Tool Shop Research Articles

MODELING OF THE CUTTING FORCES IN END MILLING OF A METALLIC MULTILAYER MATERIAL

Multilayer metal materials are increasingly used by tool shops in the production of transfer tools for sheet-metal forming. In research, it is found that during the machining of these advanced materials, damage to the cutting edge often occurs due to jumps in the cutting forces. The size of the cutting forces when milling a multi-directionally layered metal material is influenced by both the direction of depositing the individual layer and the geometry of the cutting tool. The main goal of the research was to create a mechanistic model of cutting forces for the end-milling of unidirectional and multidirectional 20MnCr5/316L four-layered metal material. The results of the model were compared with experimental data, where a good agreement was found when milling unidirectional layered material and a slightly worse agreement when milling multidirectional material. The maximum observed deviation of the predicted cutting forces is 14.6 % for all the comparative tests.

Case Study of Large Three-Dimensional-Printed Slider with Conformal Cooling for High-Pressure Die Casting.

Metal three-dimensional (3D) printing technology brings several benefits to the field of high-pressure die casting of aluminum, which enhances its development. The associated conformal cooling application is already commonly used where there is a need to improve the quality of castings, increase tool life, or reduce the production cycle. However, will this technology withstand the production of a large part (∼270 × 270 × 200 mm), which will be used directly in the serial production of engine blocks? This article describes a slider with a conformal cooling case study, which was redesigned and manufactured using the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) method. After the slider was put into serial production of 1.0 TSI three-cylinder engine blocks, this tool was thoroughly monitored based on the temperature field by comparing the results of a simulation in SW ProCAST with reality, and furthermore examining the influence of the tool on the quality of castings. There was also an evaluation of repairs performed on the tool in the ŠKODA AUTO tool shop and the foundry. These data were compared with a serial tool. Finally, the costs to produce the slider in conventional and 3D-printed variants are compared with an outline of other possible steps for optimizing these costs. The study results show that relatively large parts can be printed and used in serial production even today. It was also confirmed that conformal cooling influenced improving tool life, and the number of repairs in ŠKODA AUTO production also decreased.

Digital factory to support deadlines prediction in small volume production

Digital production in the digital factory is a modern approach to support the production process. It offers the possibility of achieving continuous progress at the logistical level of the production process in the company. This paper presents an innovative approach of a digital factory for use in SMEs with small volume production. The digital factory is created on this basis and on the real example of a tool shop. With simple settings, the simulation of the defined schedule can be performed quickly and the simulation results can be used to identify potential bottlenecks to create an optimal schedule. The built-in indicators that clearly characterize the state of the production process in the digital factory are also explained, and the progress of each operation on a time scale can be read from the visual printouts.

Algorithms for estimating equivalent resistances of in-plant electrical networks

THE PURPOSE. Investigation of the degree of influence of the characteristics of in- plant electrical networks on the reliability of the results in the algorithms for estimating equivalent resistances. METHODS. When solving this problem, a study of the radial power supply scheme of the tool shop section was carried out with the calculation and modeling of equivalent and reference values of the circuit resistances. Algorithms and methods for estimating the values of equivalent resistances have been developed, taking into account the main technical characteristics of in-plant networks.RESULTS. The data of calculations of the equivalent resistance values of the circuits with an assessment of the heating factor of the conductors and the resistance factor of the contact devices are analyzed. The proportions of the influence of the resistances of the contact equipment and lines, taking into account the number of electric power receivers connected to the power point, on the value of the equivalent resistances of the circuit are revealed. CONCLUSION. The article develops algorithms for estimating the values of equivalent resistances of in-plant power supply circuits. Nomograms are presented that take into account the number and length of the circuit lines with the allocation of the zone of accounting for the resistances of contact equipment in the equivalent resistances of the circuits. The obtained algorithms and results are recommended to be used to clarify the amount of power and electrical energy losses in the intra- factory networks, which will increase the reliability of calculations.

