Which Properties Make Stainless Steel Parts So Valuable？

Tungaloy is expanding its TungCut series of grooving tools to include new insert and holder options. TungCut’s DTE grooving insert offers a versatile design that allows the insert to be used for grooving and turning in both axial and radial directions.

The new insert options include DTE3-020 for a cutting width of 3 mm with 0.2 mm corner radii, as well as DTE4-080 and DTE5-080 for cutting widths of 4 mm and 5 mm, respectively, both with 0.8 mm corner radii. The inserts are offered in AH7025, a PVD grade dedicated for grooving applications from roughing to finishing.

The popular modular tooling series, TungModularSystem now includes a CAEFR-****-CHP type modular blade enabling OD and face grooving with up to 4.8 mm cutting depths. The Carbide Drilling Inserts blades are offered in two sizes covering cutting widths from 2 mm to 6 mm.

In addition, TungCut expands the monoblock holder lineup in its TungCut toolholder series to include JCTEL and CTER/L lines to meet various cutting depth needs. This expansion further enhances TungCut to be able to provide optimal cutting-edge overhangs in various grooving situations, while minimizing vibration and instability.

At a glance:

Expanded lineup of DTE grooving inserts for additional cutting widths and corner radii

New TungModularSystem modular blades for OD and face grooving applications with cutting widths from 2 mm to 6 mm

Enhanced monoblock toolholder lineup offers expanded coverage of maximum cutting SNMG Insert depths

Total of 23 items to be added in this expansion

The Cemented Carbide Blog: VBMT Insert

Tungaloy is expanding its TungCut series of grooving tools to include new insert and holder options. TungCut’s DTE grooving insert offers a versatile design that allows the insert to be used for grooving and turning in both axial and radial directions.

The new insert options include DTE3-020 for a cutting width of 3 mm with 0.2 mm corner radii, as well as DTE4-080 and DTE5-080 for cutting widths of 4 mm and 5 mm, respectively, both with 0.8 mm corner radii. The inserts are offered in AH7025, a PVD grade dedicated for grooving applications from roughing to finishing.

The popular modular tooling series, TungModularSystem now includes a CAEFR-****-CHP type modular blade enabling OD and face grooving with up to 4.8 mm cutting depths. The Carbide Drilling Inserts blades are offered in two sizes covering cutting widths from 2 mm to 6 mm.

In addition, TungCut expands the monoblock holder lineup in its TungCut toolholder series to include JCTEL and CTER/L lines to meet various cutting depth needs. This expansion further enhances TungCut to be able to provide optimal cutting-edge overhangs in various grooving situations, while minimizing vibration and instability.

At a glance:

Expanded lineup of DTE grooving inserts for additional cutting widths and corner radii

New TungModularSystem modular blades for OD and face grooving applications with cutting widths from 2 mm to 6 mm

Enhanced monoblock toolholder lineup offers expanded coverage of maximum cutting SNMG Insert depths

Total of 23 items to be added in this expansion

The Cemented Carbide Blog: VBMT Insert

Tungaloy is expanding its TungCut series of grooving tools to include new insert and holder options. TungCut’s DTE grooving insert offers a versatile design that allows the insert to be used for grooving and turning in both axial and radial directions.

The new insert options include DTE3-020 for a cutting width of 3 mm with 0.2 mm corner radii, as well as DTE4-080 and DTE5-080 for cutting widths of 4 mm and 5 mm, respectively, both with 0.8 mm corner radii. The inserts are offered in AH7025, a PVD grade dedicated for grooving applications from roughing to finishing.

The popular modular tooling series, TungModularSystem now includes a CAEFR-****-CHP type modular blade enabling OD and face grooving with up to 4.8 mm cutting depths. The Carbide Drilling Inserts blades are offered in two sizes covering cutting widths from 2 mm to 6 mm.

In addition, TungCut expands the monoblock holder lineup in its TungCut toolholder series to include JCTEL and CTER/L lines to meet various cutting depth needs. This expansion further enhances TungCut to be able to provide optimal cutting-edge overhangs in various grooving situations, while minimizing vibration and instability.

At a glance:

Expanded lineup of DTE grooving inserts for additional cutting widths and corner radii

New TungModularSystem modular blades for OD and face grooving applications with cutting widths from 2 mm to 6 mm

Enhanced monoblock toolholder lineup offers expanded coverage of maximum cutting SNMG Insert depths

Total of 23 items to be added in this expansion

The Cemented Carbide Blog: VBMT Insert

Buying Tungsten Rings The Unparalleled Beauty

The packaging is the basic need of all businesses now as it serves them in an important process such as protection and promotion of products. They provide businesses with matchless competitive advantages and can help them elevate their sales and profits. Cardboard boxes can be customized in any desired shape and size as the materials used are superior and matchless in versatile nature. They are also perfect to resist all kinds of damaging and contaminating factors, along with endless options for customization. Both digital and offset printing are available for the Custom box design in PMS and CMYK configurations, along with lamination and finishing options.

Significance of design

All the product manufacturers are looking for effective tactics that can help them ensure their products' security during the transit and storage phase and make the safe delivery of products sure for the consumers. Providing consumers with damage-free products helps the businesses reflect their professional nature to them and effectively assists in fostering brand loyalty in the minds of consumers. Moreover, the competition in the market for sales of products is also making it hard for businesses to elevate their sales and promotional activities are also essential than ever before. Businesses are required to present their products in a creative manner in an attempt to captivate the consumers and influence their purchasing decision. They are always looking for packaging designs that are functional, alluring, vivid, and can help them side by side in both the promotional activities and protecting the products. Custom box packaging can help you in a perfect and matchless way as they are perfect in all aspects and can provide businesses with bundles of competitive advantages.

Why every business needs them?

In the modern competitive environment of the market, it is becoming really hard for businesses to make their sales skyrocket again. The marketers are in the hunt for innovative promotional tactics that can help them to elevate their sales and make the reach of their business to go higher. Customized packaging designs can help them in the best possible manner as the design is considered to be the ultimate marketing tool for businesses that allures the consumers by captivating their attention. Box printed with creatively designed graphics, and illustrations are always effective to influence the purchase decision of the consumers and can make the sales of businesses to go higher. Businesses can buy boxes in bulk and get them customized according to their requirements. It only takes to find the best packaging supplier who can provide you with top packaging designs at low rates. If you are dissatisfied with your current box supplier, here are tips for you to find the best.

Finding the right supplier

All the businesses in the market are looking for top packaging companies that can provide them with the most innovative and functional packaging designs at low rates. There are a number of packaging suppliers functional in the market who can provide you with their products and services, but it is always important to select the best for your supplies. Packaging used by your business is like your ultimate marketing machine, and it should be perfect in quality. Moreover, the consumers also perceive packaging as a basic hint about the quality of products, and thus, they focus on its quality closely. If you are unhappy with your current packaging supplier, you can find a new one, but keeping your requirements in your mind. There are two main options for which you can opt for, the first is local vendors around your surrounding, and the other option is online packaging companies. Both of the suppliers have their own certain advantages, and you can select them according to your own preferences.

Packaging vendors nearby

As the demand for packaging is growing with every passing day, there are different packaging suppliers now functional in the spectrum that can provide you with cost-savvy and functional designs of packaging easily. Packaging vendors nearby you are one of them, and they can provide you with bundles of benefits. They are highly professional and can provide you with top packaging supplies at low rates. They usually deal in pre-manufactured packaging boxes that are ready to be used; thus, the lead time required for packaging is simply zero. Learn the advantages of using their services.

