Mill for composite material; Double-column machining center.
CORE D is a 5-axis, optical coordinate measuring machine (CMM) system for measuring small- to medium-sized parts with polished, reflective surfaces and sharp edges, such as turbine blades.
A double-eye sensor ensures good point accessibility and collects reliable data with the light beam axis up to 85° to the surface normal.
The updated CORE D has an automatic cover which closes during the measurement cycle, ensuring perfect optical, thermal, and clean conditions. The unit is shop-hardened, designed to be robot loaded, and occupies a small footprint. It can be calibrated to ISO standards just like a CMM.
MonsterMill FRP solid carbide milling cutter features a special diamond coating for machining carbon-fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP), offering optimum process security, cutting quality, and performance.
Fine chip breakers enhance quiet running and component quality. Large grooves safely clear away dust that may develop, permitting an optimal process temperature to prevent damage such as smearing on the cutting edge. The diamond coating ensures long tool life despite the high abrasiveness of carbon-fiber reinforced plastics. The left-hand helix version offers a push cut for reducing delamination on the top side; the right-hand helix offers a pulling cut for reducing delamination on the underside; the version without a helix produces a neutral cut. Four end cutting edges provide the option of pocket milling by means of angled or circular ramping.
The MCR-BV double-column machining center (DCMC) for 5-face machining, 5-axis contouring, and 5-sided heavy milling offers precision large-part machining in an expanded work envelope. A high torque, high output integral motor and spindle shorten cycle times. The rigid table, 30% thicker than previous models, withstands high cutting forces and the weight of large workpieces. A broad range of attachment heads are compatible with the machine, allowing creation of numerous part shapes and performing many multitasking machining functions.
Additional features include a fast automatic tool changer (ATC) and a smaller, faster auto attachment changer (AAC) which increase productivity while performing heavy cutting or high-accuracy finishing.
Available models include the MCR-BV 25, MCR-BV 30, and MCR-BV 35.
For more information, visit: https://www.okuma.com/products/mcr-bv
Promoted by CECIMO, the European Association of Machine Tool Industries, and organized by the operational structures of UCIMU-Sistemi Per Produrre, the Italian machine tools, robots, and automation systems manufacturers’ association, EMO Milano 2021 registered more than 60,000 visitors from 91 countries.
At the conclusion of the event, General Commissioner of EMO Milano 2021 Luigi Galdabini said, “The exhibition data confirm the value of the event, considered as the point of reference for the worldwide manufacturing industry of machine tools, robots, and automation systems.”
Exhibition Director Alfredo Mariotti added, “A very large number of exhibitors have expressed their full satisfaction with the results achieved over these 6 exhibition days [which saw] qualified and very motivated visitors.”
Despite the mobility restrictions still in force, EMO Milano confirmed its international character even on this occasion. Foreign exhibitors accounted for 60% of the total, whereas foreign visitors made up 30% of the overall number. The show also attracted the attention of about 400 accredited journalists, of whom 40% were from abroad.
More than 700 companies exhibited in six halls covering 100,000m2 (>1,000,000ft2) of exhibition area. Focal points included EMO Start-Up, which offered a look at new enterprises working on the development of products and projects related to the world of production systems and metalworking, EMO Digital, and EMO Additive Manufacturing.
Exhibitors and organizers gave more than 80 presentations that were attended in-person and through the live streaming service.
The next edition of EMO Milano will take place in October 2027.
Star SU has named Thomas Giglio as its new general manager for the Tawas Tool operations, with two facilities in East Tawas, Michigan, where the company produces gear cutting tool solutions in addition to tool reconditioning services.
The Performance Review Institute (PRI) has appointed Jay Solomond to executive vice president and COO. Solomond will lead and manage all aspects of PRI, a not-for-profit trade association facilitating collaborative supply chain oversight programs, quality management systems approvals (including Nadcap), and professional development.
MC Machinery Regional Sales Manager for EDM and Milling Steve Brown has expanded his territory to 10 states, including Minnesota, western Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Brown also manages relationships with two Mitsubishi EDM distributors in Wisconsin and Illinois.
Gene Deych has joined MC Machinery as a regional sales representative for lasers, automation equipment, and press brakes. Based in Aurora, Colorado, Deych covers Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Southeast Idaho.
