OSG USA Inc. has added inch sizes to its A Brand AE-CR-MS-H end mill. The A Brand AE-CR-MS-H is a multiflute square-type and radius-type carbide end mill designed for stable and high-efficiency milling of high-hardness steels. With the addition of the new Durorey coating engineered for high-hardness steels, high chipping resistance is reportedly possible even in work materials exceeding 60 HRC, enabling long tool life and high-speed milling.

The A Brand AE-CR-MS-H end mill offers variable index to reduce chattering, cutting-edge geometry for stable machining of high-hardness steels, Durorey coating, which is said to perform well in high-hardness steels.

Additionally, OSG has expanded its A Brand AE-N end mill series with the addition of the A Brand AE-VTSS end mill. The A Brand AE-VTSS is a Duarise-coated, advanced, multifunctional carbide end mill for ferrous metals. The end mill is said to provide optimized chip handling, and can side mill, slot, ramp and plunge.

The A Brand AE-VTSS end mill offers a positive rake angle that reduce cutting force; high rigidity to improve milling accuracy; a new flute form that is said to facilitates excellent chip evacuation; a Duarise coating to minimize thermal cracks; and variable leads, which enable stable and high-efficiency milling.

Jergens now offers two new ZPS installation choices for compact, light-duty applications. SP140 and K02 pull studs use pneumatics and a mechanical spring in a small package. They are designed to offer quick-change solutions for vise or gripper jaws, electronic component manufacturing, packaging machines, medical technology and automation.

SP140, which is said to be the smallest clamping module on the market, features a threaded body for low profile installation. No external fasteners or clamps are needed for securing in a plate. This enables flexible mounting options, and pneumatic pressure can be supplied manifold-style through the subplate or through external lines ported into the bottom of the module. The pull studs are offered in Zero Point, timing and clearance configurations, similar to larger ZPS systems.

SP140 and K02 are part of the ZPS offerings that use either pneumatic or hydraulic modules to fix, position and clamp all in one step. Additionally, ZPS ensures repeatability of up to 0.0002", and reduces cycle times by up to 90%. Users quickly and accurately locate and clamp vises or fixtures, or if preferred, attach retention studs to workpieces and then direct mount components for machining or welding, avoiding potential interference from jaws or clamps.

Kays Engineering’s DeHoff 20144 is a custom gundrilling machine designed and manufactured in Marshall, Missouri. According to the company, the DeHoff 20144 is used to make components for the world’s largest nuclear fusion reactor, the ITER Tokamak. Fusion reactors use extreme heat to fuse atoms together and create massive amounts of energy, while also not generating radioactive waste, CO₂ nor greenhouse gas emissions.

The DeHoff 20144 is used to perform gundrilling, pull boring, roller burnishing and thread tapping on aluminum microwave guides. The microwave guides are long tubes used to heat the plasma fluid inside the Tokamak vacuum chamber to 150-million-degrees Celsius — the temperature needed for nuclear fusion.

The DeHoff 20144 has a gundrilling diameter capacity of 2" (50.8 mm) and a maximum drilling depth of 144" (3,658 mm). It features custom workpiece fixturing and tooling to perform the gundrilling, pull boring, roller burnishing and thread tapping operations all on a single machine.

Kyocera Precision Tools has introduced its KBN020 CBN grade to provide a larger range of hard turning capabilities.

Kyocera’s KBN020 is designed to perform in a broad application range, from continuous to interrupted machining. Kyocera recommends the grade for hardened materials (55 HRc or more), as well as external and internal turning, facing and boring.

Using new layering techniques, Kyocera has developed its Megacoat Tough coating technology. This coating combines a wear-resistant layer on the surface adhered to high-content CBN, which is used to toughen up the edge for greater fracture resistance when encountering interruptions. The adhesion layer is laminated between the wear-resistance layer and the CBN to reduce layer peeling for longer tool life and stable machining. Providing wear fracture resistance gives the user more flexibility, range, performance and tool life when turning hardened materials.

To take full advantage of Kyocera’s new hard turning technology, follow the listed speed and feed recommendations to optimize tool life and surface finish.

Mitsui Seiki’s VL30 Series high-speed vertical machining centers were developed for high-speed, high-precision hard milling of mold components, as well as graphite and copper tungsten electrodes. The VL30 Series features high-thrust, high-efficiency linear motor drives for the X-, Y- and Z-axes for machining hardened tool-steel alloy components. The five-axis versions use direct-drive rotary axes for smooth and controlled complex contouring. Delivering up to 1,574 ipm cutting feed rate with 1G acceleration/deceleration, it provides superior speed and motion control in high-speed point milling in multiaxis contouring applications. For accuracy, the precision glass-scale feedback system detects 0.1 μm increments.