• They make use of the highest quality materials in their supplies.
• The packaging at their disposal is highly functional and protective.
• They CCGT Insert have a wide range of options to choose from.
• They provide packaging at low rates.
• They have the highest turnaround rate as they deal in pre-manufactured packaging.
• Shipping cost is also zero due to the location proximity
• They provide competitive rates
• There are also certain limitations with these suppliers
• Customization options are only limited to labeling as they only deal in pre-manufactured packaging designs
• Custom sized boxes are not available at their disposal

Online packaging companies

If your requirements are not suitable for the supplies provided by local packaging companies nearby you, there is no need to panic as you can use the services and products provided by online packaging companies. They provide you with the highest quality Cemented Carbide Inserts of box printed packaging precisely according to your desire and requirements. These packaging companies are highly professional and also provide you with free designing service so you can make your dream packaging design come true. Here are the benefits you get by using the services of such companies

• They have strict quality control measures so that you can get the highest quality packaging.
• Their advanced machinery in use makes the quality of product packaging ensured along with reduced turnaround time.
• The top packaging companies provide free shipping service when you buy boxes in bulk.
• They also provide a free designing service for all their supplies.
• The use of the die plate is also free of cost.
• The printing options for custom box packaging are endless and can help you to elevate the visuals of the packaging as you want.

The Cemented Carbide Blog: deep hole drilling inserts

The packaging is the basic need of all businesses now as it serves them in an important process such as protection and promotion of products. They provide businesses with matchless competitive advantages and can help them elevate their sales and profits. Cardboard boxes can be customized in any desired shape and size as the materials used are superior and matchless in versatile nature. They are also perfect to resist all kinds of damaging and contaminating factors, along with endless options for customization. Both digital and offset printing are available for the Custom box design in PMS and CMYK configurations, along with lamination and finishing options.

Significance of design

All the product manufacturers are looking for effective tactics that can help them ensure their products' security during the transit and storage phase and make the safe delivery of products sure for the consumers. Providing consumers with damage-free products helps the businesses reflect their professional nature to them and effectively assists in fostering brand loyalty in the minds of consumers. Moreover, the competition in the market for sales of products is also making it hard for businesses to elevate their sales and promotional activities are also essential than ever before. Businesses are required to present their products in a creative manner in an attempt to captivate the consumers and influence their purchasing decision. They are always looking for packaging designs that are functional, alluring, vivid, and can help them side by side in both the promotional activities and protecting the products. Custom box packaging can help you in a perfect and matchless way as they are perfect in all aspects and can provide businesses with bundles of competitive advantages.

Why every business needs them?

In the modern competitive environment of the market, it is becoming really hard for businesses to make their sales skyrocket again. The marketers are in the hunt for innovative promotional tactics that can help them to elevate their sales and make the reach of their business to go higher. Customized packaging designs can help them in the best possible manner as the design is considered to be the ultimate marketing tool for businesses that allures the consumers by captivating their attention. Box printed with creatively designed graphics, and illustrations are always effective to influence the purchase decision of the consumers and can make the sales of businesses to go higher. Businesses can buy boxes in bulk and get them customized according to their requirements. It only takes to find the best packaging supplier who can provide you with top packaging designs at low rates. If you are dissatisfied with your current box supplier, here are tips for you to find the best.

Finding the right supplier

All the businesses in the market are looking for top packaging companies that can provide them with the most innovative and functional packaging designs at low rates. There are a number of packaging suppliers functional in the market who can provide you with their products and services, but it is always important to select the best for your supplies. Packaging used by your business is like your ultimate marketing machine, and it should be perfect in quality. Moreover, the consumers also perceive packaging as a basic hint about the quality of products, and thus, they focus on its quality closely. If you are unhappy with your current packaging supplier, you can find a new one, but keeping your requirements in your mind. There are two main options for which you can opt for, the first is local vendors around your surrounding, and the other option is online packaging companies. Both of the suppliers have their own certain advantages, and you can select them according to your own preferences.

Packaging vendors nearby

As the demand for packaging is growing with every passing day, there are different packaging suppliers now functional in the spectrum that can provide you with cost-savvy and functional designs of packaging easily. Packaging vendors nearby you are one of them, and they can provide you with bundles of benefits. They are highly professional and can provide you with top packaging supplies at low rates. They usually deal in pre-manufactured packaging boxes that are ready to be used; thus, the lead time required for packaging is simply zero. Learn the advantages of using their services.

• They make use of the highest quality materials in their supplies.
• The packaging at their disposal is highly functional and protective.
• They CCGT Insert have a wide range of options to choose from.
• They provide packaging at low rates.
• They have the highest turnaround rate as they deal in pre-manufactured packaging.
• Shipping cost is also zero due to the location proximity
• They provide competitive rates
• There are also certain limitations with these suppliers
• Customization options are only limited to labeling as they only deal in pre-manufactured packaging designs
• Custom sized boxes are not available at their disposal

Online packaging companies

If your requirements are not suitable for the supplies provided by local packaging companies nearby you, there is no need to panic as you can use the services and products provided by online packaging companies. They provide you with the highest quality Cemented Carbide Inserts of box printed packaging precisely according to your desire and requirements. These packaging companies are highly professional and also provide you with free designing service so you can make your dream packaging design come true. Here are the benefits you get by using the services of such companies

• They have strict quality control measures so that you can get the highest quality packaging.
• Their advanced machinery in use makes the quality of product packaging ensured along with reduced turnaround time.
• The top packaging companies provide free shipping service when you buy boxes in bulk.
• They also provide a free designing service for all their supplies.
• The use of the die plate is also free of cost.
• The printing options for custom box packaging are endless and can help you to elevate the visuals of the packaging as you want.

The Cemented Carbide Blog: deep hole drilling inserts

The packaging is the basic need of all businesses now as it serves them in an important process such as protection and promotion of products. They provide businesses with matchless competitive advantages and can help them elevate their sales and profits. Cardboard boxes can be customized in any desired shape and size as the materials used are superior and matchless in versatile nature. They are also perfect to resist all kinds of damaging and contaminating factors, along with endless options for customization. Both digital and offset printing are available for the Custom box design in PMS and CMYK configurations, along with lamination and finishing options.

Significance of design

All the product manufacturers are looking for effective tactics that can help them ensure their products' security during the transit and storage phase and make the safe delivery of products sure for the consumers. Providing consumers with damage-free products helps the businesses reflect their professional nature to them and effectively assists in fostering brand loyalty in the minds of consumers. Moreover, the competition in the market for sales of products is also making it hard for businesses to elevate their sales and promotional activities are also essential than ever before. Businesses are required to present their products in a creative manner in an attempt to captivate the consumers and influence their purchasing decision. They are always looking for packaging designs that are functional, alluring, vivid, and can help them side by side in both the promotional activities and protecting the products. Custom box packaging can help you in a perfect and matchless way as they are perfect in all aspects and can provide businesses with bundles of competitive advantages.

Why every business needs them?

In the modern competitive environment of the market, it is becoming really hard for businesses to make their sales skyrocket again. The marketers are in the hunt for innovative promotional tactics that can help them to elevate their sales and make the reach of their business to go higher. Customized packaging designs can help them in the best possible manner as the design is considered to be the ultimate marketing tool for businesses that allures the consumers by captivating their attention. Box printed with creatively designed graphics, and illustrations are always effective to influence the purchase decision of the consumers and can make the sales of businesses to go higher. Businesses can buy boxes in bulk and get them customized according to their requirements. It only takes to find the best packaging supplier who can provide you with top packaging designs at low rates. If you are dissatisfied with your current box supplier, here are tips for you to find the best.

Finding the right supplier

All the businesses in the market are looking for top packaging companies that can provide them with the most innovative and functional packaging designs at low rates. There are a number of packaging suppliers functional in the market who can provide you with their products and services, but it is always important to select the best for your supplies. Packaging used by your business is like your ultimate marketing machine, and it should be perfect in quality. Moreover, the consumers also perceive packaging as a basic hint about the quality of products, and thus, they focus on its quality closely. If you are unhappy with your current packaging supplier, you can find a new one, but keeping your requirements in your mind. There are two main options for which you can opt for, the first is local vendors around your surrounding, and the other option is online packaging companies. Both of the suppliers have their own certain advantages, and you can select them according to your own preferences.

Packaging vendors nearby

As the demand for packaging is growing with every passing day, there are different packaging suppliers now functional in the spectrum that can provide you with cost-savvy and functional designs of packaging easily. Packaging vendors nearby you are one of them, and they can provide you with bundles of benefits. They are highly professional and can provide you with top packaging supplies at low rates. They usually deal in pre-manufactured packaging boxes that are ready to be used; thus, the lead time required for packaging is simply zero. Learn the advantages of using their services.

