Ultragrind CNC has modular wheelhead design

Jones and Shipman has revealed that the first order for its Ultragrind CNC cylindrical grinding machine has been despatched to a precision component manufacturer based in France.

The machine features a modular wheelhead design and multiple wheel spindles, allowing the high-precision mould and mechanical component manufacturer to perform both internal and external grinding operations to fine tolerances in one grinding cycle.

Jones and Shipman said overall, the Ultragrind will provide reductions in set-up time and machining costs.

The Ultragrind CNC is said to be ideal for precision production environments including aerospace, defence, medical, tool room, Formula One motorsport, automotive volume production and engineering applications.

Built on a one-piece bed design, the machine combines rigidity, stability and stock removal rates while maintaining high precision.

It incorporates many mechanical, electrical and software features, including the Easy handset control, which provides the precision of a full CNC with the practicality of a handheld indexing wheel and trigger controls, ensuring it is easy to operate and changeover in demanding production environments.

An intelligent layout ensures there is a larger working area around each wheel, improving flexibility for all workpieces while enabling improved coolant flow and operator access.

Jones and Shipman said the modular wheelhead design ensures customers have a wide choice of external and internal grinding-spindle combinations, effectively creating a custom machine, but without the cost and build time associated with it.

The modular wheelhead design gives wheel sizes up to AE500 x 100mm and wheel spindle power up to 15kW.

Angular wheelhead positional accuracy and repeatability are ensured via a high-precision 1deg Hirth coupling.

An optional true 'B' axis programmable to 0.0001deg utilising feedback from a high-accuracy encoder mounted directly to the rotational spindle axis enables infinitely variable positional resolution to be achieved.

The machine offers 1000mm or 2000mm between centres and centre heights of 180mm, 200mm and 250mm.

The increased diameter capacity (of up to 500mm) means there are options to cater for larger mass components up to 450kg, and odd-shaped components, which can result in high rotational inertia.

The Ultragrind incorporates Fanuc's flagship 320i touch-screen CNC control with a Windows XP embedded system.

The machine uses Jones and Shipman's proprietary Windows-based graphical programming software suite, which removes the requirement for operators to input code, although ISO programming is fully supported and codes can be viewed and used if that is the customer's preference.

This reduces the time needed for operator training, machining set-up and changeover times.

A full suite of dressing and grinding programs are available for the operator.

Easy-to-follow Jones and Shipman set-up pages allow the operator to digitise diamond and wheel positions by means of a user-friendly touch-screen interface.

A range of additional options, including diameter gauging, shoulder probing, auto loading and wheel balancing, are also available.
http://www.manufacturingtalk.com/news/jon/jon133.html

Haas Automation is offering heavily discounted machines.

Over the next few weeks, the company will be re-stocking is demonstration CNC machine tools from its nine showrooms in the UK.

The ex-demo machines all have very low running hours, are said to be in excellent conditition and are being offered at greatly discounted prices.

The ex-demo machines are being offered for sale at an event at Haas' Leicester showroom on Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10, December.

Opening times are from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, but stock is limited and machines will be available on a strictly first-come-first-served basis.

http://www.machinery.co.uk/article/20998/Heavily-discounted-Haas-machines-offered.aspx

Rapid response team for prototypes

Charles Maltby, Shearline's technical & commercial director, explains that facilitating the fast manufacture of small volume metal prototypes offers clients many benefits: “Formula One designers are used to having one-off metal prototypes made for them and we are looking to offer this service to more mainstream organisations.

“We have seen an upsurge in demand and about 40-50% of the projects on the shop floor are new work. To enable the fast turnaround of prototypes without disrupting the flow of work on larger volume projects, we have established a new Prototype and Rapid Manufacture Team. The team is self-contained with its own equipment, including later in the year a dedicated 5-axis milling machine, all of which will eventually enable 24/7 working as required to meet deadlines.

“The type of metal prototype components we are usually asked to make would typically fit in a shoe box and would often have traditionally be made first by some form of plastic rapid prototype system. However typically these parts need to work in close contact with other components, perhaps existing or developed by other suppliers. A metal prototype of the type Shearline will be producing allows the client to see how the new part will perform in the real world and many issues can be addressed at an early stage when they are still cost-effective to rectify.”

