Coorstek programmer/operator Daniel
Jones working on the Okamoto 818 CNC
situated in the surface grinding cell
energy. The parts are challenging to make
and Coorstek needed an updated, exible
and reliable surface and pro le grinding
machine as a replacement for an older unit.
With four Okamoto machines already in
operation at the facility, CoorsTek engineers
had trust in the brand.
Explains Tristan Weller, production
manager at CoorsTek, Crewe: “In the
surface grinding cell, we are precision
grinding ceramics typically to tolerances of
±10 micron on form radii, with down to
5 micron on at surfaces. It is a complex
process with slow feeds and speeds and
can take its toll on machines and wheels
alike. Inherently, it is a time-consuming task,
so sustained machine integrity and stability
are all important.”
Sitting on a compact footprint, the
Okamoto 818 CNC features a 450 by 200
mm table area with the machine designed
around a moving-saddle design.
The ISO type programming menu is
delivered through a FANUC CNC control, with
other key features being automatic
lubrication to guides and slideways to
optimise reliability and prolong maintenance
free operation.
All the core machine castings exhibit high
static and dynamic stiffness and are fully
damped. Scraped V-slideways with low
friction turcite coatings are standard.
Say CoorsTek Crewe plant manager Harry
Hodgson and production manager Tristan
Weller: “The Jones & Shipman overall
commitment to quality and exceptional after
sales technical support convinced us to
invest in Jones & Shipman-supplied
equipment.”
GRINDING, HONING & SURFACE FINISHING BENEFITS START TO SURFACE
Laser-processed cutting edges deliver superior performance
The installation of an Ewag Laser Line Precision laser-cutting insert
machine (Walter Ewag UK, www.is.gd/aquxob) at MICTU has seen
this specialist manufacturer of eyewear, dental, aerospace and
automotive components halve production times and improve cutting
edge quality by a factor of three on PCD and brazed tooling,
compared with ‘traditional’ CNC tool production machines.
Founded in northern Italy in 1986 and today with 14 employees,
MICTU has extensive knowledge in cutting tool manufacture and it
is now bene ting from the speed and accuracy of the Laser Line
Precision, mainly on form tools of 3 to 60 mm diameter, and
especially on tooling used to produce complex geometries, such as
concave pro les, for the machining of eyewear workpieces.
In addition to shorter cycle times and improved quality, the
company is also nding that laser technology enables very short
set-up times, with programming carried out remotely and machining
les being quickly transferred to minimise downtime. Small batches
are therefore very economic.
Indeed, its tools are programmed in just 10-20 minutes then
machined in another 10-20 minutes, thanks to the tooling being
speci cally designed for lasering –
tool body designs have been
adapted to provide optimal laser
beam accessibility to the cutting
edges.
Automatic 3D model
generation, based on a simple
DXF curve of the tool, is all
that is required to deliver the
NC program
26 May/June 2020 | www.machinery.co.uk | MachineryMagazine | @MachineryTweets
/aquxob)
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