's gold market which as of the date of this editing, are at a 25 year high. The metalworker though depends on the extraction of precious metals to make jewelery, build more efficient electronics, and for industrial and technological applications from construction to shipping containers to rail, and air transport. Without metals, goods and services would cease to move around the globe on the scale we know today. More individuals then ever before are learning metalworking as a creative outlet in the forms of jewelery making, hobby restoration of aircraft and cars,blacksmithing, tinsmithing, tinkering, and in other art and craft pursuits. Trade schools continue to teach welding in all of its forms, and there is a proliferation of schools of Lapidary and Jewelers srts and sciences at this- the beginning of the 21st. Century a.c.e./a.d.

Processes

Shape modifying by material removal processes

Milling

Milling is the complex shaping of metal (or possibly other materials) parts, by removing unneeded material to form the final shape. It is generally done on a milling machine, a power-driven machine that in its basic form is comprised of a milling cutter that rotates about the spindle axis (like a drill), and a worktable that can move in multiple directions (usually three dimensions [x,y,z axis] relative to the workpiece, whereas a drill can only move in one dimension [z axis] while cutting). The motion across the surface of the workpiece is usually accomplished by moving the table on which the workpiece is mounted, in the x and y directions. Milling machines may be operated manually or under computer numerical control (CNC), and can perform a vast number of complex operations, such as slot cutting, planing, drilling and threading, rabbeting, routing, etc. Two common types of millers are the horizontal miller and vertical miller.

Turning

A lathe is a machine tool which spins a block of material so that when abrasive, cutting, or deformation tools are applied to the workpiece, it can be shaped to produce an object which has rotational symmetry about an axis of rotation, called Solids of Revolution. Examples of objects that can be produced on a lathe include candlestick holders, table legs, bowlss, baseball bats, crankshafts or camshafts.

The material may be held in place by a chuck or worked between one or two centers of which at least one can be moved horizontally to accommodate varying material lengths. In a metalworking lathe, metal is removed from the workpiece using a hardened cutting tool which is usually fixed to a solid moveable mounting called the "toolpost", this arrangement is then moved around the workpiece using handwheels and/or computer controlled motors. The main difference betwen the Milling Machine and the Lathe is that in the Milling Machine the tool is moving but in the Lathe, the work is moving.

Cutting
There are many technologies available to cut metal. Sawing, chisel, shearing, burning by Laser, gas jet and plasma, erosion by water jet or electric discharge, and good old fashioned hand cutting.

Drilling and threading

Drilling is the process of using a drill bit in a drill to produce holes. Under normal usage, swarf is carried up and away from the tip of the drill bit by the fluting. The continued production of chips from the cutting edges pushes the older chips outwards from the hole. This continues until the chips pack too tightly, either because of deeper than normal holes or insufficient backing off (removing the drill slightly [breaking the chip] or totally from the hole [clearing the bit] while drilling). Lubricants (or coolants) (i.e. cutting fluid) are sometimes used to ease this problem and to prolong the tool's life by cooling, lubricating the tip and improving chip flow.

Taps and dies are tools commonly used for the cutting of screw threads in metal parts. A tap is used to cut a female thread on the inside surface of a predrilled hole, while a die cuts a male thread on a preformed cylindrical rod.

Grinding

Grinding uses an abrasive process to remove material from the workpiece. A grinding machine is a machine tool used for producing very fine finishes or making very light cuts, using an abrasive wheel as the cutting device. This wheel can be made up of various sizes and types of stones, diamonds or of inorganic materials.

Shape modifying with material retention processes
These processes modify the shape of the object being formed, without removing any material.

Casting

* Sand casting
* Shell casting
* Investment casting (called Lost wax casting in art)
* Die casting

Plastic deforming

* Forging
* Rolling
* Extrusion
* Spinning

Powder Forming

* Sintering

Sheet Metal

* Bending: A calculated deformation of the metal from it original shape.
* Drawing
* Pressing
* Spinning
* Flow turning

Joining Processes

Welding

Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, but sometimes pressure is used in conjunction with heat, or by itself, to produce the weld. This is in contrast with soldering and brazing, which involve melting a lower-melting-point material between the workpieces to form a bond between them.

Many different energy sources can be used for welding, including a gas flame, an electric arc, a laser, an electron beam, friction, and ultrasound. While often an industrial process, welding can be done in many different environments, including open air, underwater and in space. Regardless of location, however, welding remains dangerous, and precautions must be taken to avoid burns, electric shock, poisonous fumes, and overexposure to ultraviolet light.

Hand fabrication

A wide variety of hand and small power tools are often used for metalworking, and an experienced machinist can fabricate almost any part using only hand tools, although it may require more time than with advanced machinery. Many types of hand tools are used, including cutting and scraping tools to remove metal, impact tools to reshape metal, and a wide variety of tools for marking, positioning, or otherwise assisting the fabrication process.

Preparation and validation

Marking out

Marking out (also known as layout) is the process of transferring a design or pattern to a workpiece and is the first step in the handcraft of metalworking. It is performed in many industries or hobbies, although in the repetition industries the need to mark out every individual piece is eliminated.

In the metal trades area, marking out consists of transferring the engineers plan to the workpiece in preparation for the next step, machining or manufacture.


http://www.omnipelagos.com/entry?n=metalworking