The VL30 line is designed to machines high-precision mold inserts for medical, packaging, industrial and aerospace applications. The machine’s upgraded offerings include advanced features for process automation, workpiece and tool handling, and the latest FANUC 31i-B with i-HMI operator interface provides improved output. The latest Graphite Package option enables customers to machine completely dry with no risk of electrode contamination or premature machine wear. All versions enable simple integration with robotics and in-process part inspection.

Available in three models — the VL 30-5X five-axis machining center, as well as the VL 30 and larger VL 50 three-axis versions — this series features a 15-hp, 50,000-rpm spindle accepting HSK E25 tooling for precise roughing and ultra-fine finishing. An integrated tool changer holds up to 90 tools.

Specifications include 7.9" × 11.8" × 7.9" X-, Y- and Z-axis travels, a 11.8" × 15.8" table size and a compact 53" × 128" footprint.

Enhanced production features include a four-point leveling bed, specialized main components, hand-scraped castings for excellent machine geometry and superior chip and dust evacuation.

Walter has introduced the CBN-grade WBH20C indexable inserts for hard machining with a high level of wear resistance. This capability is possible due to a combination of CBN and a patent-pending TiAlN (titanium aluminum nitride) PVD HiPIMS (high-power impulse magnetron sputtering) coating with a ZrN (zirconium nitride) top layer. The application range for the CBN-tipped inserts includes hard steels (ISO H) up to 65 HRC.

According to Walter, excellent layer bonding and long tool life is possible due to the patent-pending method for pretreating the indexable insert. Wear detection is provided by the light-colored top coating.

The ISO indexable inserts are available with or without the MW wiper geometry. They are available in the basic shapes of CCGW2, CCGW3, CNGA4, DCGW3, DNGA4, TCGW2, VCGW2 and VBGW3.

In addition, the WBH20C WL25 indexable inserts are full-radius copy turning inserts with Walter Lock (WL) positive engagement. The WL positive engagement is said to provide maximum stability and precision for reliable machining of contours. With pocket support right under the cutting edge, and exceptional ability to prevent vibrations, the WL positive engagement is said to perform better than the conventional V-shaped or full-radius grooving inserts.

The WBH20C grade features a 65 percent CBN content, a ceramic binder and bimodal grain size with a diameter of less than 39 millionths/159 millionths of an inch (1.0 µm/4.0 µm). Maximum purity of the CBN substrate is used.

If the machining process constraints mandate the coolant to be “ON,” then the WBH20C is said to be an effective grade for wet-turning applications. The CBN indexable inserts are suitable and recommended for use with coolant. Examples of workpiece material recommendations include bearing steel, such as AISI 52100 (100Cr6), and heat treatable steels, such as AISI 1045 and AISI 4140. The use of CBN grade WBH20C indexable inserts replaces grinding in many application areas, such as when turning gears.

Siemens Smart Infrastructure has integrated electrical signature analysis (ESA) from Samotics into the NXpower Monitor, its digital platform for electrical networks. Using ESA and machine learning, Samotics provides real-time insights to help users eliminate industrial energy waste and unplanned downtime. This new capability leverages Siemens Xcelerator, an open digital business platform that enables customers to accelerate their digital transformation easier, faster and at scale.

The NXpower Monitor enables the visualization and monitoring of electrical assets within electrical networks, providing health statuses, key performance indicator (KPI) calculation, energy monitoring and monitoring of operational data from assets. This asset monitoring system is said to enhance efficiency and risk management across the entire energy distribution network through continuous health monitoring, while minimizing CO₂ emissions and operating expenses. By integrating AI-powered ESA technology, Siemens broadens its application to include the monitoring of AC motors and rotating equipment, all accessible through a single pane of glass.

Using ESA technology, NXpower Monitor conducts real-time analysis of high-quality current and voltage data, enabling the detection of electrical and mechanical faults up to five months before downtime happens. Furthermore, the system delivers comprehensive performance and efficiency insights, pinpointing areas with the highest electricity consumption, cost, and efficiency losses. By implementing data-driven recommendations, organizations can optimize operational processes, significantly reducing energy waste and cutting CO₂ emissions by up to 15%.

Stephan May, CEO of electrification and automation at Siemens Smart Infrastructure, says, “The digitalization of energy distribution, automation systems and networks brings many advantages. Not only does it lead to substantial savings in terms of time and money, [but] it also significantly boosts efficiency and reliability.”

Photo Credit: Dillon Manufacturing Inc.

