On the radar

Bar feeder

This bar feeder connects directly to the control and is powered by the turning center. Rollaway design provides access to the rear of the lathe spindle for liner adapter and liner changes. Press the foot-pedal release and the bar feeder rolls out of the way for access. When pulled back into position, the bar feeder locks into place completely, eliminating accidental bumps or alignment issues. A single hand wheel is used to make visual on-center adjustments. Either 3/8" or 3/4" quick-change pushrods snap into place without tools, and both pushrod sizes store in the cover of the bar feeder. Built-in racks on both ends of the bar feeder provide storage and access to all extruded spindle liners.

Haas Automation Inc.
www.haascnc.com

Toolholders

JetSleeve holders are shrink-fit tools with a sleeve over the nose part of the holder. In the nose section of these sleeves are two circles with small bores at different angles around the opening end. When the tool rotates, the small bores work like nozzles, and the different angles of the coolant outlet bores press the coolant against the cutter shaft. JetSleeve toolholders supply coolant directly to the desired position of the cutting edge. As chips break, the high pressure system blows them away keeping the cutter from being overrun. JetSleeve works with coolant, MQL, or dry machining. The technology offers methods for machining deep cavities or slots in parts for the mold and die industry. Deep cavities, ribs, or other contours can be finished with the tool holders on milling machines.

Bilz Tool Co. Inc. USA
www.bilzusa.com

Operator panels

Sinumerik blackline panels OP 015 black and OP 019 black have sensor technology that allows glove-wearing operators to access the user interface.

The 19" display of the OP 019 black can show all entries made in widescreen format. The OP 015 black features an alphanumerical keypad that can be operated via touch control, so the 15" display is not restricted by the superimposed keypad during data entry. The panels are resistant to liquids and dust and can be operated even under harsh industrial conditions. The operator panel can provide a basic machine display with three or four channels showing up to 13 axes.

In combination with the Sinumerik 840D sl control, the blackline panels can be used as an operating and programming station for aerospace composite machining, rotary indexing machines, and shop floor manufacturing.

Siemens Industry Inc.
www.siemens.com

Surface and roundness measurement systems

Surfcom Nex 100 offers a single hybrid detector to simultaneously measure surface texture and contour. The dual detector offers single data gathering at nano-level measurement resolution for roughness and contour profiling. It is suitable for manufacturing small- and mid-sized precision parts such as nozzles, punching tools, rails for diesel engines, and injector bodies.

Rondcom Nex Rs offers spindle accuracy and allows optional surface roughness measurements in the horizontal, vertical, and radial axes. The offset detector holder allows various workpieces to be measured without interference from the R-axis arm. Measuring can be switched between outside diameter and top flatness by tilting the detector holder. The series offers a 235mm table top, available with manual or auto tilt centering for part setup, with rotation up to 20rpm. There is also an option to measure periodic and fine-twist structures of cylindrical shafts. Detector positioning for ID/OD measurements, and top/under/tapered surfaces measurements can be controlled automatically.

Carl Zeiss Industrial Metrology LLC
www.zeiss.com/metrology

Boring tool

The B3230 Walter Capto single-edge precision boring tool can be used for standard and reverse machining and features internal coolant supply up to the cutting edge. Indexable inserts are available.

B3230 is available with the Walter Capto modular toolholding interface, NCT, and ScrewFit. Along with its high clamping force and even force distribution, the Walter Capto interface is suitable for turning, drilling, counterboring, precision boring, and milling in rotating and static modes. Machining operations can be performed on lathes, machining centers, and turnmill centers with the interface system.

Walter USA LLC
www.walter-tools.com

Green laser scanner

ScanR is integrated into TouchDMIS metrology software, offering a one-touch scanning interface that allows initial user set-up using tactile-probe with subsequent sharing of the generated part coordinate system. Feature extraction from the generated point cloud allows automatic inspection of part features against nominal feature definitions selected from CAD. Production parts can be programmed to be inspected automatically with scanning zone and parameters adjusted per feature for data acquisition and cycle time optimization.

Features

• Measures reflective materials such as machined aluminum and carbon fiber composites
• Sub-pixel optimization
• Adjustable data acquisition rate for HQ and HS operation
• Adaptable to any brand of CMM or PCMM
• Laser and electronics package contained in the scanner head

Perceptron Inc.
www.perceptron.com

Threading measurement system

ThreadChecker consists of a single electronics module compatible with any probe or material combination. Designed for in-die use, it provides verification of thread presence or absence in electrically conductive material, regardless of part cleanliness.

As an eddy current sensor, the system detects the distance between the probe OD and the ID of the hole. In untapped holes, this indicates tap-drill diameter. In tapped holes, this indicates pitch diameter of the threads.