Design & analysis of progressive die using SOLIDWORKS

Productivity in the press tool shop is always the main stream especially in the case of products which needs more than one operation. To improve the productivity, modern day press tool shops are using the progressive dies. These dies are generally preferable to performs operations in series. The present study aims to reveal the design and analysis of various parts on the progressive die such as blanking die & punch; piercing die & punch. For this, an attempt has made to design the progressive die for strips of Aluminium (4032-T6) of 1 mm thickness. The study includes the discussion on material of the strips, press tool design procedure and the mathematical calculations. For the designing and analysis purpose, the SOLIDWORKS software is used. Besides, the study reveals the maximum value of the stress and displacement on such parts.

EXPLORATION OF TAX COMPLIANCE DETERMINATION ON MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE

The background of this research is the contribution of tax revenue from the Small Micro and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector which is still less than the national tax revenue although the amount of tax revenue from the UMKM sector continues to grow. This condition occurs after the government issued special tax rates for MSMEs through Government Regulation Number 46 of 2013 and most recently amended through Government Regulation Number 23 of 2018. The sources of this research are the MSMEs taxpayers in Tegal City, Tegal Regency, and Brebes Regency which consist of industry players, store building owners, food stall owners, transportation service actors, workshop owners, gold shop owners, and fishing tool shop owners. This research was made using a qualitative research design with a qualitative descriptive approach. The conclusion obtained from this research is that MSMEs tax compliance is influenced by the determinants of the modernization of the taxation system (e-System), the financial condition of taxpayers, financial records, service from tax officers, the level of tax awareness, transparency of information on the use of tax results, the level of understanding of taxpayers. Taxes, tax systems, tax sanctions, and annual tax return forms. The theoretical benefit of this research is that it can be used as a reference in the development of further research, increasing knowledge about the theory related to tax compliance and the factors that affect the level of compliance of MSMEs in carrying out their tax obligations. The practical benefit of this research is that it can provide input for the Government to design regulations that can be understood by all levels of society and supported by simple and applicable instruments. As well as being able to contribute to MSMEs so that they can participate in national development through fulfilling honest and open tax obligations

Human-machine tool shop management system

The article describes a human-machine tool shop management system based on the developed models and algorithms of production division management tasks. The calculation of the economic efficiency of the developed management system is carried out. The developed online management system increases the economic efficiency of managing a modern production unit. This management system, as shown by its operation, has the ability to form management decisions, making extensive use of the ability of operational shop staff to navigate in informal situations due to their experience, intuition, and forecasting the development of the production situation. With this approach to the management process, it is possible to involve hidden reserves and other resources in the production sphere on the basis of the development of creative initiative of the heads of production units and site management personnel. In addition, having the ability to quickly respond to changes in the production environment, the dialog control system allows you to more effectively than with batch information processing systems to stabilize the course of the production process when it is affected by various random factors. The ability to synchronize in real time the interaction of all workplaces (WP) of production sites is implemented, thereby significantly reducing the duration of production cycles for manufacturing products, work in progress, improving the rhythm of production, increasing labor productivity.

Development of a mobile application for monitoring and controlling a CNC machine using Industry 4.0 concepts

Industry 4.0 comprises a set of technologies that allow the interconnection, monitoring, and controlling of manufacturing processes. Today it represents a key point for the modern industry. The current work presents an Industry 4.0 system developed for monitoring and controlling a 5-axis CNC machine center, in real time, through a mobile device, providing important feedback information for users and manufacturers of the machine. Given that response time is crucial in such applications, we conducted an experimental investigation to examine the system latency with distinct database structures, based on SQL and NoSQL. The results suggest that the non-relational structure (NoSQL) presented lower response times and is, thus, best suited for the application in hand. The system allows monitoring and controlling of any CNC machine remotely—given that a middleware for connecting the machine is provided—in real time, presenting new possibilities from the perspectives of machine tool builders and shop floor management.

