sSHOP SOLUTIONS

s
SHOP SOLUTIONS
Problem Solving on the Shop Floor
Cutting Oil Saves Shop
$250K Plus Annually
M
any metalworking shops buy their cutting oils based
strictly on price. While this might appear initially attractive
on the procurement side, it often leads to a false economy when
the total increased costs of tooling, downtime, and scrap, not
Read more, P46
Wes Skinner Jr. (left) and Bob Sherman examine screw machine
parts manufactured at Manth Brownell using Qualichem’s
chlorine-free premium straight oil.
Software Heads Off Costly
Code Rework, Crashes
C
omputape (Monticello, MN) was founded in 1976 by Ed
Popp, an NC Specialist working for General Electric, in
a time when most machine tools still had hand cranks and
levers. There was no C in CNC back then.
Read more, P50
Using Vericut, Ultra Machining Co. is able to watch everything working
together while proving out the G-code, tool projections, and travel limits,
while simultaneously checking for collisions.
CNC Makes Grinder
Rebuild Look Easy
“W
hen ASB Industries called us with a rebuild application for a Mesta Roll Grinder with a 60" [1.5-m] swing
and 288" [7.3 m] between centers, we knew we were going to
be stepping it up a notch or two on this job,” said Jim Leigh.
Read more, P95
Rebuilding a Mesta Roll Grinder with a 60" (1.5-m) swing and
288" (7.3 m) between centers for ASB Industries was a real challenge for Pyramid Rebuild & Machine LLC (Tallmadge, OH).
November 2015
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45
SHOP SOLUTIONS
Continued from P45
to mention unhappy operators, are considered.
Spending more to use a higher-quality cutting oil
can produce a dramatic return on investment, and
lower over-all cost per part.
That is the experience of Manth Brownell
(Kirkville, NY), one of the largest job shops in the
northeastern US. The company has realized more
than a quarter million dollars in tool savings this past
year, after switching about one-third of its machines
over to Xtreme Cut 764CF, a chlorine-free premium
straight oil from QualiChem (Salem, VA). As Manth
Brownell completes the factory-wide transition to
the new oil, management expects to see further
gains in productivity and cost saving.
Wes Skinner Jr., former president of the
company who still works as a consultant, said,
“While we spend 47% more per gallon for the
Davenport screw machine line at Manth Brownell achieves maximum
productivity and quality with substantial annual savings using Qualichem’s
XTREME CUT 764 CF cutting oil.
Xtreme Cut 764CF than we did for the previous oil, our tool-
account productivity improvements, quality improvements,
ing costs have gone down by 35%. This doesn’t take into
and better looking parts that internally improve morale and
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10/6/15 11:53 AM
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November 2015
SHOP SOLUTIONS
pride in our work and externally enhance our reputation as
ing and manufacturing engineers. Manth Brownell’s campus
a quality manufacturer.”
is located on 20 acres (8 hectares) of land occupied by
Based just a few miles east of Syracuse, the 60-year-old
two plants totaling 135,000 ft2 (12,541 m2) of manufactur-
company has more than 100 skilled craftsmen, quality, tool-
ing and office space. The company has over 150 multiple
and single-spindle machines, 38 CNC
SMARTER
WORKHOLDING
PRECISION’S PERFECT PAIR
machines, and 52 Davenports with
eight chuckers. Primary markets served
are home/housing, telecommunications
and transportation, but the company
also serves other segments including
firearms, aerospace, industrial, utilities
and emerging markets like microwave
and recreation. As a multifaceted job
shop, Manth Brownell works with a
variety of materials, including aluminum,
brass, low-lead brass, stainless steel,
and steel.
Bob Sherman, a manufacturing
engineer for screw machines with more
than 35 years of experience in the
industry who was deeply involved in the
decision to switch to QualiChem, said:
“We were having a lot of problems with
the straight oils we were using, running
Precision shaft grinding applications demand
attention to detail. Our AcuGrind Air Chucks
deliver single-micron repeatability part after
part. Pair them with our easily adjustable SRG
Grinding Steady Rests, and you’ll have a setup
through drills at a very rapid rate, and
that meant more downtime for changing tools several times each shift. It was
a nightmare. I couldn’t order tools fast
enough,” said Sherman.
