Carbide inserts,CNC Turning Inserts,Lathe Inserts' Journal [entries|friends|calendar]
Carbide inserts,CNC Turning Inserts,Lathe Inserts

[ website | Carbide Inserts Supplier ]
[ userinfo | scribbld userinfo ]
[ calendar | scribbld calendar ]

Heat Resistant Insert Grade Improves Tool Life [05 Dec 2023|01:36am]

In 2017 and 2018, the World Machine Tool Survey from Gardner Intelligence, the research arm of Modern Machine Shop publisher Gardner Business Media, showed that 12 out of the top 15 machine tool consuming countries increased their consumption. It is relatively rare for this to happen in a single year, and this was the only time it had ever happened in back-to-back years. This worldwide upturn and the extremely cyclical nature of the machine tool market should have been a clue to the fate of machine tool consumption in 2019, which was a worldwide downturn.

According to the latest survey, the results of which have recently been published, global machine tool consumption decreased by $13.1 billion, or 13.8%, to $82.1 billion in 2019. Therefore, 2019 had the lowest level of machine tool consumption since 2010, when much of the global economy was just starting to recover from the Great Recession. And, in an about face of 2018, 12 out of the top 15 consuming countries decreased their machine tool consumption in 2019.

While there was a recovery in 2017 and 2018, the global machine tool market has essentially contracted since 2011. Much of this contraction is due to China, which most certainly led the contraction in 2019. China’s 2019 consumption was $22.3 billion, falling $6.4 billion, or 25.3%. The decrease in China’s machine tool consumption accounted for nearly half of the global decline.

The Chinese automotive industry, among others, slowed toward the end of 2019. The Chinese economy was also hit particularly hard by the quarantines to contain COVID-19. As a result, China’s machine tool consumption will likely see another significant decline in 2020, perhaps another 15-25%, or roughly $5 billion.

China’s machine tool consumption accounted for 27.2% of the market in 2019. This was the first time China’s machine tool consumption accounted for less than 30% of the global market VNMG Insert since 2008. And the country’s share of the global market could fall again in 2020 as work moves toward Southeast Asian countries not hit as hard by COVID-19 and Mexico, which continues to claim a larger presence in global manufacturing.

Mexico consumed $2.5 billion in machine tools in 2019. That was its third highest total ever and its eighth consecutive year with more than $2 billion in consumption. Mexico consumed 9.1% more machine tools in 2019 than it did in 2018. Of the top 15 consumers, Mexico had the second largest increase (only Brazil increased more). Mexico’s 2019 growth was also the fifth fastest in the world. Three of the faster-growing countries were significantly smaller consumers, making their higher rates of growth much easier to achieve.

Mexico maintained its ranking as the eighth-largest tungsten carbide inserts machine tool consumer in the world in 2019. However, the country significantly increased its share of global machine tool consumption to 3.1% from 2.4%. In 2019, Mexico consumed its largest share of the global machine tool market ever.

The U.S., the world’s second-largest consumer, bought $9.7 billion of machine tools in 2019, which was down just 1.6% from 2018. That made 2019 the U.S.’s third-highest year for machine tool consumption since 1998.

Of the 12 countries that decreased consumption in the top 15 consumers, the U.S. recorded the smallest decline. As a result, the U.S. significantly increased its share of the global machine tool market. In 2019, the U.S. consumed 11.9% of the world’s machine tools. This was the U.S.’s highest share of global consumption since 2001. This is significant because 2001 was the start of significant offshoring of U.S. manufacturing due to artificially low interest rates set by the Federal Reserve to help the country recover from the bursting of the dot-com bubble.

Since the end of the Great Recession in late 2009 or early 2010, the pendulum has swung back as manufacturing returns to North America, more specifically the U.S. and Mexico. The generally rising share of global machine tool consumption for both countries during that time is evidence of the reshoring or near-shoring trend.

COVID-19 has led several countries to lock down significant portions of their populations, which has led to a significant reduction in economic activity. It is quite possible that global machine tool consumption declines by 15% or more in 2020. If global machine tool consumption declines by 15%, it would drop below $70 billion for the first time since 2009, in the midst of the Great Recession.

Global machine tool production has followed a similar pattern to consumption. In 2019, global machine tool production was $84.2 billion, which was a decrease of $12.9 billion, or 13.3%. Like global consumption, global production in 2019 fell to its lowest level since 2010. Only three of the 15 producers increased production in 2019: Brazil, France and Canada.

China, the world’s largest producer of machine tools, decreased its production by $4.6 billion, or 23.1%. China’s machine tool production has decreased six of the last eight years, falling to its lowest level since 2009. In 2019, China’s share of global production was 23.1%, which was its lowest share since 2008, when it was 16.4%.