Large-scale, industrial metrology equipment producer Brunson Instrument Co., based in Kansas City, Missouri, has selected Chris Klope as president. He brings 20 years of leadership experience to the role, including executive positions growing middle-market manufacturing and industrial distribution companies. Klope succeeds Richard Powell, who is retiring after a 21-year career at Brunson. Powell will continue to serve on the company’s board of directors.
Additive manufacturing powders and energy storage materials producer 6K has appointed Gary Hall as CFO. He joins 6K with more than 20 years of experience leading finance and operational teams at high-growth, technology companies.
Global technology, defense, and engineering group ST Engineering appointed Timothy J. McBride as president of ST Engineering North America Inc., in Alexandria, Virginia. McBride joins the group from Raytheon Technologies, where he was senior vice president of global government relations.
Micro AM system; Commercial alumina ceramic; High-performance polymer.
The CEM-E2 multi-material print head for additive manufacturing (AM) can print metal, plastic, and ceramics. Its extruder’s print heads are matched to different material groups. Version M (metals) is for metal-filled materials (MIM pellets); P (plastics) is for filled and unfilled plastics, and C (ceramics) for higher abrasion ceramic-filled materials (CIM pellets). The new extruders/print heads have an improved accuracy of delivery for a higher surface quality and better mechanical properties of the component. Extrusion speed has been increased by more than 200% with manufacturing rates of up to 220cm³/h with a 0.4mm nozzle now possible.
AIM3D is also developing larger pellet 3D printers to manufacture larger parts and achieve even higher build rates.
Fabrica 2.0, developed by Nano Dimension’s Fabrica Group, is used in micron-level resolution of micro-optics, semiconductors, micro-electronics, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), and in making products such as casings for micro-electronics, micro springs, micro actuators, and micro sensors.
The 3D printing system enables miniaturization that allows designers and manufacturers to build complex parts in small, medium, and high volumes.
Based on a digital light processor (DLP) engine, it achieves repeatable micron-level resolution by combining DLP with patented adaptive optics. The Fabrica 2.0 is engineered with an array of sensors allowing a closed feedback loop and uses proprietary materials which can achieve high accuracy while remaining a cost- effective mass-manufacturing solution.
Because of its wide use as a technical ceramic and market demand for parts produced via NanoParticle Jetting (NPJ), XJet now commercially offers alumina.
Delivering high mechanical strength, high hardness, and good electrical insulation, alumina also has high wear resistance, high thermal conductivity, and resistance to high temperatures. Both alumina and zirconia are technical ceramics with very good resistance to chemicals (non-corrosive), are great insulators, and are very hard materials. NPJ allows extremely accurate near-net-shape alumina parts with ultra-fine detail and smooth surfaces.
Essentium polyetherketoneketone (PEKK), made with Arkema 6002 Kepstan resin, is an ultra-polymer offering high heat and chemical resistance along with mechanical strength to meet aerospace and industrial application performance requirements.
PEKK shares most of the performance attributes of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) but has a lower crystallization rate and can be treated as an amorphous polymer; it’s less affected by the cooling process once the part is 3D printed, minimizing warping. PEKK maintains flame, smoke, and toxicity ratings for Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) compliance while offering improved resistance to chemical attack compared to polyetherimide (PEI) materials. PEKK has an extrusion temperature between 340°C and 400°C.
The new material enables manufacturers to scale and meet requirements of specific applications with tested and certified materials of their choice.
Understanding the solidification process of molten droplets can help develop a universal model to predict droplet deposition in jet engines.
Gas turbine engines in airplanes provide required thrust by sucking in air, heating it to high temperatures in a combustion chamber, and exhausting it at high velocities. Small inorganic particles such as volcanic ash get sucked in along with the air. These particles melt in the high-temperature zones in the combustion chamber and solidify onto cooler zones in the engine, such as the turbine blades. The solidified droplets accumulate on the surface of the blades, deforming, and blocking cooling holes, deteriorating the performance and the life of the engine.
Predicting the process can help engineers develop and modify engine designs by determining how molten droplets solidify in contact with a cooler surface and an accurate simulation is fundamental to understanding the process.
In a study published in the International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, a group of scientists from Japan developed a model that can simulate the solidification of a single molten droplet on a flat surface. Their model doesn’t require any prior information and can be used to develop models that can predict the deposition process in jet engines.
The research term consisted of Dr. Koji Fukudome and Prof. Makoto Yamamoto from the Tokyo University of Science, Dr. Ken Yamamoto from Osaka University, and Dr. Hiroya Mamori from The University of Electro-Communications.
