February 26, / In an otherwise flat machine tool market, demand is growing for multi-tasking machines. Manufacturers figure orders for machines that turn, mill, and drill in a single setup will comprise 30 percent of their sales in five years. Multi-tasking machines give short- to moderate-run job shops a competitive edge by enabling them to make complicated parts faster and cheaper. However, getting the full productivity payoff from your costly new machine takes optimized cutting tools. Tool selection must be part of your machine buying decision. The most productive selection requires a knowledgeable tool supplier to be involved early in the buying process.

ADVERTISEMENT Die Design Fundamentals: A Step-By-Step... Introduction to the Design of Stamping Dies Including Material, Punches, Die Sets, Stops, Strippers, Gages, by J. R. Paquin, R. E. Crowley How to advertise here

Tooling typically represents around 10 percent of the total cost of a tooled machine and only 3 to 4 percent of the overall machining cost of a finished part. Cutting tool performance can nevertheless boost machine throughput around 25 percent and impacts about 45 percent of the cost of your part. Tooling that exploits all the capabilities of multi-tasking machines can improve your competitiveness and payback on capital expenditures. Choosing and using the right machine and tools demand an informed approach to process engineering.

Integrated package

Too often, manufacturers order machine tools and simply allocate another 10 percent of bare machine cost for subsequent cutting tool purchases. Tooling bought as an afterthought costs you throughput and delays or diminishes return on capital expenditure (ROLE). In contrast, the right tooling hikes the productivity of even new machines 25 percent or more. One precision job shop found ordinary brazed carbide drills hobbled its new integrated machining cell with slow drilling rates and frequent shutdowns for drill changes. Advanced solid carbide drills delivered increased penetration rates 2.7 times. A nearly three-fold increase in throughput translates into greater capacity, better ROLE or reduced requirements for additional capital expenditures.

Multi-tasking machines are justified by their greater productivity-with less productive time lost transferring parts between machines, you get more good parts per work shift. Within highly productive machines, modern technology "concept" tools can be 3 to 10 times more productive than traditional ISO cutters. For example, the latest GC4020 coated carbide inserts from Sandvik Coromant permit feeds and speeds six times those commonly used to cut hardened steels. New tool technology provides opportunities for hard-- part machining, high-speed machining, and other process improvements that make more good parts faster.

Tooling on a multi-tasking machine

Productive synergy

The powerful synergy of multi-tasking machines and modern tooling requires tooling designed for a crowded work envelope. Tool angles and clearances must be optimized to prevent interference. Sandvik Coromant designed a CoroMill 390 milling cutter, for example, with a longer conical shank to avoid interference with B-axis spindles addressing main spindles. Other new multi-tasking turning tools approach the workpiece at a 45-degree angle to avoid interference with the 13axis spindle. Extended thread-milling tools accommodate the long overhangs common to multi-tasking machines.

In addition to productive cutters, modular quick-change toolholders can boost machine utilization from the typical 25 percent to 40 percent or more. A new three-position indexable mini- turret, for example, switches tools in less than one second versus a conventional tool changer that takes up to five seconds. New toolholders designed for multi-tasking machines can be extended without excessive overhang.

How do you know?

How do you know what tools are available to exploit the capability of multi-tasking machines? Cutting tools are advancing too fast for any machine tool builder to know all the options. Sandvik Coromant alone introduces around 1,500 new products a year. The key step in integrating tooling and new machine purchases is to involve all stakeholders at the outset including a knowledgeable, full-line tooling supplier. Many machine tool builders have existing partnerships with a top-line tooling supplier. Sandvik Coromant, for one, works closely with all machine tool suppliers to develop tools, techniques, and training for multi-tasking machines. Such partnerships are particularly valuable at process planning time when users must define machine requirements.

Bringing a tool supplier aboard at machine decision time can keep you from buying machines too big or too small for your production goals. Coordinated machine and tool purchases can also ensure the most productive machining solutions from the outset to maximize ROCK Multi-tasking machines also require a new approach to process engineering and machining requires training. A tool supplier aware of process goals can prepare both manufacturing engineers and machine operators to get the most from new equipment.

With capabilities beyond conventional turning and milling centers, multi-tasking machines provide completely new ways to manufacture parts productively. However, only with the early input of a tool supplier can the innovative new machines achieve all that is expected of them. Sandvik Coromant, www.rsleads.com/302tp170

Click here to view more current news articles