Dana Heckendorf of D. Heck Tool LLC (Thompson, Connecticut), a precision moldmaker working out of his garage, wanted to compete with bigger shops that had Computer Numerical Control (CNC) equipment. This led him to consider retrofitting his manual Kent milling machine with a CNC retrofit package. With a Mitutoyo MillStar CNC from Mitutoyo Corp. (Aurora, Illinois), the shop owner can program the shape of a complex EDM electrode in 45 minutes and mill the part in 30 minutes. According to Mr. Heckendorf, the single electrode does the work of a dozen simpler ones that would take most of a day to mill or grind manually.

"Basically, we’ve boosted electrode throughput more than seven to one and streamlined our EDM die sinking as well," Mr. Heckendorf says. With two-axis CNC, the moldmaker quickly mills the more intricate electrodes he needs to cut mold cavities faster and with a better finish than before. Faster electrode milling and subsequent cavity cutting trimmed delivery time on what was a six-week job by seven days. "With the MillStar, I’m doing very high quality EDM electrodes in far less time," says Mr. Heckendorf.

D. Heck Tool specializes in prototype and small production molds for plastic parts. Much of the tooling produces tiny medical and switch components. The stainless and tool steel mold frames are generally about 8 inches square by 10 inches high. While mold cavities are usually cut by a Hansvedt 201 CNC EDM, the graphite electrodes used to cut the pockets must be milled.

The smallest electrodes used by D. Heck Tool are just 0.010 inch wide. "I could mill them manually," says Mr. Heckendorf, "but electrodes are very time consuming parts to make manually."

When Mr. Heckendorf started his business three years ago, he thought CNC conversion was the smart way to go. "It’s hard to sell mold-making services without talking CNC," he says. "The first question they ask you is, `what do you have for CNC equipment?’"

Sophisticated computer control was a new endeavor for the small shop owner. As a lead moldmaker, Mr. Heckendorf had long made molds with a manual finish grinder and knew nothing about CNC programming. However, the milling machine he’d bought had a bolt-on power feed and Mitutoyo digital readout,Carbide Grooving Inserts so he spoke to his MTI representative about a new CNC retrofit package.

About a year ago, he upgraded his milling machine with the Mitutoyo MillStar control package. The expandable two-axis control promised the right capability, given the type of work to be done and the background of the user. "I knew I wanted a two-axis CNC because I had no hands-on experience programming," says Mr. Heckendorf.

Mr. Heckendorf visited surrounding job shops and tried several CNC packages. "The Mitutoyo package was one of the very few to run through Windows 95, which is an easy operating system to learn," he says. "It’s also got good graphics and can be programmed in G-code or plain shop language."

In addition, canned cycles automate routine operations such as hole patterns, lines and arcs. More complex SNMG Insert jobs are set up through drop-down menus on the 10-inch color screen. Function keys let the user override the automatic control and change feed rates and other parameters on the fly. Mr. Heckendorf was able to use the control after only four hours of instruction.

Precision EDM electrodes for cutting molds are milled to the shape of the finished plastic part. Customers typically supply Mr. Heckendorf with hard copy drawings of their molded parts. Mr. Heckendorf extrapolates electrode dimensions from the drawings allowing for plastic shrinkage, overburn, and other factors.

Most electrode jobs at D. Heck Tools are programmed in conversational mode. Programs stored in the MillStar memory or on disk also give D. Heck Tool repeatability difficult to achieve with manual operation.

The EDM uses the precision electrodes to cut mold contours within 0.0002 inch. Using more complicated electrodes closer to the shape of the finished part burns away more of the mold cavity faster and leaves better quality finishes.

One complex mold for a speedometer/tachometer case previously required 28 different electrodes that were set up and machined manually. By comparison, a similar gage case mold required just 12 electrodes milled under CNC. As a result, the typical six-week job was shortened by seven working days. For D. Heck Tool, the switch to CNC is paying off in shorter mold delivery times and lower costs.

Time saved in setup also means more effective use of the milling machine. Mr. Heckendorf estimates his milling machine actually ran just four days a month in the days of manual setups. Setup occupied the rest of the time. With CNC operation and stored programs, the same machine now makes chips three weeks a month, a great increase.

For a one-man shop in a competitive market, a CNC retrofit package has proven itself a powerful business advantage. "The control allows me to quote five weeks on a job someone else is quoting nine weeks on. That’s what my business is built on," he says.

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Shops often use a DNC slot milling cutters system simply to transfer part program files to machine tools. While this certainly has its advantages, few shops use DNC in more advanced ways, such as a means of integrating a qualified (preset) tooling system to monitor tool life and speed setups.

According to Dan Fritz, president of Suburban Machinery Software (Willoughby, Ohio), high cost and implementation difficulties are the primary reasons why shops don’t adopt a qualified tooling system. The new tooling control system (TCS) option on the company’s PC-DNC Plus software makes this as easy as scanning bar codes on inexpensive, disposable tags. TCS allows automatic loading of tool offsets into a machine’s CNC during setup, in addition to monitoring tool usage and sending e-mail alerts when a tool has broken or is nearing its expected lifespan. The only additional hardware fast feed milling inserts items required are bar code readers and pre-printed bar code tags and machine placards.