The 5-axis machines are the most advanced type of CNC milling-machine. In addition to the three normal axes (XYZ) it has a C axis, which enables a horizontally mounted work-piece to be rotated for asymmetric and eccentric turning, and a fifth or B axis to control the tilt of the tool itself. Together this allows extremely complicated geometries to be made quickly with great precision. The machines have 10 separate and automatically loaded pallets, each of which can be set to create a different product, a capability enhanced by the 240 tool interchange facility, allowing quick changeover of tools as required and the ability to run 24/7.

Shearline’s Hybrid Laser Technology division (see earlier story) is already used to providing fast turnaround for R&D departments, typically in the medical and electronics industries, and the new prototyping facility will complement its capability, providing bespoke solutions for clients.

Shearline is actively recruiting for its new team and requires engineers with an appetite for a challenge, used to working with advanced technology but with the skills required to ‘go manual’ when the situation arises.

http://www.engineeringcapacity.com/archive101/2009/december/industry_news/rapid_response_team_for_prototypes

Just Released - The ABC’s of CNC Video DVD — Get Past Overwhelmed to Successful Cutting and Machining

The ABC’s of CNC is the first video to bring all of the complex technical issues of the CNC hobby together into one complete training resource. The ABC’s of CNC teaches about all of the hardware, electronics, and software issues to get started quickly and easily with a CNC router, mill, lathe or laser cutter in a home workshop.

(PRWEB) December 1, 2009 — The ABC’s of CNC video DVD, which has just been released for full public distribution, will teach the CNC hobbyist all of the basics about computer controlled woodworking, machining or metal fabrication. The video teaches everything need to get started in the fascinating and rewarding CNC hobby.

With a CNC router, CNC mill, CNC lathe, or laser cutter or plasma cutter, it is possible and practical to cut and machine highly detailed,extremely accurate parts. A CNC machine will open up a whole new world in the home workshop for model airplane enthusiasts, model railroaders, woodworkers, artists, and craftsmen. The ABC’s of CNC is a two hour video that is packed with information about how CNC works, what hardware, what electronics, and what software you need to get started.

Design, draw, program and cut parts with a typical home computer. Learn how to buy a CNC or build a CNC machine. Cutting very accurate, reproducible parts is now easily accomplished in a home workshop, without any special training in electronics, computer programming or machining. Learn all about this all-inclusive video at www.abcsofcnc.com CNC technology can be overwhelming, but with the proper training and advice, it becomes logical and do-able… in a home workshop environment. The costs of the hardware and electronics have come way down. A very basic Windows PC computer will do everything that is necessary.

cnc machines

Universal Benchtop Retrofit Kit Breaks CNC Price Barriers

The FlashCut CNC Universal Benchtop Retrofit Kit turns a manual benchtop mill or mill-drill into a heavy-duty, precision CNC machine saving thousands of dollars. The entire system including a new mill, motors, electronics, cables and software is now available for under $5,000.

The FlashCut CNC Universal Benchtop Retrofit Kit also works with existing manual mills including:

• Grizzly
• Enco
• Harbor Freight
• Rong Fu
• Jet
• MSC
• Smithy

This Universal Benchtop Retrofit Kit, http://www.flashcutcnc.com/CNC-kit-Universal-Benchtop-Re …, is a high-quality retrofit system, engineered and built in the USA. It is designed to work seamlessly with the world-renowned FlashCut CNC software, controls and motors. There is no machining or drilling necessary to an existing mill. This retrofit kit can be installed it on a machine in less than one hour. There is also an optional ball screw kit for even greater precision.

All of FlashCut CNC retrofit kits are available in servo motor and stepper versions and use FlashCut’s intuitive Windows-based control software. The FlashCut CNC software drives a standard USB Signal Generator.

“Our engineers designed the Universal Retrofit Kit as a response to the hundreds of requests from customers for FlashCut CNC controls and motors as a CNC add-on to a newly purchased low-cost manual mill or drill. Many of these requests were for heavy-duty machining.” says Ron Worth, co-founder of FlashCut CNC. “After years of input, testing and design, we developed a high quality, robust and elegantly affordable solution.”