• They make use of the highest quality materials in their supplies.
• The packaging at their disposal is highly functional and protective.
• They CCGT Insert have a wide range of options to choose from.
• They provide packaging at low rates.
• They have the highest turnaround rate as they deal in pre-manufactured packaging.
• Shipping cost is also zero due to the location proximity
• They provide competitive rates
• There are also certain limitations with these suppliers
• Customization options are only limited to labeling as they only deal in pre-manufactured packaging designs
• Custom sized boxes are not available at their disposal

Online packaging companies

If your requirements are not suitable for the supplies provided by local packaging companies nearby you, there is no need to panic as you can use the services and products provided by online packaging companies. They provide you with the highest quality Cemented Carbide Inserts of box printed packaging precisely according to your desire and requirements. These packaging companies are highly professional and also provide you with free designing service so you can make your dream packaging design come true. Here are the benefits you get by using the services of such companies

• They have strict quality control measures so that you can get the highest quality packaging.
• Their advanced machinery in use makes the quality of product packaging ensured along with reduced turnaround time.
• The top packaging companies provide free shipping service when you buy boxes in bulk.
• They also provide a free designing service for all their supplies.
• The use of the die plate is also free of cost.
• The printing options for custom box packaging are endless and can help you to elevate the visuals of the packaging as you want.

The Cemented Carbide Blog: deep hole drilling inserts

How Can You Find The Benefits of Eco friendly Custom Essential Boxes？

The construction of these prefab buildings is done from materials that are normally lightweight and hence cheaper than the kind of material that is used for concrete or permanent buildings. The money that is required in the making of prefab structures is not a lot because of the material used as well as because of their purpose being temporary.

The walls of the portable cabins are normally made of prefabricated puf panels. This kind of panel structures are made out of the combination of metal and EPS foam. The EPS foam increases the width of the panels maintaining their lightweight at the same time. The metal sheets are manufactured from a certain kind of material and possess grooves or waves on them. These waves make the panels ideal for their use in standing the walls and roofs for temporary portable cabins. The foam of the panel is like an adhesive to the grooved metal sheets on the inside and forms a sandwich like structure, which is one of the reasons why these are also called sandwich panels.

There are some major pointers that differentiate the prefab and usual steel structures. These are as follows:

Sandwich panels in the making of walls are not just lightweight but are also durable. Apart from that, they are affordable making them a better choice over permanent structures.

In the case of the metal sheets with EPS foam, the temperature inside the cabin is likely to remain stable providing the idea of a co structure. This is hardly the case for permanent homes. If there is, it needs to be considered that that option is expensive.

In the times of rain and monsoon, the roofs as well as the walls with sheets made with only metal can also be really disturbing and noisy. Which can be a turn off when buying a prefab structure. However, the possibility of leakage is comparatively lower than normal kind of metal sheets, hence the durability. There are no issues of an extensive drainage system like a permanent infrastructure for temporary cabins.

The parts of portable cabins need to tube process inserts be manufactured with proper care as these are what make the house stand. There are steel structure manufacturers in India who make such quality essentials for these portable cabins which often make portacabins a choice over permanent homes. The quality of the panel boards for walls and roofs by the manufacturers have the correct proportions of EPS foam and metal combination ensuring that the needs of the customer are well satisfied.

When it comes to roofing, the sandwich panels are also used in the making of the roofs. The manufacturers have evolved in such a way that specialized and customized, concrete floor panels are being manufactured. When metal sheets are insulated, it becomes safer to use solar heaters instead of geysers for heating water which in turn saves electricity as well as money. An insulated sheet for the rod peeling inserts roof also helps in saving money by making almost everything in the house solar powered. It would be a different case for those who need these houses in areas with minimum sunlight.

There is another feature of these cabins that is minor yet extremely essential, purlins. These are the metal pieces that join the panels to make the house stand. There are two types of purlins that purlin suppliers produce, C type purlins and Z type purlins. It is also known that Z type are stronger than the C type but these are not always required for every design of temporary houses. The purlins also need to be strong enough to hold solar panels over the roof. Well, the solar mounting structure manufacturers in India too make sure that these are light in weight to be transported easily.

The Cemented Carbide Blog: grooving Inserts manufacturers

The construction of these prefab buildings is done from materials that are normally lightweight and hence cheaper than the kind of material that is used for concrete or permanent buildings. The money that is required in the making of prefab structures is not a lot because of the material used as well as because of their purpose being temporary.

The walls of the portable cabins are normally made of prefabricated puf panels. This kind of panel structures are made out of the combination of metal and EPS foam. The EPS foam increases the width of the panels maintaining their lightweight at the same time. The metal sheets are manufactured from a certain kind of material and possess grooves or waves on them. These waves make the panels ideal for their use in standing the walls and roofs for temporary portable cabins. The foam of the panel is like an adhesive to the grooved metal sheets on the inside and forms a sandwich like structure, which is one of the reasons why these are also called sandwich panels.

There are some major pointers that differentiate the prefab and usual steel structures. These are as follows:

Sandwich panels in the making of walls are not just lightweight but are also durable. Apart from that, they are affordable making them a better choice over permanent structures.

In the case of the metal sheets with EPS foam, the temperature inside the cabin is likely to remain stable providing the idea of a co structure. This is hardly the case for permanent homes. If there is, it needs to be considered that that option is expensive.

In the times of rain and monsoon, the roofs as well as the walls with sheets made with only metal can also be really disturbing and noisy. Which can be a turn off when buying a prefab structure. However, the possibility of leakage is comparatively lower than normal kind of metal sheets, hence the durability. There are no issues of an extensive drainage system like a permanent infrastructure for temporary cabins.

The parts of portable cabins need to tube process inserts be manufactured with proper care as these are what make the house stand. There are steel structure manufacturers in India who make such quality essentials for these portable cabins which often make portacabins a choice over permanent homes. The quality of the panel boards for walls and roofs by the manufacturers have the correct proportions of EPS foam and metal combination ensuring that the needs of the customer are well satisfied.

When it comes to roofing, the sandwich panels are also used in the making of the roofs. The manufacturers have evolved in such a way that specialized and customized, concrete floor panels are being manufactured. When metal sheets are insulated, it becomes safer to use solar heaters instead of geysers for heating water which in turn saves electricity as well as money. An insulated sheet for the rod peeling inserts roof also helps in saving money by making almost everything in the house solar powered. It would be a different case for those who need these houses in areas with minimum sunlight.

There is another feature of these cabins that is minor yet extremely essential, purlins. These are the metal pieces that join the panels to make the house stand. There are two types of purlins that purlin suppliers produce, C type purlins and Z type purlins. It is also known that Z type are stronger than the C type but these are not always required for every design of temporary houses. The purlins also need to be strong enough to hold solar panels over the roof. Well, the solar mounting structure manufacturers in India too make sure that these are light in weight to be transported easily.

The Cemented Carbide Blog: grooving Inserts manufacturers

The construction of these prefab buildings is done from materials that are normally lightweight and hence cheaper than the kind of material that is used for concrete or permanent buildings. The money that is required in the making of prefab structures is not a lot because of the material used as well as because of their purpose being temporary.

The walls of the portable cabins are normally made of prefabricated puf panels. This kind of panel structures are made out of the combination of metal and EPS foam. The EPS foam increases the width of the panels maintaining their lightweight at the same time. The metal sheets are manufactured from a certain kind of material and possess grooves or waves on them. These waves make the panels ideal for their use in standing the walls and roofs for temporary portable cabins. The foam of the panel is like an adhesive to the grooved metal sheets on the inside and forms a sandwich like structure, which is one of the reasons why these are also called sandwich panels.

There are some major pointers that differentiate the prefab and usual steel structures. These are as follows:

Sandwich panels in the making of walls are not just lightweight but are also durable. Apart from that, they are affordable making them a better choice over permanent structures.

In the case of the metal sheets with EPS foam, the temperature inside the cabin is likely to remain stable providing the idea of a co structure. This is hardly the case for permanent homes. If there is, it needs to be considered that that option is expensive.