“In addition, we were using four or
capable of ultra-high precision, worry free grinding.
five different oils for aluminum, brass,
For maximum efficiency, SMW’s unique quick reset
stainless, and other metals, plus another
feature easily resets back to zero in seconds with
for machine lubrication. This made life
consistent and predictable repeatability.
much more complicated. Sometimes
the oils would get mixed causing an
At SMW Autoblok, we have dozens of
increase in viscosity. This becomes a
ways for you to hold workpieces better,
problem when your 20 [Centistoke]
stronger and smarter. Call or visit our
viscosity oil becomes 43 in eight months
website to learn more.
and you are cutting aluminum. When the
viscosity goes up, the aluminum chips
plug up the filters and pretty soon it
stops or restricts the flow of oil, severely
reducing the life of the tool and reducing
surface finish. We had lube oil leaking
into the cutting oil daily, sometimes as
much as 10 gallons [37.8 L] per shift.
48
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November 2015
This included hydraulic oil that was being used in the lube
“We have invested heavily in formulating chlorine-replace-
tanks,” said Sherman.
ment technology to meet the needs of customers with chlo-
“After years of this we had enough,” said Sherman. “We
rine restrictions and to be prepared in case the EPA takes
wanted to standardize on a single oil for cutting all materials as
action to limit the use of chlorinated paraffin,” Frank said.
well as the lube side.” About a year and a half ago, Sherman
“When researching options I wanted to get a first-hand
started researching alternatives. One of them was QualiChem
look for myself, so I visited another shop that was using the
Xtreme Cut 764CF, a high-performance straight oil with a
Xtreme Cut 764CF,” Manth Brownell’s Sherman said. “I didn’t
medium viscosity, designed primarily for use in screw machines
talk to the supervisor or president. I went to the floor and
and other automatics. The product is formulated specifically for
talked to the operators. They said nothing but positive things,
machining stainless steel, difficult-to-machine high alloy steels,
and told me it was all they ever use. That’s what convinced
nickel, titanium and specialty high-strength alloys, as well as
me to bring it in for a test.”
mild steels, brass, aluminum, and copper alloys, according to
Glenn Frank, president of QualiChem.
QualiChem’s Xtreme Cut 764CF is 100% chlorine-free.
Over the past year, Sherman has been tracking tool life for
different oils and additives with Xtreme Cut 764CF, and has collected an extensive amount of data. “QualiChem continues to
Chlorinated paraffins have been widely used for many years
develop cutting edge technology and has allowed us to test the
as an extreme-pressure additive in metalcutting fluids, due to
next generation chlorine-free additives. With every adjustment
their ability to produce high-quality finishes and preserve tool
we keep getting better tool life improvements,” said Sherman.
life. The future use is uncertain due to pending EPA actions
to restrict the manufacturing and use of chlorinated paraffin.
“We started out with tools that were getting 20 or 30
hours at most in tool life cutting 303 stainless, and now those
November 2015
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AdvancedManufacturing.org
49
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same tools with current additives we are getting 400 hours or
better,” said Skinner.
Cuong Nguyen, CNC programmer and setup at Manth
Brownell, said: “Since we switched to Xtreme Cut 764CF,
my CNC department has seen many improvements. We
have Citizen bar feed machines, and primarily machine 304,
316 and 416 stainless, and 8640 steel alloy. As soon as
we started changing over the machines we saw immediate
surface finish improvements. So far we have a 30% increase
in tool life, and the operators really like this oil much better.”
“Some of our Citizens utilize high-pressure pumps that
deliver the oil at 2500 psi [17 MPa] to the cutting edge, and
we struggled to control the foam with the previous cutting
oil,” Nguyen said. “Since we changed over to QualiChem’s
Xtreme Cut 764CF the foam issues have gone away.”
“I saw instant results in the finished products,” said Sherman.
“I don’t think there’s any company around that’s doing steel with
the finishes we’re getting right now with the QualiChem straight
oil. Our customers have noticed the difference, too.”
Skinner agreed. “We don’t have any firm data on the
impact of finish improvements, but you can see it. Parts look
nicer. This helps internal morale, because people feel better
about the parts they make. It’s also making a difference in
customer satisfaction. We’re getting more re-orders. While
it’s impossible to quantify, we can say with confidence that
Limited
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it’s helping our business.”
“The oil can be reused over and over without losing any
properties,” Sherman said. “We will pump out a brass job,
filter it and put it right back in. We are able to filter the oil
back to what a brand new oil would be, removing all of the
particles but none of the additives.”
