Industrial Factory Automation

Northern Iron and Machine is offering an expanded line of replacement ladle cups and mounting brackets for most model die-casting machines. These cups come in 11 models with capacities from 0.44lbs/0.20kg to 33.70lbs/15.29kg. Ruggedly designed, these replacement ladle cups are heavy duty, 1/4in-thick ductile iron and have contoured shapes for smooth pouring and resistance to metal build-up. Cup surfaces have a texture that is suitable for ladle-coating adherence. Hanger brackets for these replacement ladle cups have a universal design for left or right side use. Bolt-on design makes it easy to mount and tighten bracket and cup with minimal system downtime. No ladle or hanging-bracket modifications are needed using these replacement cups and mounting brackets. Available for most die-casting automated ladlers including Toshiba, Rimrock, Snair, Advance and UBE, custom ladle-cup designs are also available. These customs may be based on a customer's own design requirements and may incl...

Rautomead has secured three repeat orders from existing customers for equipment used for the production of gold and silver coinage strip. The Perth Mint in Australia has just taken delivery of a Rautomead RMT 200; a continuous casting machine designed with an output capacity of 80-100kg (Ag) per hour for the production of silver-based alloy strips of up to 100mm x 25mm, or round billet for extrusion. This will be the sixth Rautomead model to be used at the Perth Mint. In addition to other RMT models, the mint also operates three Rautomead RMJ machines for the production of gold coinage strip. The Perth Mint also supplies coin blanks to other mints, including the Royal Mint in the UK and the USA Mint. The Shanghai Mint installed its first Rautomead continuous casting machine in 1991 - an RMJ/H025 for processing gold and gold alloys. A second, larger Rautomead RMT model casting machine for processing silver and silver alloys followed in 1994. To expand its production capabilities, the S...

Haas engineers have ensured that the capability for a full fourth axis is available on machines as an optional extra. The fourth-axis capability is said to be quick to set up and is easy enough, in most cases, for an operator to carry out. According to Haas, many machine shops recognise that a rotary fourth axis is not just for cylindrical parts but can return benefits in terms of cycle time savings, reduced setup times and component quality for those multi-sided parts where more than one setup/operation would otherwise be necessary on a conventional three-axis machine. Where a Haas machine already has the optional fourth-axis drive installed, connecting a Haas fourth axis can be carried out using Setting 30, where Haas stores all the parameters for all of its rotary models. Once the rotary is connected using the procedure in the Haas manual, the operator selects his model from the list and the Haas control will automatically retrieve the data and store in the correct parameters. For ...

Armi Chiappa, a manufacturer of parts for field guns and air rifles, has upgraded its equipment with CNC machine tools from Haas Automation. 'Compared to a vertical machining centre, the horizontal working area of the Haas EC-300 gives us 25 per cent greater production yield for the type of components we machine, which are often cut from solid billets and usually involve removing large quantities of metal,' said Rino Chiappa, managing director of the company. The company installed the first of its Haas EC-300 machines in 2007 and subsequently added two more - the first in 2008 and the second a year later. Each component in a new Chiappa creation is designed using computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) before being assembled on screen using 3D simulation. Once satisfied the parts and finished assembly are correct, company designers create toolpaths that are sent directly to the Haas machines. Chiappa continued: 'We moved to Haas machines because we wan...

Technology Education Concepts (TEC) will be demonstrating a 3D printer and a tabletop prototyping factory at the 2009 Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) Convention. The RapmanUSA is a rapid-prototyping/rapid-manufacturing machine that allows access to manufacturing technologies that were previously limited to expensive machines. A budget-friendly kit contributes towards the teaching and learning of engineering and mechatronics as students can build the machine themselves. The Rapmanpro, the expanded commercial version of the RapmanUSA, allows businesses to manufacture test products in-house. With the option of multiple heads and up to two colour plus support material printing, the Rapmanpro allows schools and universities to plug in the machine, load inexpensive ABS material and start manufacturing. RapmanUSA is designed to allow assembly by students - granting full understanding of mechanical assembly, electronics, manufacturing processes and more - who can then im...

Autodrill has enabled a manufacturer of oxyacetylene cutting machines to offer a hole drilling option. Because making small, accurate holes through thicker material is sometimes impossible with a laser unit, the manufacturer researched putting an automatic drill on its machine. By drilling all the holes with a standard Autodrill machine, smaller holes are now possible through even the thickest materials due to the optional peck drill features available. The customer is also considering placing multiple spindle drill units on a single fixture, to drill many small holes at the same time. Annular cutters with a positive plug ejection system can also be used for some applications. All the equipment is rated for continuous duty production work. Autodrill offers free application and design assistance during the quote and post-sale process. Free CAD drawings are available for all equipment. A search for Autodrill on Youtube and other video sites turns up a number of example videos.

Invertek Drives has introduced the Optidrive E2 variable-speed drive for machine tools manufactured for use in the educational sector. In late 2005, the Denford design team developed two new routing machines; the Compact 1000 and Router 2600. To allow users to work with a wider variety of materials, a new metal-cutting facility was added, allowing a wider output speed range. The models with this feature were called Compact 1000PRO and Router 2600PRO. These machines allow high-speed routing and are rigid enough to allow cutting of non-ferrous metals. For a machine to cut as a router and to cut non-ferrous materials requires high spindle-speeds, rigid spindle bearings and excellent sealing. Denford selected a suitable brushless high-speed spindle motor, which allows speeds up to 24000RPM and provides a rigid sealed spindle-unit with a collet to hold the cutting tool. A suitable inverter allows the motor to achieve the desired speed. The key requirements were high-output frequency ca...