In the times of rain and monsoon, the roofs as well as the walls with sheets made with only metal can also be really disturbing and noisy. Which can be a turn off when buying a prefab structure. However, the possibility of leakage is comparatively lower than normal kind of metal sheets, hence the durability. There are no issues of an extensive drainage system like a permanent infrastructure for temporary cabins.

The parts of portable cabins need to tube process inserts be manufactured with proper care as these are what make the house stand. There are steel structure manufacturers in India who make such quality essentials for these portable cabins which often make portacabins a choice over permanent homes. The quality of the panel boards for walls and roofs by the manufacturers have the correct proportions of EPS foam and metal combination ensuring that the needs of the customer are well satisfied.

When it comes to roofing, the sandwich panels are also used in the making of the roofs. The manufacturers have evolved in such a way that specialized and customized, concrete floor panels are being manufactured. When metal sheets are insulated, it becomes safer to use solar heaters instead of geysers for heating water which in turn saves electricity as well as money. An insulated sheet for the rod peeling inserts roof also helps in saving money by making almost everything in the house solar powered. It would be a different case for those who need these houses in areas with minimum sunlight.

There is another feature of these cabins that is minor yet extremely essential, purlins. These are the metal pieces that join the panels to make the house stand. There are two types of purlins that purlin suppliers produce, C type purlins and Z type purlins. It is also known that Z type are stronger than the C type but these are not always required for every design of temporary houses. The purlins also need to be strong enough to hold solar panels over the roof. Well, the solar mounting structure manufacturers in India too make sure that these are light in weight to be transported easily.

The Cemented Carbide Blog: grooving Inserts manufacturers

How To Choose Carbide Wear Inserts？

We used metallographic microanalysis and hardness testing methods to study the cause of the failure of cold-punching mould, and proposed an effective measure to improve the life of the mold. Research shows that by optimizing the heat treatment process and processing technology, the material selection is more reasonable and the service life of the mold can be greatly increased.The life of the cold-punching mould is the key factor that can cause the industrial production efficiency failing to improve. The factors that generally lead to die failure include early failures such as chippingand breaking, or serious deformation of the die and no further use. How to improve the die The service life has become a hot topic that the mold industry is highly concerned about.1 Types and Causes of Failure of Cold DiesAccording to the cause of the failure of the mold, the common failure modes can be divided into four failure modes: fracture failure, wear failure, Carbide Milling Inserts deformation failure, and fatigue failure.Failure formReason for failureFailure failureMold material toughness and strength is not enoughWear failureExcessive wear due to relative motion between the mold and the material being groundDeformation failureMaterial heat treatment deformation, stress concentration, excessive load on the mold, plastic deformation of the materialFatigue failureCracks are continuously generated and expanded under alternating stressCold punching die usually work under difficult and complicated conditions, so die failure is often accompanied by multiple failure modes. Figure 1 starts to crack after stamping 800 pieces.It is made of Cr12MoV wear-resistant high-chromium alloy steel, the design hardness of 55 ~ 58HRC. The quenching process of the mold is (870℃x1.5h + 1050℃x2h) In a vacuum furnace, drawing fire gun drilling inserts 200℃x 3h. The measured hardness of the mold is shown in Table 2.Fig. 1 Mold partsTable 2 Mold Parts Hardness Test (HRC)Analysis: As can be seen from Table 2, there is a non-uniform distribution of the hardness of the mold parts, which is caused by the uneven heating of the mold during the heat treatment due to the large size of the mold parts. As shown in the metallographic organization chart of Figure 2, the material segregation of the mold parts is very serious due to the insufficient forging during the forging process. There was no macroscopic plastic deformation at the fracture surface and it was granular, and it was judged to be brittle fracture. Figure 2 Metallic microstructureMeasure: Metallographic examination of the metallurgical dimensions is less than 3 levels after full forging. Roughing high-temperature quenching and tempering treatments are added between finishing and finishing. 2 Measures to Improve the Life of Cold Dies 2.1 Reasonable Material SelectionWhen carbon alloy steel is used for brittle fracture due to insufficient plasticity, better tough materials such as microhardened steel 6CrMnNiMoVSi(GD), 9Mn2V steel, low alloy CrWMn steel, 7CrSiMnMoV(CH) steel should be selected. When wear failure is the main failure mode, alloy steels with high carbon content and chromium content (such as Cr12, Cr12MoV), high-carbon medium-chromium alloy steel (Cr8MoWV3Si), 9Cr6W3Mo2V2 (GM) steel, 7Cr7Mo2V2Si (LD) steel, etc. should be used.2.2 Heat Treatment Process ImprovementFirst of all, we must improve the pre-heat treatment process to refine the solid solution of carbides, improve the morphology and distribution of carbides, and increase the plasticity of workpieces. The second is to determine a reasonable quenching conditions, shorten the high-temperature residence time, rotate into the coolant and rotate it to seek even cooling, in order to avoid the failure of the mold.2.3 Reasonable forgingHigh-chromium alloy steels often have severe segregation of carbides and are forged using the cross-draft method. The carbide level after forging is not greater than grade 3. Strictly control the forging temperature and prevent the generation of forging cracks. After the forging, it is often used to anneal the residual heat balls and prepare for the final heat treatment.2.4 Wire cuttingThe size of the wire cutting processing power directly determines the white bright layer thickness and micro-cracks size of the quenched martensite formed on the surface of the workpiece. In the final step of in-line cutting, a small amount of energy is often used for finishing, which can greatly reduce the thickness of the bright white layer and the depth of cracks. After the wire cutting is completed, the mold should be supplemented and tempered to eliminate the additional stress of the wire cutting.3 ConclusionThe working conditions of cold working molds are relatively complex and bad. In the course of use, molds are often intertwined with various kinds of damage. Through the optimization of the heat treatment process and processing technology, the material selection is more reasonable and the service life of the mold can be effectively prolonged.
Source: Meeyou Carbide