Brazil was the lone country in the top 10 producers that increased its machine tool production. The country increased its production by 12.6% to $1.6 billion. Every one of the other top 10 producers cut their production. Germany and the U.S. were the only two that decreased their production less than 10%. As a result, both Germany and the U.S. increased their share of global machine tool production. Other countries in the top 15 producers to increase their global share of production include Italy, Austria, France, U.K. and Canada. Results of the survey show a small but noticeable shift in machine tool production to Europe from Asia.

The World Machine Tool Survey contains much more information, including not only consumption and production data, but also data related to imports and exports of the top 60 machine consuming countries. The report includes import and export data on high-level machine types. To purchase the report and the data supporting it, visit gardnerintelligence.com.


The Cemented Carbide Blog: Carbide Inserts
post comment

Multitasking Machine Combines CNC, Data Driven Platform for Faster Cycle Times [01 Dec 2023|05:59am]

Norton, a Saint-Gobain brand, has introduced its Paradigm diamond wheels, which feature a new bond designed to deliver high grinding performance on carbide round tools, and periphery grinding on carbide and cermet inserts. The wheels are said to provide fast cycle Carbide Milling Inserts times, fine cutting edges and reduced cost per part. The wheels are custom-manufactured for user requirements and are available for Anca, Makino, Rollomatic, Star, Walter and other grinding systems.

According to the company, the Paradigm fluting wheels enable one-pass flute grinding at higher feed rates. In periphery grinding of inserts, the wheels are said to create finer edges, achieve longer wheel life and speed APMT Insert production rates.

The wheels are capable of online truing and dressing for lights-out production. Additionally, they are wear- and load-resistant for improved grinding on 6 to 12 percent cobalt, and are said to offer better control over core growth. A higher grain retention and a uniform structure provide a high G ratio (the ratio of material removal rate versus wheel wear) for longer wheel life and higher material removal rates. The wheels’ low specific cutting energy also enables faster grinding with a lower power draw and less burn, the company says.


The Cemented Carbide Blog: surface milling Inserts
post comment

5 Mistakes We Find in Most CNC Machine Programs [29 Nov 2023|01:39am]

There are three ways to create programs that run on CNC machines: manually write them, use a shopfloor-programmed conversational control or use a CAM system. The last is the most popular method of creating programs because almost every company that has CNC machine tools has Thread Cutting Insert a CAM system. 

Just as a CNC control can be customized through parameter settings to work with a wide variety of CNC machine tools, so too can a CAM system be tailored to work with a wide variety of CNC controls. However, given the numerous CNC functions involved, customizing the CAM system to a given CNC machine and control can be challenging.

To complicate matters, most CNCs allow users to handle nearly every programming feature multiple ways based on preference. With cutter radius compensation, for instance, the user can decide whether the generated tool path is for the cutter centerline or the work surface. Choices are often based on legacy because CNCs are “backward compatible.” This means they allow older programming methods to be used for years (or decades) after newer, more convenient features became available.

Given the these complexities, most companies tend to quit customizing CAM system G-code output as soon as they get something that works. They stop short of making the CAM system output G-code programs that are properly structured, or that takes advantage of current, more desirable CNC features. Resulting G-code programs are lengthier, less efficient and more cumbersome than their manually created counterparts.

Here are four suggestions to help you streamline G-code programs created by CAM systems.

Certain CNC features are designed to make life easier for manual programmers. The tradeoff is often more work for setup people and operators. Consider tool nose radius compensation, a turning center feature that deals with imperfections caused by the tiny radius on single-point cutting tools. While it simplifies programming, CNC-based tool nose radius compensation requires the setup person to enter tool nose radius data.

All current CAM systems can output tool paths based on a specified tool nose radius. If you make your CAM system do so, you can save setup time and minimize potential for mistakes. Other CNC features that can have an impact on operator time and effort include other compensation functions like machining center based fixture offsets, tool length compensation and cutter radius compensation, as well as turning center based geometry and wear offsets.

While they may not regularly modify CNC programs, setup people and operators should be able to understand what a G-code program is doing. This can be a direct function of how your CAM system generates G-code programs. Your CAM system should take advantage of CNC features like decimal point programming (I still see CNC words including real numbers generated with fixed format), radius designation for circular commands using R instead of I, J and K, and canned cycles instead of multiple G00/G01 motion commands. It should also utilize coordinate manipulation features when applicable, like coordinate rotation, single direction positioning, mirror image and scaling.

CAM systems are notorious for generating G-code programs with redundancy. Unnecessary, redundant commands in a program increase program length and can confuse operators. A CAM system may, for example, include the motion type G00, G01, G02 or G03 in every motion command even though motion type is modal.

Conversely, I’ve seen resulting G-code programs that do not allow the rerunning of cutting tools — a task commonly required when running the first workpiece in a production run — or when critical finishing tools are replaced after wearing out. Rerunning a tool requires that all commands needed to get the program running be included at the beginning of every tool.