The FlashCut CNC website can provide quick, on-line quotes for the new Universal Benchtop Retrofit Kit or for desktop machining tools and software like the FlashCut CNC 3000 Mini Mill, http://www.flashcutcnc.com/3000_tabletop_mini_mill.php

CNC Machines

CNC Engraving Toolholder is available in 20 mm size.

With integrated collet that allows quick changes of engraving toolbits, 20 mm dia Spring Loaded Engraving Toolholder can be used in CNC machines with 20 mm collet or end mill holder and is designed for high-volume, high-speed production engraving. Collet can be changed to hold variety of engraving tool sizes in diameters of 1/8, 3/16, and ¼ in. and 4 and 6 mm. Spring Loaded Engraving Tools simplify engraving and marking on flat, curved, and uneven surfaces.

The first 5-axis Doosan machining centre, from Mills CNC, is due to hit UK shores in February next year.

The new, compact, travelling-column, vertical spindle VC630/5AX is, says Nick Frampton, Mills CNC's managing director: "Destined to be a huge success".


The VC630/5AX is a versatile 5-axis machine and has been designed for a diverse range of applications. From heavy-duty machining of difficult and hard-to-machine materials, like titanium and inconel, through to high speed cutting of aluminium, the VC630/5AX is said to offer high accuracy machining, heavy metal removal and fine finishing operations...and seemingly everything in-between, it is reported.

As such, the machine is forecast by Mills CNC to be a big hit with manufacturers machining high precision, complex parts for the aerospace, defence, motorsport, medical and mould tool and die sectors.

Working capacity is 650 by 765 by 520 mm in X, Y and Z, respectively.

Concludes Mr Frampton: "The VC630/5AX will be available to customers from February 2010. Similar to other Doosan multi-axis machines we've launched into the UK and Irish markets over recent years - like our MX-series of Mill-Turn Centres - we're extremely confident about the success of this new 5-axis machine - and we're already taking enquiries for the VC630/5AX some 3 months before its availability.

"For precision manufacturers looking to increase their productivity by being able to machine complex parts in fewer set-ups (often in one-hit), the new VC630/5AX will be hard to beat...on price...and on performance."
http://www.machinery.co.uk/article/20635/First-Doosan-5-axis-machining-centre-coming-soon.aspx

Homemade gear clock another example of fun with CNC machines

Sure to drive the makers, steampunks, and hobby horologists wild, this homemade gear clock by Alan Parekh looks like a moderately simple piece to create. If, of course, you are in possession of a CNC machine (ouch, pricey) and a PIC 16f628A microcontroller (ah, cheap).

An uncomplicated display, the clock uses two buttons to align the precise time, kept for months by a crystal oscillator of the PIC 16f628A microcontroller. The gears were cut from fiberwood with that fabulously useful CNC Router, then spray painted an attractive steel grey. Parekh created four gears for the project: the minute, intermediate, and hour gears, each with 72 teeth, and the 9 tooth motor gear. On the movement of the motor gear, and on the motor itself, Parekh has this to say:

To achieve the correct timing the 9 tooth motor gear is advanced 4 steps every 9 seconds. By moving 4 steps at a time the motor routines can be simple since the motor is always at rest with the same coil energized.The motor is a bipolar stepper motor that has been harvested from an old 5 1/4 inch floppy drive. This is the motor that used to move the read write heads back and forth, to get one of this size and power you’ll need to find a nice old one. Modern floppy drives don’t have steppers with this level of torque.

Though the original intention of the piece was to make it look like metal that had been left to rust, Parekh can rest assured that his clock still looks great. A more detailed explanation is in the video above, and if you want to get really thorough, Alan Parekh’s project site makes for an interesting, DIY-inspiring read.

http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/homemade-gear-clock-another-example-of-fun-with-cnc-machines-20091023/

Machine tool makers de-risk their business

They also expect a recovery during the last quarter of 2009-10, following the late revival of the monsoon.

The economic downturn of the past 12 months has taught Indian industry many lessons in its quest to become competitive, cut costs and stay alive in the market. Some sectors have had to change the very way they do business. The machine tool sector, considered the mother of all industries, has learned a lesson in how to de-risk itself.