The Cemented Carbide Blog: cemented carbide wear pads

We used metallographic microanalysis and hardness testing methods to study the cause of the failure of cold-punching mould, and proposed an effective measure to improve the life of the mold. Research shows that by optimizing the heat treatment process and processing technology, the material selection is more reasonable and the service life of the mold can be greatly increased.The life of the cold-punching mould is the key factor that can cause the industrial production efficiency failing to improve. The factors that generally lead to die failure include early failures such as chippingand breaking, or serious deformation of the die and no further use. How to improve the die The service life has become a hot topic that the mold industry is highly concerned about.1 Types and Causes of Failure of Cold DiesAccording to the cause of the failure of the mold, the common failure modes can be divided into four failure modes: fracture failure, wear failure, Carbide Milling Inserts deformation failure, and fatigue failure.Failure formReason for failureFailure failureMold material toughness and strength is not enoughWear failureExcessive wear due to relative motion between the mold and the material being groundDeformation failureMaterial heat treatment deformation, stress concentration, excessive load on the mold, plastic deformation of the materialFatigue failureCracks are continuously generated and expanded under alternating stressCold punching die usually work under difficult and complicated conditions, so die failure is often accompanied by multiple failure modes. Figure 1 starts to crack after stamping 800 pieces.It is made of Cr12MoV wear-resistant high-chromium alloy steel, the design hardness of 55 ~ 58HRC. The quenching process of the mold is (870℃x1.5h + 1050℃x2h) In a vacuum furnace, drawing fire gun drilling inserts 200℃x 3h. The measured hardness of the mold is shown in Table 2.Fig. 1 Mold partsTable 2 Mold Parts Hardness Test (HRC)Analysis: As can be seen from Table 2, there is a non-uniform distribution of the hardness of the mold parts, which is caused by the uneven heating of the mold during the heat treatment due to the large size of the mold parts. As shown in the metallographic organization chart of Figure 2, the material segregation of the mold parts is very serious due to the insufficient forging during the forging process. There was no macroscopic plastic deformation at the fracture surface and it was granular, and it was judged to be brittle fracture. Figure 2 Metallic microstructureMeasure: Metallographic examination of the metallurgical dimensions is less than 3 levels after full forging. Roughing high-temperature quenching and tempering treatments are added between finishing and finishing. 2 Measures to Improve the Life of Cold Dies 2.1 Reasonable Material SelectionWhen carbon alloy steel is used for brittle fracture due to insufficient plasticity, better tough materials such as microhardened steel 6CrMnNiMoVSi(GD), 9Mn2V steel, low alloy CrWMn steel, 7CrSiMnMoV(CH) steel should be selected. When wear failure is the main failure mode, alloy steels with high carbon content and chromium content (such as Cr12, Cr12MoV), high-carbon medium-chromium alloy steel (Cr8MoWV3Si), 9Cr6W3Mo2V2 (GM) steel, 7Cr7Mo2V2Si (LD) steel, etc. should be used.2.2 Heat Treatment Process ImprovementFirst of all, we must improve the pre-heat treatment process to refine the solid solution of carbides, improve the morphology and distribution of carbides, and increase the plasticity of workpieces. The second is to determine a reasonable quenching conditions, shorten the high-temperature residence time, rotate into the coolant and rotate it to seek even cooling, in order to avoid the failure of the mold.2.3 Reasonable forgingHigh-chromium alloy steels often have severe segregation of carbides and are forged using the cross-draft method. The carbide level after forging is not greater than grade 3. Strictly control the forging temperature and prevent the generation of forging cracks. After the forging, it is often used to anneal the residual heat balls and prepare for the final heat treatment.2.4 Wire cuttingThe size of the wire cutting processing power directly determines the white bright layer thickness and micro-cracks size of the quenched martensite formed on the surface of the workpiece. In the final step of in-line cutting, a small amount of energy is often used for finishing, which can greatly reduce the thickness of the bright white layer and the depth of cracks. After the wire cutting is completed, the mold should be supplemented and tempered to eliminate the additional stress of the wire cutting.3 ConclusionThe working conditions of cold working molds are relatively complex and bad. In the course of use, molds are often intertwined with various kinds of damage. Through the optimization of the heat treatment process and processing technology, the material selection is more reasonable and the service life of the mold can be effectively prolonged.
Source: Meeyou Carbide

The Cemented Carbide Blog: cemented carbide wear pads

We used metallographic microanalysis and hardness testing methods to study the cause of the failure of cold-punching mould, and proposed an effective measure to improve the life of the mold. Research shows that by optimizing the heat treatment process and processing technology, the material selection is more reasonable and the service life of the mold can be greatly increased.The life of the cold-punching mould is the key factor that can cause the industrial production efficiency failing to improve. The factors that generally lead to die failure include early failures such as chippingand breaking, or serious deformation of the die and no further use. How to improve the die The service life has become a hot topic that the mold industry is highly concerned about.1 Types and Causes of Failure of Cold DiesAccording to the cause of the failure of the mold, the common failure modes can be divided into four failure modes: fracture failure, wear failure, Carbide Milling Inserts deformation failure, and fatigue failure.Failure formReason for failureFailure failureMold material toughness and strength is not enoughWear failureExcessive wear due to relative motion between the mold and the material being groundDeformation failureMaterial heat treatment deformation, stress concentration, excessive load on the mold, plastic deformation of the materialFatigue failureCracks are continuously generated and expanded under alternating stressCold punching die usually work under difficult and complicated conditions, so die failure is often accompanied by multiple failure modes. Figure 1 starts to crack after stamping 800 pieces.It is made of Cr12MoV wear-resistant high-chromium alloy steel, the design hardness of 55 ~ 58HRC. The quenching process of the mold is (870℃x1.5h + 1050℃x2h) In a vacuum furnace, drawing fire gun drilling inserts 200℃x 3h. The measured hardness of the mold is shown in Table 2.Fig. 1 Mold partsTable 2 Mold Parts Hardness Test (HRC)Analysis: As can be seen from Table 2, there is a non-uniform distribution of the hardness of the mold parts, which is caused by the uneven heating of the mold during the heat treatment due to the large size of the mold parts. As shown in the metallographic organization chart of Figure 2, the material segregation of the mold parts is very serious due to the insufficient forging during the forging process. There was no macroscopic plastic deformation at the fracture surface and it was granular, and it was judged to be brittle fracture. Figure 2 Metallic microstructureMeasure: Metallographic examination of the metallurgical dimensions is less than 3 levels after full forging. Roughing high-temperature quenching and tempering treatments are added between finishing and finishing. 2 Measures to Improve the Life of Cold Dies 2.1 Reasonable Material SelectionWhen carbon alloy steel is used for brittle fracture due to insufficient plasticity, better tough materials such as microhardened steel 6CrMnNiMoVSi(GD), 9Mn2V steel, low alloy CrWMn steel, 7CrSiMnMoV(CH) steel should be selected. When wear failure is the main failure mode, alloy steels with high carbon content and chromium content (such as Cr12, Cr12MoV), high-carbon medium-chromium alloy steel (Cr8MoWV3Si), 9Cr6W3Mo2V2 (GM) steel, 7Cr7Mo2V2Si (LD) steel, etc. should be used.2.2 Heat Treatment Process ImprovementFirst of all, we must improve the pre-heat treatment process to refine the solid solution of carbides, improve the morphology and distribution of carbides, and increase the plasticity of workpieces. The second is to determine a reasonable quenching conditions, shorten the high-temperature residence time, rotate into the coolant and rotate it to seek even cooling, in order to avoid the failure of the mold.2.3 Reasonable forgingHigh-chromium alloy steels often have severe segregation of carbides and are forged using the cross-draft method. The carbide level after forging is not greater than grade 3. Strictly control the forging temperature and prevent the generation of forging cracks. After the forging, it is often used to anneal the residual heat balls and prepare for the final heat treatment.2.4 Wire cuttingThe size of the wire cutting processing power directly determines the white bright layer thickness and micro-cracks size of the quenched martensite formed on the surface of the workpiece. In the final step of in-line cutting, a small amount of energy is often used for finishing, which can greatly reduce the thickness of the bright white layer and the depth of cracks. After the wire cutting is completed, the mold should be supplemented and tempered to eliminate the additional stress of the wire cutting.3 ConclusionThe working conditions of cold working molds are relatively complex and bad. In the course of use, molds are often intertwined with various kinds of damage. Through the optimization of the heat treatment process and processing technology, the material selection is more reasonable and the service life of the mold can be effectively prolonged.
Source: Meeyou Carbide

The Cemented Carbide Blog: cemented carbide wear pads

Walter Drilling Inserts Provide Extended Tool Life

“Walnuts are cool,” Shawn Wentzel says with a shrug when asked why he decided to plant 7,000 walnut trees on his property in Lodi, California. Now two years old, the orchard is a growing side business. Surrounded by rolling plains and vineyards, it begins at the back door of his primary source of income: an old horse-barn-turned-machine-shop with plenty of space for additional milling and turning equipment to complement the current stable of six machine tools.

He named the shop Wenteq, and with revenue growing at approximately 10 percent per year, prospects for filling the rest of the 15,000-square-foot space seem bright. The newest technology addition is a robot to load and unload various parts for automotive and agricultural equipment from a turning center. With Mr. Wentzel opting to do much of the legwork, integrating the robot is a work in progress. No matter. As was the case with the walnut trees, he sees no barrier in his lack of automation-integration experience. “There’s nothing like doing it yourself,” the 36-year-old says, articulating the independent spirit that first led him to turn his machining hobby into a business nearly 15 years ago. “What can anyone learn in school that they can’t learn on the shop floor?”

This inclination to make his own way is one reason why Mr. Wentzel says he appreciates the open-architecture Thinc-OSP CNCs on the shop’s five Okuma machine tools. These controls’ application programming interface (API), which is essentially the set of tools and resources ?used to integrate with? the CNC and develop functionality for it, is based on the same Microsoft Windows operating platform that drives many personal computers. That means the CNCs can use much of the same software as any other Windows-based computer, including downloadable apps such as the GPS navigators, heart-rate monitors and weather trackers common to consumer mobile devices.

Of course, the apps Okuma offers are designed to make life easier in a CNC machine shop. Many are available for free via the machine tool builder’s online app store. This store has been growing steadily since its launch in 2014, thanks in part to the active participation of shops like Wenteq. Whenever Mr. Wentzel has had an idea—whenever there is something he wished his CNC could do—he says he likely can make it happen by asking Okuma distributor Gosiger Automation to develop an app.

He is not alone. According to Okuma, many apps now available for download originated with end users like Mr. Wentzel. In this way, the company essentially invites its customers to participate in the development of new CNC functionality. Mr. Wentzel was an early enthusiast of this approach, and Wenteq became an early proving ground after the app store’s debut. “When an app came out, we were never scared to throw it on a machine and try it out,” he says.

These small programs all help Mr. Wentzel and his three shopfloor employees avoid making mistakes or wasting time, he says. For instance, the shop does not have an offline tool presetter (not yet, anyway), so many of the most commonly used apps help streamline the manual entry of compensating offsets at machine controls. Others provide basic machine monitoring functionality. Here are five examples of apps the shop finds valuable, two of which were created at Mr. Wentzel’s request:

This app enables inexperienced operators to edit common variables in the control’s parameters section without making mistakes. (Common variables are used to store offsets, part counts and other temporary data that is specific to a particular part program.) “I don’t want employees going into the CNC’s parameters section,” Mr. Wentzel explains. “The common variable section is one page away from a machine system location. If something were to be changed on this page, the machine could crash.”

Instead, Variable Manager presents only the relevant common variables, which can be pulled from the CAM program or defined by Mr. Wentzel when he programs a job. All variable slots can be clearly labeled for convenience and efficiency, and a “revert” function can quickly restore previous values in the event of an error.

On the shop’s palletized horizontal machining center (HMC), Variable Manager makes it easy for even inexperienced operators to change tools for a new job without interrupting production. To facilitate this, the machine’s cycle includes a “dummy pallet” associated with a CAM program that does nothing more than initiate a macro to touch-probe the newly changed tools. Any time before this pallet cycles in, the operator simply opens Variable Manager, inputs the new tool numbers and clicks “set” to initiate a probing cycle for every changed tool. In short, tools can be probed whenever it is convenient rather than immediately upon inserting them in the 146-position automatic toolchanger (ATC). “It puts only what’s relevant in front of you,” Mr. Wentzel says about Variable Manager. “You just type in the tool numbers and click once.” (Tool numbers generally correspond to the number of the slot in the ATC—that is, tool 1 goes into slot 1).

Variable Manager also enables adjusting a machine’s schedule on-the-fly by simply changing the variable associated with part count. Capability to change part counts from the floor, while the machine runs and without editing the program, is particularly useful for the shop’s bar-fed turning centers, Mr. Wentzel says. As is the case with HMC tool offsets, there is no need to navigate through the CNC to find the variable associated with part count. There is little risk of changing the wrong variable or altering a parameter that should not be changed.

Developed by Gosiger at Mr. Wentzel’s request, Manual Data Input (MDI) Tool Call is used for the shop’s LB-3000 lathe. With a subspindle and a Y-axis turret that accommodates as many as 96 tools for both front- and backworking operations, setting offsets on this machine can be complicated. Adding to the confusion is the fact that as many as eight tools can be stacked in the same turret station (four for the main spindle and four for the subspindle). Each requires its own offset, but tools stacked in this way are more difficult to probe because they do not line up with the centerline of the spindle at the turret’s home position. Jogging the turret into position along the Y axis requires either moving it manually (and carefully) or entering a series of coordinate moves into the CNC (again, carefully).

MDI Tool Call reduces this task to just a few keystrokes. The operator simply opens the app, enters the tool-station number, designates which tool requires a new offset, and presses “start” to move the Y axis into the correct position. “I was typing in the same stuff over and over again, and I thought ‘This is dumb,’” Mr. Wentzel recalls about the app’s development. “I approached Gosiger with an idea to make it easy for anyone to do it fast, and without any experience or knowledge.” 

Wenteq’s work sometimes demands changing tool offsets frequently, sometimes between every part. “We had a tight-tolerance project a few months ago in which we were measuring every part to check for insert wear and then changing offsets as needed,” Mr. Wentzel says. “Fat-finger it one time in a situation like that, and you can lose a part.”

There is little risk of that as of just a few months prior to Modern Machine Shop’s visit late last year, when Mr. Wentzel pitched Gosiger on the functionality that became the Easy Adjust app. This app presents operators with a simple interface consisting of four slider bars, each corresponding to the offset for a specific cutting tool. Clicking the “plus” and “minus” buttons adjusts the offset by a prespecified amount (changing this amount requires a password). As the operator adjusts the buttons, the bar changes color depending on how close the adjustment gets to prespecified minimum and maximum limits. Limiting the display to four offsets helps keep things simple, he adds, noting that few jobs require adjusting more than that. This simplicity enables even the least-experienced shopfloor employees to be productive while they learn, and above all, to avoid mistakes and scrapping parts.

Around the time the Okuma app store debuted in 2014, Mr. Wentzel had been seeking a simple, affordable solution for basic machine monitoring. “For one system I considered, the company wanted thousands of dollars plus a monthly fee,” he recalls, “but we don’t need all that functionality. We’re small enough that we don’t need deep utilization information or fancy dashboards with a bunch of lines. We were just looking for a simple, at-a-glance view of machine status.”

As it turned out, this functionality was available for free at the Okuma app store. Since then, basic status information for every machine tool has been displayed on two 50-inch TV monitors that are visible throughout the shop. Green indicates a machine that is running, Surface Milling Inserts orange indicates idle equipment and red denotes a potential problem.

Mr. Wentzel says setup was easy, with the free apps pushing status information through the same Wi-Fi connection used to link machines and send part programs. An Intel Compute Stick—essentially, a mini Windows 10 computer that plugs into a USB port—installed in each of the monitors receives the data from the machines. Mr. Wentzel can also view the data on his smartphone.

This is all possible thanks to MTConnect, an open-source communications protocol that facilitates interconnection and communication among CNC machine tools and other manufacturing equipment. Specifically, Wenteq uses three apps: MTConnect Agent/Adapter, which provides the basic MTConnect communications functionality; MTConnect Display, which scans a shop network for slot milling cutters compatible devices (in this case, the Compute Stick) to make installation plug-and-play; and MTConnect Display Mobile, which provides the mobile phone connection. 

Access to status displays is not Mr. Wentzel’s only means of monitoring machine tools. While walking the floor of the 2018 International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS), he received a call with a distinct ringtone, one assigned to a specific entry in his contact list. On the other end was not a person, but one of his machines, reporting a problem. This simple capability is thanks to the free Machine Alert app, which sends CNC status information and screen shots via email or text whenever certain user-specified conditions are met.

Back in 2014, Mr. Wentzel had to download every app. Now, many come pre-installed on the CNCs of new Okuma machines, including MTConnect Agent/Adapter, apps that track maintenance schedules, and apps that calculate overall run time and remaining run time, among other capabilities.

The Cemented Carbide Blog: carbide wear strips

“Walnuts are cool,” Shawn Wentzel says with a shrug when asked why he decided to plant 7,000 walnut trees on his property in Lodi, California. Now two years old, the orchard is a growing side business. Surrounded by rolling plains and vineyards, it begins at the back door of his primary source of income: an old horse-barn-turned-machine-shop with plenty of space for additional milling and turning equipment to complement the current stable of six machine tools.

He named the shop Wenteq, and with revenue growing at approximately 10 percent per year, prospects for filling the rest of the 15,000-square-foot space seem bright. The newest technology addition is a robot to load and unload various parts for automotive and agricultural equipment from a turning center. With Mr. Wentzel opting to do much of the legwork, integrating the robot is a work in progress. No matter. As was the case with the walnut trees, he sees no barrier in his lack of automation-integration experience. “There’s nothing like doing it yourself,” the 36-year-old says, articulating the independent spirit that first led him to turn his machining hobby into a business nearly 15 years ago. “What can anyone learn in school that they can’t learn on the shop floor?”