Spindle probes have become very popular and are especially helpful during setup, but they are also becoming an integral part of many CNC cycles as well. They are commonly used to automate trial machining operations, ensuring the correctness of a surface machined for the first time with a new cutting tool. They can also be used when raw material to be machined varies from part to part, which is commonly the case with castings and forgings. With these kinds of applications, the CAM-system-generated CNC program must dynamically deal with probing results in real time.

For example, stock on a workpiece surface may be varying from 0.05 inch to 0.25 inch. Rather than waste time by making the number of passes for the worst-case scenario, the spindle probe can determine the amount of material that must currently be machined. If it determines that there is 0.2 inch of material on a surface to be milled, the CNC program must make the appropriate number of machining passes.

Since the number of passes will vary from part to part, many of the resulting machining commands cannot be performed directly by the CAM-system-generated G-code program. Instead, the CAM system must have the G-code program call a parametric program (custom macro in FANUC terms) that resides in the CNC control and makes the correct number of passes based on the results of the probing operation.

tungsten carbide inserts
The Cemented Carbide Blog: carbide round insert
post comment

Cutting Data, Indexable Inserts Optimize Fine Boring [08 Nov 2023|08:36am]

The Swift Arc ML available from ESAB Welding & Cutting Products is an enclosed robotic welding system intended for education and training. The mobile cell is a complete ready-to-weld unit designed to demonstrate, develop and teach proper welding techniques and skills as well as robot programming on site.

The cell combines ESAB welding equipment with a KUKA KR6 90VBET Insert 0 robot and controller. ESAB’s Artisto U5000i welding power source and wire feeder minimize spatter and burn-through on thin materials, while the TruArc Voltage feature provides accurate voltage information for critical welding, the company says. An Aristo RT robotic torch features universal contact tips that can be exchanged WNMG Insert between water-cooled and gas-cooled torches.

The system offers an open-architecture Windows HMI, consistent wrist orientation function and electronic mastering for quick calibration. The interlock safety system, operator control panel and intuitive control pendant enable instruction of programming and troubleshooting techniques required for industrial robotic welding applications. The cell also features a steel tube frame, expandable cell walls with acrylic windows, and heavy-duty casters to enable mobility.


The Cemented Carbide Blog: WNMG Insert
post comment

News of Note: Machine Redesign, CAM Credentials and Solar Energy [04 Nov 2023|03:03am]

Kitamura Machinery’s Mycenter-HX500G horizontal machining center provides flexible cutting capabilities for medium to large-sized parts. The compact HMC accommodates workpieces ranging to 31.4" in diameter and 43.3" in height. It features a solid boxway construction with rapid feed rates of 2,362 ipm. Twin ballscrews and motors in the X and Y axes plus linear scale feedback on all axes optimize stability. Accuracies are ±0.000079" full stroke and ±0.00039" repeatability.

The HMC is available with either a 40- or 50-taper spindle configuration, making it suitable for either lighter-duty aluminum applications or heavier, accurate processing of CNMG Turning Insert exotic workpieces. Both are four-step geared, dual-contact spindles designed for energy efficiency. The 40-taper spindle provides speeds ranging to 20,000 rpm for fine finish cutting requirements, whereas the 50-taper spindle offers 432.2 foot-pounds of cutting torque for heavy-duty machining. HSK spindle designs are optionally available. 

The HMC is equipped with a 50-station fixed pot automatic toolchanger, upgradable to 200 tools. The two-station automatic pallet changer is field expandable and coupled with 360-degree fourth axis capability and a rotary scale for faster, more accurate production per pallet load. The 16IR Insert Arumatik-Mi controller offers smooth, high-speed processing with the potential to add fifth-axis simultaneous machining capabilities on both pallets.


The Cemented Carbide Blog: CNC Carbide Inserts
post comment

Rollomatic Laser Cutting System Machines Large PCD Tools [02 Nov 2023|02:01am]

Lenox offers its Versa Pro carbide-tipped bandsaw blade for general-purpose cutting of carbon steels, alloys, tool steel, stainless and other materials. The versatile carbide blade leverages Honex technology in order to deliver long blade life across a variety of metals and cutting applications, VBET Insert the company says.

The new carbide grade tip has increased toughness to retain a sharp cutting edge. The Honex process pre-hones the cutting edge in order to minimize chipping and VNMG Insert help eliminate the break-in process. Other features that enhance performance include a multi-chip tooth design that balances chip load and reduces cutting forces; a moderately aggressive rake angle for easy penetration and balanced wear; and precision-ground carbide tips with clean, sharp edges that deliver smooth parts and quiet cutting.

The Versa Pro blade will be available in a range of widths to fit the majority of carbide-friendly band saws.


The Cemented Carbide Blog: bta drilling
post comment

navigation
[ viewing | most recent entries ]