“The shop is also cleaner and mist-free,” said Sherman.
“We feel the oil hasn’t yet reached its peak with us and we
see more opportunities to improve tool life even more.”
For more information from QualiChem, go to www.qualichem.com, or phone 540-375-6700.
Continued from P45
© 2015 MetalMizer
Software Heads Off Costly
Code Rework, Crashes
800.522.5097
metalmizer.com
Also depend on the METALFLEX blade to meet
your high-quality metal sawing needs.
C
omputape (Monticello, MN) was founded in 1976 by Ed
Popp, an NC Specialist working for General Electric,
in a time when most machine tools still had hand cranks
50
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|
November 2015
SHOP SOLUTIONS
and levers. There was no C in CNC back then—automated
punch cards. Despite this, Computape quickly earned a rep-
lathes and mills took instructions from long rolls of paper
utation as the go-to place for complex, error-free toolpaths,
tape, and programs were created using APT (Automatically
and the company eventually came to specialize in five-axis
Programmed Tool) on time-share computers fed by stacks of
programming of aerospace and defense components such
as airfoils, blades, and stringers.
In 1994, Popp’s son, Mike, who had
earned a degree in computer programming from the University of Minnesota,
came to work for the family business.
Popp decided this would be a good
time to purchase machine simulation
software from CGTech, a then fledgling
company in Irvine, CA. Not many in
the industry had heard of CGTech at
that time, let alone its flagship product
Vericut, yet the Popps, strong believers
in technology, knew G-code simulation would allow them to provide better
service to their customers.
The company reins have since
been passed to Mike Popp, who still
has the original user guide for Vericut
version 2.0, released the year before he
started with Computape. Both Popp
and the software have evolved over the
years, but one thing remains constant: his high opinion of Vericut. “It’s
a must-have product for anyone doing
business in CNC manufacturing,” Popp
said. “Vericut’s a life saver.”
Computape does its CAD modeling
and CNC programming using a variety
of software suites, including NX from
Siemens PLM Software, Catia V5 from
Dassault Systèmes, and VoluMill by
Celeritive Technologies. Postprocessing is accomplished via Austin NC’s
G-Post, with whom Computape is an
authorized partner. With high-end tools
like these at his disposal, some might
question why Computape bothers with
code verification. Popp’s reply to those
people is they don’t understand the
power of Vericut.
Vericut provides much more than
accurate toolpaths and crash avoid-
52
AdvancedManufacturing.org
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November 2015
ance. Most of Computape’s projects are fixed bid, which
the road from Popp. UMC’s first project with Computape
means Popp must be as efficient as possible if he’s to avoid
was in 2005. The company purchased a seat of Vericut one
costly code rework. “I don’t have time to mess around with
year later after buying the company’s first three-channel
changes to the program, and neither do my customers.
Nakamura Super NTX mill-turn center. Owner Don Tomann
Once I review a project in Vericut, I
know it’s good.”
So strongly does he believe in
Vericut’s capabilities for process improvement—both his and his customers’—that it has become a permanent
part of the Boeing-compliant Digital
Product Definition (DPD) procedure at
Computape, a process that’s adhered
to whether the part is a $50 mounting bracket or a $50,000 airfoil. At the
end, Vericut results are delivered to his
customer along with the drawing and
NC-file package. For those that don’t
own Vericut—an increasingly smaller
percentage, said Popp—a free viewer
is available from the CGTech website.
According to Popp, Vericut is also a
great communication tool. Tool libraries
with speed and feed information are
clearly defined in Vericut, as well as
machine tool construction and travel
limits. This allows for easy collabora-
Speed Meets Precision
tion with the customer during process
VMC1000B Standard Features
definition and Q&A sessions, providing
• FANUC 0i-MD
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• Oil Skimmer
• 39.4” X, 24” Y, 25.5” Z
confidence on both sides of the phone
that the delivered product is error free
and clear of any tool reach or potential
interference problems.
His competition might think he’s crazy
for sharing the technology. After all, most
businesses that latch on to a competitive
edge like to keep it close to the vest. Not
Starting under $75,000
so, Popp. He’s been spreading the good
word of toolpath verification almost as
long as he has had it, leading a number of his customers to bring their own
verification in-house, sometimes cutting
Special Pricing available only in North America. Price is FOB Los
Angeles, California. Prices are subject to change without notice.