This inclination to make his own way is one reason why Mr. Wentzel says he appreciates the open-architecture Thinc-OSP CNCs on the shop’s five Okuma machine tools. These controls’ application programming interface (API), which is essentially the set of tools and resources ?used to integrate with? the CNC and develop functionality for it, is based on the same Microsoft Windows operating platform that drives many personal computers. That means the CNCs can use much of the same software as any other Windows-based computer, including downloadable apps such as the GPS navigators, heart-rate monitors and weather trackers common to consumer mobile devices.

Of course, the apps Okuma offers are designed to make life easier in a CNC machine shop. Many are available for free via the machine tool builder’s online app store. This store has been growing steadily since its launch in 2014, thanks in part to the active participation of shops like Wenteq. Whenever Mr. Wentzel has had an idea—whenever there is something he wished his CNC could do—he says he likely can make it happen by asking Okuma distributor Gosiger Automation to develop an app.

He is not alone. According to Okuma, many apps now available for download originated with end users like Mr. Wentzel. In this way, the company essentially invites its customers to participate in the development of new CNC functionality. Mr. Wentzel was an early enthusiast of this approach, and Wenteq became an early proving ground after the app store’s debut. “When an app came out, we were never scared to throw it on a machine and try it out,” he says.

These small programs all help Mr. Wentzel and his three shopfloor employees avoid making mistakes or wasting time, he says. For instance, the shop does not have an offline tool presetter (not yet, anyway), so many of the most commonly used apps help streamline the manual entry of compensating offsets at machine controls. Others provide basic machine monitoring functionality. Here are five examples of apps the shop finds valuable, two of which were created at Mr. Wentzel’s request:

This app enables inexperienced operators to edit common variables in the control’s parameters section without making mistakes. (Common variables are used to store offsets, part counts and other temporary data that is specific to a particular part program.) “I don’t want employees going into the CNC’s parameters section,” Mr. Wentzel explains. “The common variable section is one page away from a machine system location. If something were to be changed on this page, the machine could crash.”

Instead, Variable Manager presents only the relevant common variables, which can be pulled from the CAM program or defined by Mr. Wentzel when he programs a job. All variable slots can be clearly labeled for convenience and efficiency, and a “revert” function can quickly restore previous values in the event of an error.

On the shop’s palletized horizontal machining center (HMC), Variable Manager makes it easy for even inexperienced operators to change tools for a new job without interrupting production. To facilitate this, the machine’s cycle includes a “dummy pallet” associated with a CAM program that does nothing more than initiate a macro to touch-probe the newly changed tools. Any time before this pallet cycles in, the operator simply opens Variable Manager, inputs the new tool numbers and clicks “set” to initiate a probing cycle for every changed tool. In short, tools can be probed whenever it is convenient rather than immediately upon inserting them in the 146-position automatic toolchanger (ATC). “It puts only what’s relevant in front of you,” Mr. Wentzel says about Variable Manager. “You just type in the tool numbers and click once.” (Tool numbers generally correspond to the number of the slot in the ATC—that is, tool 1 goes into slot 1).

Variable Manager also enables adjusting a machine’s schedule on-the-fly by simply changing the variable associated with part count. Capability to change part counts from the floor, while the machine runs and without editing the program, is particularly useful for the shop’s bar-fed turning centers, Mr. Wentzel says. As is the case with HMC tool offsets, there is no need to navigate through the CNC to find the variable associated with part count. There is little risk of changing the wrong variable or altering a parameter that should not be changed.

Developed by Gosiger at Mr. Wentzel’s request, Manual Data Input (MDI) Tool Call is used for the shop’s LB-3000 lathe. With a subspindle and a Y-axis turret that accommodates as many as 96 tools for both front- and backworking operations, setting offsets on this machine can be complicated. Adding to the confusion is the fact that as many as eight tools can be stacked in the same turret station (four for the main spindle and four for the subspindle). Each requires its own offset, but tools stacked in this way are more difficult to probe because they do not line up with the centerline of the spindle at the turret’s home position. Jogging the turret into position along the Y axis requires either moving it manually (and carefully) or entering a series of coordinate moves into the CNC (again, carefully).

MDI Tool Call reduces this task to just a few keystrokes. The operator simply opens the app, enters the tool-station number, designates which tool requires a new offset, and presses “start” to move the Y axis into the correct position. “I was typing in the same stuff over and over again, and I thought ‘This is dumb,’” Mr. Wentzel recalls about the app’s development. “I approached Gosiger with an idea to make it easy for anyone to do it fast, and without any experience or knowledge.” 

Wenteq’s work sometimes demands changing tool offsets frequently, sometimes between every part. “We had a tight-tolerance project a few months ago in which we were measuring every part to check for insert wear and then changing offsets as needed,” Mr. Wentzel says. “Fat-finger it one time in a situation like that, and you can lose a part.”

There is little risk of that as of just a few months prior to Modern Machine Shop’s visit late last year, when Mr. Wentzel pitched Gosiger on the functionality that became the Easy Adjust app. This app presents operators with a simple interface consisting of four slider bars, each corresponding to the offset for a specific cutting tool. Clicking the “plus” and “minus” buttons adjusts the offset by a prespecified amount (changing this amount requires a password). As the operator adjusts the buttons, the bar changes color depending on how close the adjustment gets to prespecified minimum and maximum limits. Limiting the display to four offsets helps keep things simple, he adds, noting that few jobs require adjusting more than that. This simplicity enables even the least-experienced shopfloor employees to be productive while they learn, and above all, to avoid mistakes and scrapping parts.

Around the time the Okuma app store debuted in 2014, Mr. Wentzel had been seeking a simple, affordable solution for basic machine monitoring. “For one system I considered, the company wanted thousands of dollars plus a monthly fee,” he recalls, “but we don’t need all that functionality. We’re small enough that we don’t need deep utilization information or fancy dashboards with a bunch of lines. We were just looking for a simple, at-a-glance view of machine status.”

As it turned out, this functionality was available for free at the Okuma app store. Since then, basic status information for every machine tool has been displayed on two 50-inch TV monitors that are visible throughout the shop. Green indicates a machine that is running, Surface Milling Inserts orange indicates idle equipment and red denotes a potential problem.

Mr. Wentzel says setup was easy, with the free apps pushing status information through the same Wi-Fi connection used to link machines and send part programs. An Intel Compute Stick—essentially, a mini Windows 10 computer that plugs into a USB port—installed in each of the monitors receives the data from the machines. Mr. Wentzel can also view the data on his smartphone.

This is all possible thanks to MTConnect, an open-source communications protocol that facilitates interconnection and communication among CNC machine tools and other manufacturing equipment. Specifically, Wenteq uses three apps: MTConnect Agent/Adapter, which provides the basic MTConnect communications functionality; MTConnect Display, which scans a shop network for slot milling cutters compatible devices (in this case, the Compute Stick) to make installation plug-and-play; and MTConnect Display Mobile, which provides the mobile phone connection. 

Access to status displays is not Mr. Wentzel’s only means of monitoring machine tools. While walking the floor of the 2018 International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS), he received a call with a distinct ringtone, one assigned to a specific entry in his contact list. On the other end was not a person, but one of his machines, reporting a problem. This simple capability is thanks to the free Machine Alert app, which sends CNC status information and screen shots via email or text whenever certain user-specified conditions are met.

Back in 2014, Mr. Wentzel had to download every app. Now, many come pre-installed on the CNCs of new Okuma machines, including MTConnect Agent/Adapter, apps that track maintenance schedules, and apps that calculate overall run time and remaining run time, among other capabilities.

The Cemented Carbide Blog: carbide wear strips

“Walnuts are cool,” Shawn Wentzel says with a shrug when asked why he decided to plant 7,000 walnut trees on his property in Lodi, California. Now two years old, the orchard is a growing side business. Surrounded by rolling plains and vineyards, it begins at the back door of his primary source of income: an old horse-barn-turned-machine-shop with plenty of space for additional milling and turning equipment to complement the current stable of six machine tools.

