Subtractive Manufacturing, mostly across Machining arena, remains an important process of achieving required form, accuracy & finish of most engineering parts.
Machining, in a broader sense refers to material removal. When we talk about metal machining - be it ferrous or non ferrous, it all comes down to overcoming the threshold shear-resistance of work-piece material in a way that:
- Produces a clean post-machined surface topography
- Decreases friction through careful tool geometry
- Facilitates swift & clean chip flow
- Enables easy & quick heat dissipation
- Removes material with a brisk MRR
All this - whilst carefully minding the metallurgical make-up of work-piece material, and approaching near-real behavioural estimate of Tool to Work-piece interface. And in the scheme of all these, securing the part by arresting all DOF, ensuring minimal or no deformation of the part itself, channeling the flow of forces from the fixture to the machine bed - in an efficient way, are a few things that are critical to outcome in terms of Q-C-D. Tooling is another aspect - that is as important as the Machine & Fixture, not to forget the importance of right cutting fluid.
Insight's Turnkey Solutions' team, with a collective experience of installation of over 1000+ production lines, work in close conjunction with its customer from print-to-production.
Precise & repeatable positioning, meticulous clamping schema for vibrational attenuation & part distortional minima, robust yet light weight build, clear tool access, ease of L/UL, strategically designed wear-elements, quick change-over & set-up, are a few aspects that a make up high performance fixturing.
A good combo of fixture + machine - make up 2/3rd of the recipe. It is the Tooling that finally hits the chord. Clean cutting, low CPC, high productivity rate and a solid balance between flexibility & specificity - personify operational excellence. Right set of tools, in the right flow, are critical to process excellence.
These are the enablers of high performance; Coolant Systems, Hydraulic Power Units, Rotary Production Systems, Chip Conveyors, and so forth, form the foundation on which a robust process can be established. When parametrized in the right way, a good set of accessories can tip returns up to +15~30%.
Horizontal Machining Centers:
Tomb-stone | Indexer Type
Vertical Machining Center:
Stationery | Rotary | 4th Axis | 5th Axis
Turning Centers:
Manual | Hydraulic with Rotary Joint
Mode of Operation:
Hydraulic | Pneumatic | Manual
Print-to-Production:
Complete Process Prove-out
Run-off:
Cycle time & Quality Establishment | Cp Cpk
Synergic Mix:
Best picks from the Gamut from Tool making
High Performance:
Least GPL | Clean Cutting | Consistent Quality
Coolant Systems:
External nozzle coolant & base flushing
Optional High Pressure Spindle Through Coolant
Hydraulic Power Units:
On-demand (Intermittent Duty) | Continuous Duty
High quality valve-stacks & Digital sensors
Rotary Production System:
High stiff-ness to weight ratio. Robust build.
A host of other accessories forming a holistic solution.
Comprehensive | Fixtures, Tooling
Hydraulic Power-pack, TBS, Probing
Right mix of Tooling & Peripherals
Right Tools, Least GPL >Better Quality> Lower CPC
Preloaded with Kaizen & Best Practices
Reliable Process | Consistent Quality
High Quality BOPs | Clamps, Actuators
Uncompromising Manufacturing Quality
High Stiffness-to-Weight Ratio
Ease of L/UL <> Low Operator fatigue
Modular, Flexible, Quick-change <> Enhanced OEE
Design Standardization <> Lowered Inventory
Let's take a look at a few: