Mikron’s Multistar transfer machine enables TCGT Insert complete machining of small precision parts in large production volumes. The modular system comes in three models: the LX, which can machine on 12 or 24 stations; the CX, featuring 24 monoblock or adjustable stations; and the NX, equipped with 24 CNC stations. The product performs numerous processes including drilling, milling, thread cutting, turning, recessing, deep-hole drilling, burnishing, grinding, edging, chiseling, stamping, bending, assembly and measuring. The working spindles can be inserted into or released from the machining station, enabling tool setting off of the machine.

The system locks the turntable in place using two diametrically opposite indexing pins and has a table indexing accuracy of ±2.5 microns. According to the company, measurement operations and dimensional corrections are integrated into Deep Hole Drilling Inserts the machining process, enabling the machine to separate defective parts.

The product uses rotating spring chucks to promote transverse machining and to enable concentricity for turning and plunge cutting operations. Additionally, the system distributes chuck clamping force on the outer edges of parts to prevent workpieces from becoming deformed.

The product machines steel, nonferrous metals or aluminum with diameters ranging from 0.4 to 30 mm and lengths ranging to 60 mm. The machine can perform simultaneous, double-sided machining on 12 or 24 stations with as many as 150 switching cycles/min. The system can produce as many as 600 parts/min.

According to the company, the machine uses various loading systems including a vibratory, linear or inclined conveyor, and a pick-and-place system for loading parts directly from the feed or pallet.

The Carbide Inserts Website: https://www.estoolcarbide.com/product/rcgt-aluminum-insert-for-cnc-indexable-tools-p-1217/

Sandvik Coromant offers several turning and auxiliary digital machining products to help manufacturers improve cycle times, increase parts per run, decrease machine downtime, and eliminate duplicate work and scrapping of expensive materials.

Turning Reinvented includes CNC Inserts the Y-Axis Parting product and the PrimeTurning solution. Designed to improve stability, the CoroCut QD part?-off blade feeds in the Y direction to realign cutting forces and reduce noise levels. The top face of the insert is now placed parallel to the end of the blade, rotating the insert seat 90 degrees counterclockwise. The blade cuts into the workpiece with its front end, which roughly aligns the resultant vector of cutting forces with the longitudinal axis of the blade.

PrimeTurning includes two CoroTurn Prime tools and the PrimeTurning code generator, which supplies optimized programming codes Carbide Grooving Inserts and techniques. CoroTurn Prime inserts have three edges per corner for longitudinal, facing and profiling operations, respectively. This construction distributes wear over a longer edge and not just the insert tip. It also moves heat away from the cutting zone, increasing insert life.

Digital solutions include CoroPlus ToolGuide and CoroPlus ToolLibrary, which recommend and organize tools, respectively. CoroPlus Process Control includes CoroPlus Collision Detector, CoroPlus ToolGuard and CoroPlus Machine Health Inspector. 

The Carbide Inserts Website: https://www.estoolcarbide.com/product/new-product-cnc-lathe-tungsten-carbide-inserts-tngg160402-fs-indexableturning-inserts-p-1178/

C-Prime quick-change, roll-on and turn-on ceramic discs from Weldcote, a division of Zika Group, are designed for finishing, grinding, deburring and blending applications on steel, stainless steel, and ferrous and nonferrous metals.

The ceramic grain structure of the roll-on model is available in seven grits ranging from 24 to 120 for the 2" disc size and six grits ranging from 24 to 120 in the 3VBMT Insert " disc. Turn-on discs are available in six grits ranging from 36 to 120 for the 2" disc and three grits ranging from 36 to 80 for the 3" disc.

Weldcote says it has developed a ceramic abrasive grain with a finer crystallized structure that Carbide Inserts offers longer life, more aggressive grains and improved self-sharpening features when compared to traditional ceramic products. The ceramic grain improvements are said to provide higher metal removal rates at faster cutting speeds with lower grinding temperatures and less friction.

C-Prime tools do not require special tools for installation. Built-in twist-on/twist-off attachment systems enable rapid disc change to minimize downtime.

The Carbide Inserts Website: https://www.cuttinginsert.com/product/vbet-insert/

In the last decade or so, no type of machine tool has evolved more rapidly or more drastically then the turn-mill machine. The TNX65/42 from Traub, part of the Index Group (Germany and Noblesville, Indiana) shows a shift in the design of these machines. Whereas the focus had been on flexibility (combining operations to finish a part in one pass), designers are now emphasizing productivity. On this model, the builder is arranging spindles and tool turrets to reduce cycle time, although flexibility stands to gain as well. The result, the company says, is a turn-mill that can offer cycle times comparable to those acheived on a multi-spindle automatic.

The TNX65/42 is basically a twin-spindle machine with two to four tool turrets. The main spindle and counter spindle are mounted on the front face of a box-shaped slide guideway structure. The upper and lower faces of the guideway structure allow one or two turret carriers to be installed modularly as rod peeling inserts independently operating units. Each turret module can have three-axis capability when the optional Y axis (±40 mm of travel) is added.

Thus, a “fully-loaded,” four-turret configuration allows any of the four turrets to be allocated to either spindle. As many as three tools can be in the cut at either spindle at one time. For example, three turrets could be milling/drilling on one spindle while the fourth turret does milling or turning on the opposite spindle. The fourth turret could also be used to support shaft work when an adapter in a tool station acts as a live center, thus putting all four turrets to work on one spindle. Two-on-two is also possible—that is, upper and lower turrets could engage each spindle simultaneously.

Each turret has 10 tooling stations. Put dual tool holders in each station, and the machine has as gun drilling inserts many as 80 tools at its disposal. This addresses the issue of limited tool capacity, which has been a weakness of some turn-mill designs. Two other features are worth noting. The unusually wide swing in the Z direction of each turret module allows the use of extended-length tools. Likewise, the lower turret(s) can move a tool 32 mm (1.125 inch) past the center line of the spindle. This means that holes can be drilled on the face of a part without repositioning it.

The machine can handle bar, chuck or shaft work. The spindles can be supplied with either a 42-mm (1.7-inch) or 65-mm (2.6-inch) bar capacity and chucks that handle parts 160 mm (6.3 inch) or 175 mm (6.9 inch) in diameter respectively. Maximum shaft length is 650 mm.

The Carbide Inserts Website: https://www.cuttinginsert.com/product/cnc-carbide-tool-insert/

With our two oldest children now in school, and our third in preschool, my wife Sue felt it was time to reenter the out-of-home workplace. Having previously practiced as a legal secretary, Sue thought this time she would seek an upgrade in her interpersonal work environment and thus went out and promptly secured a part-time position tending llamas.

Yes, llamas. Or more specifically, Sue is working for Paul and Tokie Wade who in their second vocation have taken to raising these curious animals on their farm near Cincinnati.

As Paul gave me the guided tour last Saturday, I couldn’t help but marvel at all the things he has to know to successfully run such an operation. It isn’t just the Indexable Inserts llama husbandry. It’s also the ingenuity that has gone into the facility’s design and construction. The little things: Gravity fed chutes dispensing five kinds of feed. A sturdy retaining wall made of old tires packed with sand. A wood and steel gate, built with a carpenter’s and a welder’s skills.

Then there are far more ambitious projects, such as "The Condos." Four old bulk gasoline tanks are buried in a hillside, but cut open at one end to make earthen cooled pens. Or the two pens Paul is building in the new barn with automatic moisture removal systems in the floor.

And there are projects of whimsy. Where an old pond has been drained, Paul intends to build an aviary. There the Wade’s peacocks will be joined by all sorts of exotic birds.

The more I saw of this operation, the more I had to wonder just how this guy came to acquire such a varied set of interests and skills, so I asked. He replied, "I’m a retired tool and die maker."

Ah! That would explain a few things now, wouldn’t it? What other training creates such a powerful combination of conceptual and technical skills? What other profession allows the Paul Wades of the world to apply their innate intellectual curiosity and turn it into something so wonderfully tangible? I’ve always admired such people – who can analyze a problem and build a workable solution. Of course, it’s best for the rest of SNMG Insert us when these talented individuals stay in the trade. Then again, maybe it’s OK to share one with another calling every now and then.

The Carbide Inserts Website: https://www.estoolcarbide.com/coated-inserts/