He named the shop Wenteq, and with revenue growing at approximately 10 percent per year, prospects for filling the rest of the 15,000-square-foot space seem bright. The newest technology addition is a robot to load and unload various parts for automotive and agricultural equipment from a turning center. With Mr. Wentzel opting to do much of the legwork, integrating the robot is a work in progress. No matter. As was the case with the walnut trees, he sees no barrier in his lack of automation-integration experience. “There’s nothing like doing it yourself,” the 36-year-old says, articulating the independent spirit that first led him to turn his machining hobby into a business nearly 15 years ago. “What can anyone learn in school that they can’t learn on the shop floor?”

This inclination to make his own way is one reason why Mr. Wentzel says he appreciates the open-architecture Thinc-OSP CNCs on the shop’s five Okuma machine tools. These controls’ application programming interface (API), which is essentially the set of tools and resources ?used to integrate with? the CNC and develop functionality for it, is based on the same Microsoft Windows operating platform that drives many personal computers. That means the CNCs can use much of the same software as any other Windows-based computer, including downloadable apps such as the GPS navigators, heart-rate monitors and weather trackers common to consumer mobile devices.

Of course, the apps Okuma offers are designed to make life easier in a CNC machine shop. Many are available for free via the machine tool builder’s online app store. This store has been growing steadily since its launch in 2014, thanks in part to the active participation of shops like Wenteq. Whenever Mr. Wentzel has had an idea—whenever there is something he wished his CNC could do—he says he likely can make it happen by asking Okuma distributor Gosiger Automation to develop an app.

He is not alone. According to Okuma, many apps now available for download originated with end users like Mr. Wentzel. In this way, the company essentially invites its customers to participate in the development of new CNC functionality. Mr. Wentzel was an early enthusiast of this approach, and Wenteq became an early proving ground after the app store’s debut. “When an app came out, we were never scared to throw it on a machine and try it out,” he says.

These small programs all help Mr. Wentzel and his three shopfloor employees avoid making mistakes or wasting time, he says. For instance, the shop does not have an offline tool presetter (not yet, anyway), so many of the most commonly used apps help streamline the manual entry of compensating offsets at machine controls. Others provide basic machine monitoring functionality. Here are five examples of apps the shop finds valuable, two of which were created at Mr. Wentzel’s request:

This app enables inexperienced operators to edit common variables in the control’s parameters section without making mistakes. (Common variables are used to store offsets, part counts and other temporary data that is specific to a particular part program.) “I don’t want employees going into the CNC’s parameters section,” Mr. Wentzel explains. “The common variable section is one page away from a machine system location. If something were to be changed on this page, the machine could crash.”

Instead, Variable Manager presents only the relevant common variables, which can be pulled from the CAM program or defined by Mr. Wentzel when he programs a job. All variable slots can be clearly labeled for convenience and efficiency, and a “revert” function can quickly restore previous values in the event of an error.

On the shop’s palletized horizontal machining center (HMC), Variable Manager makes it easy for even inexperienced operators to change tools for a new job without interrupting production. To facilitate this, the machine’s cycle includes a “dummy pallet” associated with a CAM program that does nothing more than initiate a macro to touch-probe the newly changed tools. Any time before this pallet cycles in, the operator simply opens Variable Manager, inputs the new tool numbers and clicks “set” to initiate a probing cycle for every changed tool. In short, tools can be probed whenever it is convenient rather than immediately upon inserting them in the 146-position automatic toolchanger (ATC). “It puts only what’s relevant in front of you,” Mr. Wentzel says about Variable Manager. “You just type in the tool numbers and click once.” (Tool numbers generally correspond to the number of the slot in the ATC—that is, tool 1 goes into slot 1).

Variable Manager also enables adjusting a machine’s schedule on-the-fly by simply changing the variable associated with part count. Capability to change part counts from the floor, while the machine runs and without editing the program, is particularly useful for the shop’s bar-fed turning centers, Mr. Wentzel says. As is the case with HMC tool offsets, there is no need to navigate through the CNC to find the variable associated with part count. There is little risk of changing the wrong variable or altering a parameter that should not be changed.

Developed by Gosiger at Mr. Wentzel’s request, Manual Data Input (MDI) Tool Call is used for the shop’s LB-3000 lathe. With a subspindle and a Y-axis turret that accommodates as many as 96 tools for both front- and backworking operations, setting offsets on this machine can be complicated. Adding to the confusion is the fact that as many as eight tools can be stacked in the same turret station (four for the main spindle and four for the subspindle). Each requires its own offset, but tools stacked in this way are more difficult to probe because they do not line up with the centerline of the spindle at the turret’s home position. Jogging the turret into position along the Y axis requires either moving it manually (and carefully) or entering a series of coordinate moves into the CNC (again, carefully).

MDI Tool Call reduces this task to just a few keystrokes. The operator simply opens the app, enters the tool-station number, designates which tool requires a new offset, and presses “start” to move the Y axis into the correct position. “I was typing in the same stuff over and over again, and I thought ‘This is dumb,’” Mr. Wentzel recalls about the app’s development. “I approached Gosiger with an idea to make it easy for anyone to do it fast, and without any experience or knowledge.” 

Wenteq’s work sometimes demands changing tool offsets frequently, sometimes between every part. “We had a tight-tolerance project a few months ago in which we were measuring every part to check for insert wear and then changing offsets as needed,” Mr. Wentzel says. “Fat-finger it one time in a situation like that, and you can lose a part.”

There is little risk of that as of just a few months prior to Modern Machine Shop’s visit late last year, when Mr. Wentzel pitched Gosiger on the functionality that became the Easy Adjust app. This app presents operators with a simple interface consisting of four slider bars, each corresponding to the offset for a specific cutting tool. Clicking the “plus” and “minus” buttons adjusts the offset by a prespecified amount (changing this amount requires a password). As the operator adjusts the buttons, the bar changes color depending on how close the adjustment gets to prespecified minimum and maximum limits. Limiting the display to four offsets helps keep things simple, he adds, noting that few jobs require adjusting more than that. This simplicity enables even the least-experienced shopfloor employees to be productive while they learn, and above all, to avoid mistakes and scrapping parts.

Around the time the Okuma app store debuted in 2014, Mr. Wentzel had been seeking a simple, affordable solution for basic machine monitoring. “For one system I considered, the company wanted thousands of dollars plus a monthly fee,” he recalls, “but we don’t need all that functionality. We’re small enough that we don’t need deep utilization information or fancy dashboards with a bunch of lines. We were just looking for a simple, at-a-glance view of machine status.”

As it turned out, this functionality was available for free at the Okuma app store. Since then, basic status information for every machine tool has been displayed on two 50-inch TV monitors that are visible throughout the shop. Green indicates a machine that is running, Surface Milling Inserts orange indicates idle equipment and red denotes a potential problem.

Mr. Wentzel says setup was easy, with the free apps pushing status information through the same Wi-Fi connection used to link machines and send part programs. An Intel Compute Stick—essentially, a mini Windows 10 computer that plugs into a USB port—installed in each of the monitors receives the data from the machines. Mr. Wentzel can also view the data on his smartphone.

This is all possible thanks to MTConnect, an open-source communications protocol that facilitates interconnection and communication among CNC machine tools and other manufacturing equipment. Specifically, Wenteq uses three apps: MTConnect Agent/Adapter, which provides the basic MTConnect communications functionality; MTConnect Display, which scans a shop network for slot milling cutters compatible devices (in this case, the Compute Stick) to make installation plug-and-play; and MTConnect Display Mobile, which provides the mobile phone connection. 

Access to status displays is not Mr. Wentzel’s only means of monitoring machine tools. While walking the floor of the 2018 International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS), he received a call with a distinct ringtone, one assigned to a specific entry in his contact list. On the other end was not a person, but one of his machines, reporting a problem. This simple capability is thanks to the free Machine Alert app, which sends CNC status information and screen shots via email or text whenever certain user-specified conditions are met.

Back in 2014, Mr. Wentzel had to download every app. Now, many come pre-installed on the CNCs of new Okuma machines, including MTConnect Agent/Adapter, apps that track maintenance schedules, and apps that calculate overall run time and remaining run time, among other capabilities.

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