Previous models assumed the surface was at a constant temperature, but the new approach simulates the solidification process by considering the droplet behavior and the heat transfer between the hotter droplet and the cooler surface.
“We have been simulating droplet impact, but we could not ignore the difference from the experiment. In this study, we thought that considering the temperature change of the colliding wall surface would be consistent with the experiment,” Fukudome says.
The researchers opted for a meshless moving particle semi-implicit (MPS) method which didn’t require multiple calculations on each grid. The MPS method is based on fundamental equations of fluid flow (such as Navier-Stokes equations and mass balance conservation equations) and has been widely used to simulate complex flows. The temperature change was computed using the grid-based method, coupling particle-based and grid-based methods.
Researchers simulated the solidification of molten tin droplets on a stainless-steel substrate. The model replicated the solidification process observed in experiments. The simulations also provided an in-depth view into the solidification process, highlighting the spreading behavior and the temperature distribution of a droplet as it meets the solid surface.
The solidification is dependent on the thickness of the liquid film that was formed after the molten droplet met the surface. Solidification initiates as the liquid film expands on the surface and is observed at the edge of the liquid film near the surface. As the liquid film continues to spread and become thinner, solidification progresses until the entire film is turned into solid particles.
Dirk Masur, aerospace component manager at Walter, explains how aircraft materials can be machined efficiently, cost-effectively.
Despite the increased use of composites, aluminum continues to play an important role in modern aircraft. Development of new alloys with improved properties is ongoing, with the current trend toward aluminum-lithium (Al-Li) wrought alloys.
Al-Li alloys are lighter than other Al alloys and have a higher elasticity modulus. Pieces made from these materials are often similar to those made from titanium. Both have many pockets – and consequently high swarf volumes – the main difference is aluminum machining is a high-speed cutting (HSC) process. It’s not uncommon to see milling Vc values of >9,850sfm (3,000m/min), but cutting speeds too low form built-up edges and cause faster tool wear. Working with aluminum requires expertise and component knowledge to develop cost-effective, reliable processes – complete solutions matched to the application, with tool and machine optimized for aluminum.
With modern HSC machines equipped with 10hp to 200hp (120kW to 150kW) spindles, Walter M2131/M2331 roughing cutters can generate metal removal rates up to 610in3/min (10L/min). High-speed machining requires high-performance tools that match the machine for the most efficient process. Walter has M2131/M2331 and MB265 for roughing, MB266 for semi-finishing and finishing, and the new HPC Al 35 for one-shot finishing with base heights up to 5xD. Customers who require special versions receive custom-designed tools within 2-to-3 weeks via Walter’s Xpress service.
More difficult to machine than aluminum, titanium has high chemical reactivity that fuses chips at the cutting edge during machining. Poor thermal conductivity raises cutting edge temperatures significantly, producing extremely tough and abrasive chips. The minimal modulus of elasticity leads to the workpiece bending easily, further reducing the tool edge life even at low cutting speeds. Using the right coolant influences tool life. Carbide substrates, new coating technologies, and macro- and micro-geometries of the cutting tools can reduce machining times, which can be further optimized with CAD/CAM specialists, making possible high-performance cutting (HPC) and high-dynamic cutting (HDC) for finishing and roughing titanium.
Dynamic milling with the Walter Prototyp HDC Ti38 Z6-10 and innovative new coating can achieve cutting speeds up to 420sfm (128m/min). Multi-tooth solutions with up to 10 teeth allow the feed to be increased up to 50% at low contact widths, increasing metal removal rate up to 50% compared with conventional solutions.
Heat management is difficult when working with titanium alloys, but an optimized coolant supply to each cutting edge alleviates this problem, guaranteeing safe chip removal even at high cutting speeds. Tangential and axial insert placement on the milling body ensures the indexable inserts are securely clamped for stability even in low diameter ranges. Each indexable insert has 2 or 4 cutting edges for maximum efficiency. With tangential arrangement, the M3255 tooling system can machine forged components.
A further innovation is CVD coating for the WSM45X indexable insert used for the Walter BLAXX M3255 helical milling cutter. The heat protection coating shield facilitates cutting speeds up to 215sfm (65m/min) and extends the tool edge life up to 130 minutes, making it possible to double the tool life during machining of titanium structural components.
For more information: www.walter-tools.com/us