Dillon Manufacturing has effectively doubled the gripping force of its jaws with the addition of carbinite, according to the company. Carbinite is a wear-resistant, textured carbide coating that is added to hard or soft jaws after they are milled. Using a process called electro spark deposition (ESD), carbinite reduces or eliminates slippage, improving the grip on workpieces to enhance mill performance and reduce cycle times. This wear-resistant carbide alloy is said to display exceptional bond strength without annealing or distortion.

In Dillon’s clamping tests, carbinite nearly doubled the gripping strength at equal clamping force. Customers reported increased grip and longer tool life. Carbinite is ideal for hard or soft jaws, especially vise jaws and step jaws used for clamping applications, as well as collet pads and jaws. 

Carbinite is made in the U.S. in ISO 9001:2015 registered facilities. 

The new General Transformation Pattern feature in HyperMill 2023 makes it easy to program recurring shapes with a single click. Photo Credit: Open Mind Technologies USA Inc.

Open Mind Technologies  showcases its latest HyperMill 2023 CAD/CAM software suite, which offers users new and enhanced features for more powerful, simplified NC programming in applications ranging from 2.5D machining to five-axis milling. HyperMill 2023 will be demonstrated at Eastec 2023 in booth 5228. Attendees will also see the integrated HyperMill Maxx Machining finishing module, which is the CAM programming source enabling the use of conical barrel cutter technology to reduce cycle times over 90%.

For easy programming of recurring shapes with a single click, HyperMill 2023 has a new General Transformation Pattern feature. The new feature uses a selected reference geometry and searches for the same reference in all other models regardless of its spatial orientation, creating a general transformation pattern including associated frames.

To provide safe, reliable programming when back boring, a new 2.5D Back Boring machining strategy enables back boring tasks to be programmed on machines with different kinematics conveniently and easily. Toolholders and inserts, as well as monobloc tools, are displayed one-to-one in the virtual machine and checked for collisions. Open Mind says programming the controller for countersinking, deburring and milling tools on the once inaccessible back side of a hole can be done with ease.

An enhanced milling surface extension is offered in HyperMill 2023 for 3D Z-Level Shape Finishing and 3D Profile Finishing strategies. Users can reliably and easily protect sharp edges and divide up machining areas, especially useful for creating high-quality surfaces in tool and moldmaking when combined with a Smooth Overlap feature.

New for HyperMill’s Mill-Turn capability, the Smooth Overlap feature is available for optimizing finishing paths in turning. This function enables flawless transitions when multiple tools or orientations are required for machining, and approach/retract macros can be used normally.

For more flexible, simplified programming of free-form tools, groove plunging with free tool geometry has been enhanced, as all tool geometries can now be used for any type of workpiece contour when roughing, according to the comany. These same tool setting options, approach and retract macros are also available for standard tools.

With the introduction of HyperMill 2023, the NC Optimizer feature in the HyperMill Virtual Machining strategy now optimizes fixed rotary and parallel axes by automatically locating a kinematically correct and collision-free solution. This saves time by eliminating the need to manually interact with the axes.

Murata Machinery USA Inc.’s (Muratec) latest addition to its range of automated material-handling solutions for small product storage and retrieval is the new Ledger A3 mini-load, a high-density, four-tote carriage automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS).

The Ledger A3 AS/RS is said to be an industry-first miniload with high-speed, simultaneous carriage loading and unloading of four totes for storing, picking and sorting small, lightweight goods. Designed to provide maximum high-density storage and retrieval for high-throughput distribution applications, this new crane delivers double the capacity compared to a conventional miniload AS/RS.

With twice the storage/retrieval capacity of single or twin deep-storage miniloads, this four-tote carriage solution reportedly moves up to 400 totes per hour with 2X the efficiency of conventional systems. Traveling at 984 ft/min (300 m/min) and lifting 360 ft/min (110 m/min), with a size capacity of 13.4" (W), 18.9" (D) and 11" (H) maximum, stacker cranes transfer Ledger A3-size (11" × 13.4") totes individually or four simultaneously, speeding in/out retrieval and overall throughput.

Combined with Muratec’s rail-guided, bi-directional shuttle sortation loop or “shuttliner,” the Ledger A3 can minimize manual-handling errors and boost throughput. Integrating the A3 miniload with a shuttliner that feeds a good-to-person solution delivers inbound and outbound picking in a single structure, saving warehouse floorspace and building long-term expansion flexibility.

Muratec’s North American introduction of the Ledger A3 mini-load follows numerous successful implementations in high-throughput, small-goods warehouse and distribution environments in the medical and pharmaceutical (syringes, pill bottles); cosmetics (tubes, bottles, jars); and food and beverage (confectionery products, candy) sectors.