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Metal Parts Follow Tough Plastics Act

When you walk into the Redeye On Demand facility in Eden Prairie, MN, you enter into one version of the factory of the future. There you will see a bank of 100 high-end Fortus fused-deposition modeling (FDM) machines from Stratasys that provide the capacity to build real, functional parts with production-grade thermoplastics directly from CAD data.

Tooling to Match Composite Production

It’s getting harder to imagine any market that isn’t benefiting from the latest developments in parts manufactured from advanced composites. “Advanced composites will arguably dominate consumer and production products, especially in the near future,” says Bert Erdel, industry consultant and executive technology advisor, Morris Group Inc. (Windsor, CT), “as they have begun to gain wide acceptance in solving energy-related issues.”

Solutions for Difficult Machining

The machining challenges for two of the most advanced concepts in cutting tool materials are pretty well known. Cubic boron nitride (CBN) tools of varying designs are being used to cut hardened ferrous metals with or without interrupted cuts, as well as welded and clad metals.

Tooling and Workholding

Overall, there are two overriding customer needs: reducing cycle time and machine downtime. They want higher feed rates and depth of cut for greater metal removal.

Minimizing Tool Breakage Cost

When a tool breaks during a machining operation, the part being processed is often destroyed, and sometimes the machine is damaged. Aerospace parts are often complex shapes, manufactured from exotic materials that require prolonged machining cycle times. Therefore, a scrapped part is a significant loss in raw materials and value-added machining.

What’s the Connection?

A lot of attention is paid to the “business end” of CNC toolholders–the part that actually holds the tool.

Tooling and Workholding Systems

“We are developing solutions for power workholding such as hydraulic swing clamps and block clamps, because the real estate on a fixture is so valuable,” says Jason Betz, product specialist for Carr Lane Roemheld (St. Louis). “This pushes the use of smaller workholding components as much as possible because the more parts on the fixture the greater the productivity.”

Tooling & Workholding

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Voices AMplified: Perspectives on the Potential of Additive Manufacturing

This special Voices AMplified podcast features guest host John Barnes, CEO and founder of Barnes Global Advisors Group and Metal Powderworks, and current chair of SME’s AM Technical Leadership Committee, talking with Paul Gradl, Principal Engineer and leader in liquid rocket engine combustion at NASA, about his 18-year career in additive manufacturing (AM) and how far the industry has come.

Voices AMplified: The Personal Experience of Additive Manufacturing

This special Voices AMplified podcast features guest host John Barnes, CEO and founder of Barnes Global Advisors Group and Metal Powderworks. In addition, he is the vice-chair of SME’s AM Technical Leadership Committee. Barnes talks with Jon Meyer, CEO of APWorks, about their personal experiences in the growth and future of additive manufacturing.