Here’s how the system works: After a new tool or new inserts are installed in a toolholder, the tool’s standard length and diameter are measured and entered into the system’s database (this can be done automatically if the measuring devices have an RS-232 serial output). The system also records the technician’s name, date and time the tool was qualified, as well as the expected tool life, if desired. Once a tool is qualified, a disposable bar-coded tag is attached to the toolholder, and that bar code is scanned to identify the tool in the database.

A placard attached to the machine contains bar codes representing the machine’s tool carousel positions. When loading a qualified tool, the operator first scans the bar code on the tool’s tag. Next, the tool position bar code on the machine’s placard is scanned so the system knows which tool is located in that particular carousel position. The toolholder tag is then discarded. After all tools are loaded into the machine, the operator scans a bar code on the placard that signifies this, and the system automatically sends the temporary tool offset files to the CNC.

The system’s database logs and displays the amount of time that each tool has been in use, in addition to showing all other data entered for the tool. When a tool approaches its expected cutting life, the system can be set up to automatically transmit pages or e-mail messages to alert shop personnel.

If a tool’s useful life has been reached, then a new tool or inserts can be mounted and the tool is re-qualified and assigned a new bar-coded tag. If a tool that has not reached its cutting limit is removed from the machine, then that tool’s accumulated cutting time can be carried over to the new tag that is assigned to the toolholder.

The Carbide Inserts Website: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006037900426.html

NT Tool now offers the R-Zero runout adjustment system in its CTZ toolholders for large cutting-tool diameters. The R-Zero four-point adjustment mechanism eases runout adjustment at the tool tip to as low as 0 to 2 microns. bar peeling inserts Equipped with this system, the CTZ toolholder is said to achieve high levels of precision for cutting tool diameters ranging from 1" to 1.5" (25 to 42 mm), making it suitable for reaming and large-diameter hole making. The full adjustment procedure can be completed in under a minute, according to the company, and requires only a spanner for clamping down the tool and the included adjustment wrench for the runout-adjustment screws. An electromagnetic, rust-proof coating ensures that the holder’s accuracy and balance are not compromised.

The toolholder uses the same clamping system as the CTS Super Tite-lock milling chuck, which is designed to prevent slippage and pull-out during heavy machining. In addition to the high gripping force of the mechanism itself, the CTZ R-Zero uses a T-slit inside the bore of the cemented carbide inserts holder to give the compressed cutting tool an area to expand. This locks the tool in place, and prevents it from moving either sideways or vertically even under great force, says the company.

CTZ R-Zero toolholders are available in CAT (standard and two-face contact), BT (standard and two-face contact), HSK, and UTS shank styles. They are offered in metric sizes of 25, 32 and 42 mm, and inch sizes of 1", 1.25" and 1.5", with MC collets for cutting tools of other sizes. The R-Zero runout adjustment system is also available for smaller-diameter cutting tools in a number of different holder types, including the HDZ collet holder and the PHZ hydraulic holder. Custom sizes are also available.

The Carbide Inserts Website: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005874290728.html

Tungaloy’s ModuMini-Turn exchangeable-head modular turning tool system for Swiss machines now includes new QC16 line that features 16 × 16 mm square shanks.

ModuMini-Turn features a unique coupling of the head and shank interface that is said to provide the insert cutting point with a tube process inserts precision of 5 μm or smaller when the cutting head is re-assembled to the shank. This enables quick tool changes in Swiss machines for minimum downtime.

The new QC16 line offers toolholders with 16 × 16 mm square shanks and the matching modular cutting heads. The new line features an enhanced coupling that is reportedly capable of sustaining high cutting edge repeatability and tool rigidity when used for applications generating greater cutting loads that the previously released QC12 line was not able to provide reliability with. The QC16 line also offers an array of modular cutting heads to accommodate various types of inserts, including standard ISO-positive inserts for forward and back outer-diameter (OD) turning, grooving and threading inserts, as well as double-sided MiniForceTurn negative inserts with positive cutting gravity turning inserts edges. In addition, modular cutting heads for Y-axis turning are also available, enabling shops to use elevated feeds and speeds to gain productivity of small part machining.    

Integrating the CHP internal coolant channel system, which is capable of high-pressure coolant supply, ModuMini-Turn toolholders directs the coolant jets precisely to the cutting point close to where it is required for better chip control and extended insert tool life.

The Carbide Inserts Website: https://www.estoolcarbide.com/product/100-original-material-cutting-tools-t-slot-milling-cutter-square-carbide-inserts-mpht060304/

Tungaloy has expanded its TungCap PSC quick-change tooling system to include cutting heads and clamping units in C3/C4 coupling sizes. The expansion is said to ensure high productivity and precision for CNC lathes and multitasking machines.

According to Tungaloy, more manufacturers producing small parts for the automotive and aerospace industries are incorporating a modular quick-change tooling system in their CNC lathes to further improve productivity. The company has responded to this market demand by adding a C3 size, commonly used in CNC lathes for reduced machine downtime, and the C3/C4 clamping unit to its standard line.  

This expansion eliminates the need for insert change-out inside the machine and offers repeatable accuracy of&tungsten carbide inserts nbsp;±2 microns. The company says that this enables presetting outside the machine, ends the need for trial-and-error deep hole drilling inserts test cuts and improves production efficiency.

The Carbide Inserts Website: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005920836723.html