The biggest lesson the industry learnt was the danger of over-dependence on any single market segment. Until a year ago the machine tool industry was heavily dependent on automobile and auto components manufacturers for orders. Today, because of the downturn, which badly hit the automobile sector, machine tool manufacturers have reduced their dependence on this sector and turned to other customer segments.

Says Shailesh Sheth, former president of the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA) and an industry expert: “In the last one year, machine tool makers have started reducing their excessive dependence on the automobile and components sector and have turned towards the power sector, large government contracts and public sector enterprises for orders. There is a huge demand from PSEs like BHEL, BEML, BEL and Indian Railways, among others. There is no drop in spending by these PSEs.”

Other key trends resulting from the downturn, Sheth points out, are cost cutting and right-sizing of manpower levels. This has helped companies reduce product prices and increase competitiveness, even though margins are under pressure. However, machine tool units, mostly run by technocrat-entrepreneurs, are not bleeding heavily yet, and Sheth believes that there is no scope yet for consolidation in the industry.

After chalking up a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 25 per cent over the last few years, the Indian machine tool sector’s total production (CNC and non-CNC machines put together) declined by 35 per cent to Rs 1,235 crore in 2008-09, compared to the previous year. This was mainly due to the decline in the automobile industry, which contributes around 70 per cent of the sector’s orders. The production of CNC machines fell by 44 per cent to Rs 713 crore in 2008-09, while the output of non-CNC machines dropped by 18 per cent to Rs 521.4 crore.

The slowdown was at its worst in the fourth quarter of 2008-09, during which the output of CNC and non-CNC machines dropped by 49 per cent to Rs 365 crore. The consumption of machine tools in 2008-09 declined by 24 per cent to Rs 6,542.8 crore compared to the preceding year. Indian industry, which is still largely dependent on imports for bigger and more sophisticated machines, also witnessed a fall in imports of machine tools to Rs 5,478.4 crore, a decline of 20 per cent over 2007-08.

During the first quarter of the current fiscal year (April-June 2009), the industry registered a near 50 per cent drop in output to Rs 201 crore, compared to the corresponding year-ago quarter. “Normally, business is always dull in the first quarter of every year. This year, due to the prevailing sentiment, there were even fewer orders than usual. But we hope to arrest the trend of falling orders towards the end of the year,” says Srinivas Shirgurkar, managing director of Ace Designers, a Bangalore-based machine tool manufacturer.

The industry is deliberately making an effort to develop alternative avenues for growth. “It is starting to look at other areas like government contracts, aerospace and general engineering sectors in a big way. This will not only help them survive the downturn, but also secure contracts for the future,” says Mohanram, director of the technology division of IMTMA.

The sector, having begun adopting newer technologies and having also become cost effective, is now able to compete with imported machines, Mohanram notes. The industry is developing more multi-function, more accurate and more productive machines with high-end features. Companies like BFW, HMT, Jyoti CNC, Lokesh Machines, Lakshmi Machine Works, TAL and Premier have introduced machines based on new technology in recent months.

Shirgurkar says, “The first half of 2008-09 was very good, but subsequently the output dropped by 60 per cent in the second half of the year. From July this year, we have seen signs of improvement. Going by current indications, we may end 2009-10 with a drop of just 25 per cent over the last fiscal.”

But Shigurkar notes that the industry has seen some positive factors as well. Apart from trying to reduce its dependence on the automobile sector and widening the search for customers, machine tool makers, who were until now focusing on small machines, have started work on producing large machines.

Moreover, most companies have exhausted their piled-up inventories and are set to book new orders. The industry hopes for a revival during the last quarter of the current fiscal, following the late revival of the monsoon and the quicker growth in the automobile industry over the last two months. It reckons that sales will stop declining towards the end of the year and thereafter move into positive territory.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/machine-tool-makers-de-risk-their-business/371688/

3D copier puts normal copy machines to shame

Copy machines have been a staple of offices for decades now, but they've always had one drawback: they only copy in 2D. And we live in a 3D world. What gives?

Well, the new ZPrinter 350 from Z Corporation solves that problem. For a mere $25,900, it'll use snap-in cartridges of material to create objects up to 8 x 10 x 8 inches in size. Sure, it'll take a while at .8 inches per hour vertically, but who are you to complain in the face of such innovation? Suck it, Xerox!http://dvice.com/archives/2009/10/3d-copier-puts.php