The switched output can be wired to a PLC or other controller that is programmed to alarm when no thread is detected. This alarm may stop the operation or divert untapped parts from further processing. Alternatively, the analog voltage may be monitored and require the user to program the control device with suitable limits for the application.

Features

• Universal electronics for any probe/material combination
• Four internal probes from 4mm to 10mm
• 6mm and 8mm external probes
• CE compliant
• IP67 rated probes and electronics
• PUR jacketed probe and I/O cables

Kaman Precision Products
www.kaman.com

Milling toolholder

The Sino-R toolholder for rough milling is based on an expansion technology system with a solid body and a pressure medium, quickly clamping the cutting tool by using an adjustable wrench.

In addition to decreasing machine down-time, the interaction of radial rigidity and dampening characteristics increase the productivity of the toolholder, increasing tool life and material removal rates.

Features

• Intermediate sleeves allow flexibility
• 850Nm (627 ft-lb) torque transmission
• 32mm (1.25") clamping diameter
• Precision-balanced to ISO G6.3 at 15,000rpm

Schunk
www.schunk.com

Robotic machining centers

The twin RoboDrill JobShop Cell features two FANUC D21 RoboDrill vertical machining centers, serviced by a single, articulating FANUC LR Mate 200iD robot. The cell features the ability to load and unload multiple parts in less than one second per part.

The flex feeder conveys a group of parts into the vision camera’s field-of-view for inspection, selecting the good parts and directing the robot to load them into the machine.

Controls include FSSB high-speed processing and an ergonomic display. The control provides troubleshooting and maintenance capabilities, allowing users to analyze systems on the RoboDrills and receive notifications if any drives or electronics require adjustments.

Features

• Two side-by-side RoboDrill machines
• Open access to the front for tool changes, off-sets, and maintenance
• FANUC Robotics’ IR Vision System with a flex vibratory in-feed system

Methods Machine Tools Inc.
www.methodsmachine.com

Horizontal boring and milling machines

The horizontal boring and milling machines feature box-type column and bed-and-saddle designs for heavy cutting operations. The X- and Y-axes are equipped with high precision ballscrews for fast linear movements. The headstock, table, and saddle are locked by hydraulic systems for secured machining conditions.

Sharp Industries Inc.
www.sharp-industries.com

Cutting inserts

Beyond Drive cutting inserts contain a titanium oxy-carbonitride outer coating that increases wear- and abrasion-resistance for lower temperatures and longer tool life. Its bronze color is an effective wear indicator. Beyond Drive is designed to improve performance and extend tool-life in steel, stainless steel, cast iron, and high-temperature alloy turning operations.

The Beyond Drive MR insert has a high positive rake angle that works with the smoothly curved cutting edge to reduce cutting forces and extend tool life. With high depth-of-cut applications, stable turning processes ensure lower load on the machine tool and workpiece. Formed-in coolant channels deliver flood coolant to the cutting edge.

A KM4X spindle connection optimizes productivity of the entire system and allows the maximum spindle power and torque for turning high-strength materials.

Kennametal Inc.
www.kennametal.com

High-magnification measuring microscopes

TM-8 and TM-10 high-magnification measuring microscopes have Vernier micrometer heads for inspection of components. Both feature magnifications of 50X, 100X, and 200X with a 10X eyepiece, and 5X, 10X, and 20X objective lenses that have a revolving nosepiece and positive stop. A separate 20X eyepiece is available to double magnifications and provide longer working distances. Optional objectives from 1X to 4X and 5X to 40X are also available to reach up to 800X magnification. Video adapters can turn the microscopes into videoscopes.

Standard features include a co-axial illuminator with a condenser, filter, sub-stage illuminator, and an extra micro-screw ultra-fine depth focusing knob. The differences between the TM-8 and TM-10 models are the stages and micrometers.

Titan Tool Supply Inc.
www.titantoolsupply.com

Updated software interface

An updated interface allows the menus on the function panel of Tebis 4.0 to be shown or hidden, allowing users to configure the work area. The status bar has been reduced to maximize space for graphics, and the dialog design has been revised. Users can configure their workstations to targeted environments and reuse the same configuration. Users also can keep CAD modules open in the work space for manufacturing design and then switch to their work environment with preferred CAM modules for NC programming. Work environments can also be imported and exported for exchange with other Tebis workstations.

Tebis America
www.tebis.com

In process air gaging

Air gaging is effective at measuring complex features such as multiple diameter steps, tapers, and sophisticated geometric callouts such as perpendicularity, straightness, and parallelism. Suitable for checking inside diameters including extremely small bores, air gaging also supports non-contact measuring.

The air gage column handshakes with the PLC or robot with communication typically handled through digital input/outputs. The column then measures the part and sends a signal to the PLC indicating that part as good or bad. The column saves the data to any standard SPC system.

Stotz Advanced Machine and Engineering Co.
www.ame.com