Computape out of the action.
One of these is Ultra Machining Co.
(UMC; Monticello, MN), an aerospace
www.smtcl-americas.com | [email protected] | 626-667-1192
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facebook.com/smtclamericas
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and medical machine shop just down
November 2015
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AdvancedManufacturing.org
53
SHOP SOLUTIONS
EDM, and Swiss-style machining arena. As a result, Vericut
toolpath verification is now an internal requirement on most
new part programs.
Mike Triplett, CNC programmer, can think of several
instances where Vericut has saved the day, but said that its
original intent of crash prevention is somewhat secondary at
this point. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said, ‘What
you see on the screen isn’t always what you get on the machine.’ The reason is because the CAM system’s simulation
uses its own internal calculations, whereas Vericut reads the
actual G-code, the same as the machine tool,” said Triplett.
Don Lahr, CNC programmer, agreed. “You can see so
At his company, Computape, Mike Popp has made Vericut a
permanent part of the Boeing-compliant Digital Product Definition (DPD) procedure, a process that’s adhered to whether the
part is a $50 mounting bracket or a $50,000 airfoil.
much more in Vericut. We can watch everything working
decided the crash potential was too high without verifica-
particular part feature that doesn’t look right, or a cutting tool
tion. Since that time, UMC has added several similar ma-
that could be programmed more efficiently. It lets us identify
together while proving out the G-code, tool projections, and
travel limits, while simultaneously checking for collisions.
Quite often we’ll review the code in Vericut and identify a
chines, and has also established itself in the five-axis, wire
Continued on P95
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November 2015
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Continued from P54
these issues before they get out to the machine, and deliver
Continued from P45
a better product to the shop floor.”
As a certified ISO 13485:2003 and FDA-compliant supplier, UMC must adhere to rigid quality requirements. One
of these is the need to submit a PPAP (Production Part
Approval Process) on any new projects, and adhere to that
process thereafter. Gone are the days of taking on a job and
continuously tweaking it to improve part profitability and tool
life. Because there’s only one shot to make it right, it’s impor-
CNC Makes Grinder
Rebuild Look Easy
“W
hen ASB Industries called us with a rebuild application for a Mesta Roll Grinder with a 60" [1.5-m]
swing and 288" [7.3 m] between centers, we knew we were
tant to lead with your best machining foot forward, some-
going to be stepping it up a notch or two on this job,” said
thing Vericut has helped UMC with time and again.
Jim Leigh, Pyramid Rebuild & Machine LLC (Tallmadge, OH).
“We have some customers where, once the process is
As it turns out Barberton, Ohio-based ASB Industries, a lead-
bought off, that’s it. No more changes,” Lahr said. “The AUTO-
ing single-source provider of cold spray and thermal spray
DIFF feature in Vericut checks for various conditions by compar-
industrial coating services, needed the machine for preci-
ing the design model against the actual cut stock model. Did
sion pre- and post-machining preparation work for a thermal
we hit all the features? Is there any gouging of the workpiece, or
spray coating process. ASB required more than just accu-
leftover material that shouldn’t be there? Most importantly, did
racy, it requires proof of accuracy.
we violate the customer model? If so, what can we do about it?”
UMC also uses CGTech’s OptiPath module, which as its
One of the many industries ASB Industries serves requires
precision grinding with complex crowns to achieve a very high
name implies looks at toolpaths and optimizes them using
pre-defined volume and chipload parameters, speeding up
where possible and slowing down when necessary to avoid
Full Grip Jaws
chatter, broken tools, and bad parts. Together with AUTODIFF, UMC can be confident the initial part process is a good
one, and there won’t be embarrassing post-PPAP calls to the
• Aluminum, Steel, or Cast Iron - diameter size range from
6-inch to 36-inch
customer to request a deviation.
• Jaw heights range: 2-inch, 4-inch, and 6-inch
As with Computape, UMC also uses the Vericut Reviewer,
except in UMC’s case it’s for the company’s internal customers: the machinists and engineers. “Our machinists review the
Vericut file when they’re setting up a job,” said Lahr. “It helps
them visualize the machining process and identify which tool is
• Close tolerances and concentricity easily maintained.
• Allows for complete gripping of the work piece
• Special oversized jaws available
• Excellent for gripping thin-walled parts without distortion
cutting each part feature. They can measure the part in Vericut
• Machine and tool life extended due to lighter weight
jaws, reducing mechanical stress.
for comparison against the actual workpiece and quickly iden-
• Made in the USA
tify which offsets need adjusting. It really narrows down what
steps have to be taken when troubleshooting a problem.”
Looking back over the past nine years, about the only
thing Lahr and Triplett would change is the implementation.
“We probably should have started on a simpler machine,”
Triplett said. “The NTX has two spindles, two turrets, a B-axis
milling head and live tooling. There’s just a lot going on at
ISO 9001:2008
one time. Learning Vericut on a machining center or two-axis
lathe would have given us a better understanding of its capabilities earlier on, and made for fewer sleepless nights. Even
DillonManufacturing, Inc.
so, we got through it just fine. It’s an awesome product.”
For more information from CGTech, go to www.cgtech.
com, or phone 949-753-1050.
Phone: 1-800-428-1133 | Fax: 1-800-634-6480 |
Email: [email protected] | www.dillonmfg.com
November 2015
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AdvancedManufacturing.org
95
SHOP SOLUTIONS
product quality with consistent production. ASB Industries’
configured for two-axis grinding operations, the 8065 utilizes
goal is to offer surfacing technologies where projects become
auto-tuning software that allows for fine-tuned grinding
integrated at one location, to provide surfaces that provide
processes thus ensuring smooth machine operation, while
long wearing life working in a continuous production environ-
the utilization of Fagor precision linear encoders help ensure
ment including high temperatures, oxidizing atmospheres,
accuracy and repeatability, so expectations are realized.
severe abrasion, high tensions, and steam—just to name a
The machine configuration consists of two linear axes
few. Once components are coated then unique surfaces such
on both spindles for complex roll crown profiles that are
as tungsten carbide may require diamond grinding and, if
programmed via G-code programming and CAD/CAM soft-
needed, chatter-free polishing to low surface finishes.
ware. The Fagor 8065 on-board profile editor allows for easy
The decision came down to a simple question: “What
blueprint programming of profile in which the editor automati-
CNC control system do we incorporate for the project?”
cally creates the G-code and inserts into the part-program. In
Leigh said: “We have installed Fagor CNC controls for a wide
addition, the 8065 T CNC utilizes a high resolution color 15"
variety of customers, including those serving the aerospace
(381-mm) touch screen monitor and Sercos Digital Commu-
and defense sector, plastic injection molds, mining and en-
nication, Ethernet and USB within an Industrialized Windows
ergy sectors. In each instance, the controls have worked well
platform for communication.
and increased production for the customer.”
It was with a great deal of confidence that Pyramid speci-
“The remanufactured Mesta Roll Grinder swings 60" [1.5
m] and will handle parts up to 288" [7.3-m] long. The new
fied the high-performance 8065 T CNC control system from
Fagor 8065 with tandem servos on the Z-axis, high-precision
Fagor Automation Corp. (Elk Grove Village, IL). Specifically
ballscrew and Fagor GOP linear encoder on the X axis provides a level of accuracy that simply wasn’t attainable with
the original acme screw and mechanical crowning mechanism,” said Jim Leigh. “The new control system coupled with
a custom data collection software that captures part geometry information from the workpiece with a new Renishaw
touch probe that is integrated with the CNC.”
Justin Leigh, Pyramid’s engineer said, “The process of
collecting the probed data was interesting in the fact that the
probe collects data via a combination of the standard Fagor
probing cycles, a custom M-code and custom VBScript
files added to the HMI. Then the process is as follows, the
custom M-code is inserted into the part program prior to
probing the part. This M-code initializes control variables and
instructs the PLC to store the data gathered by the probe
into known control registers. The Fagor probing cycles are
then used as required to gather part geometry data.”
One of the most important requirements for ASB Industries was that the CNC had to be user-friendly. John Lindeman, vice president-manufacturing with ASB Industries said:
“The combination of CNC ease of use and the excellent support by Pyramid Rebuild and Fagor has been tremendous.
The operator interface has definitely improved efficiency.”
Lindeman said further, “The installation of Fagor Products
and integration was expertly done by Pyramid Rebuild. We
are very happy with the result.”
For more information from Fagor Automation Corp., go to
www.fagorautomation.com, or phone 800-423-2467.
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