Virtual factory as a useful tool for improving production processes

Virtual production in the virtual factory is a modern approach to support the production process and offers a possibility to achieve continuous progress at the logistical level of the organization of the production process.The first part of the paper presents an innovative approach of a virtual factory for use in SMEs with one off production. In the following, a virtual factory created on this basis and on real example of a tool shop is explained. With simple settings, the simulation of the defined production plans can be carried out quickly and the simulation results can be used to identify potential bottlenecks and thus to create an optimal production plan. In the third part, the built-in indicators are explained, which clearly characterized the state of the production process in the virtual factory. It is possible to identify the progress of each operation on a time axis. It is also possible to identify the expected utilization of production capacities depending on the various set of production parameters and the utilization of production processes by production capacity. And as the next option it is easy to determine the free production capacities for the selected period.

Potentials for the use of tool-integrated in-line data acquisition systems in press shops

Robust in-line data acquisition systems are required for the realization of process monitoring and control systems in press shops. A promising approach is the integration of sensors in the following press tools. There they can be easy integrated and maintained. It also achieves the necessary robustness for the rough press environment. Such concepts were already investigated for the measurement of the geometrical accuracy as well as for the material flow of inner part areas. They enable the monitoring of each produced part’s quality. An important success factor are practical approaches to the use of this new process information in press shops. This work presents various applications of these measuring concepts, based on real car body components of the BMW Group. For example, the procedure of retroactive error analysis is explained for a side frame. It also shows how this data acquisition can be used for the optimization of drawing tools in tool shops. With the skid-line, there is a continuous value that can be monitored from planning to serial production.

Modelling Minimum Pressure Height in Short-term Hydropower Production Planning

When planning the production for certain hydropower plants, minimum pressure is one of the major critical points. Violation of the minimum pressure causes the power plant to automatically shut down, hence violating the obligations of the plant. Automatic pressure switches and pressure constraints are difficult to model in particular when embedded in a complex water way. This problem is expected to increase when retrofitting hydro installations with new parallel units and increased exploitation of inflow resources. From a scheduling point of view, however, such switches become hard to integrate in an optimal operation plan as the constraint depends on the system state. This paper introduces a novelty in short-term production planning, namely a solution for modelling minimum pressure height in regulated watercourses when optimizing the energy production of hydropower plants. This solution is integrated in the short-term hydropower scheduling tool SHOP. The tool finds an optimal strategy to run a power station with such minimum pressure restrictions and the state dependent topological couplings within the water system. We apply the model on a complex topology, the Sira-Kvina water system, where Norway's largest hydropower station Tonstad Kraftstajon is operationally subject to this rigorous pressure constraint. First, in order to illustrate the concepts of the model, we apply the model on a simplified water course including one reservoir. Next, the outcome and tests are demonstrated on the final model of two reservoirs whose respective outflows are joining together above the pressure gauge, as found in the Sira-Kvina water system.

The Influence of Cold Forming Conception on the Springback Magnitude

Cold forming, especially for steels of increased mechanical properties, encounters problem with a springback. Most of the tools require compensation of that effect, however it is not always feasible in a conventional way. In some special cases such as twisting springback, compensation of a tool remains an ineffective method of solving the problem. This paper aims to investigate the behaviour of springback deviation which may be reduced using the change of forming conception such as: crash forming, holding and stamping or stamping with pad. The results lead to an in-depth understanding of the design process and parameters for advanced high strength components. It is immensely important for tool shops which usually have only few weeks to make a tool. The essence of designing and numerical simulations must be emphasized. Without them some problems with twisting springback may be encountered during trial test what would involve labour absorbing corrections and some extra costs. Therefore, it is crucial to pay attention to forming conception, as using it we can obtain entirely different

Recent developments in laser machining of tools

Laser hardening and laser cladding technologies are going to be established for production and repair of tools and dies. For economic reasons, a laser system that can be easily used for either technology is preferable. This paper presents key components (software and hardware) that enable both a high flexibility and a high productivity in laser machining of tools, and a new system technique developed and built for the tool shop of a leading automobile manufacturer. A huge working space, an automated calibration of the tools and a high accuracy of the guiding machine expand the applicability especially by means of producing thin and homogeneous claddings on free-form surfaces of big tools. The improvements of the laser cladding process are exemplarily shown by the modification of a die for injection moulding.

Specialists or Generalists?

Recently, there has been a fair amount of press about the increasing drive for specialization in technology hiring. This push to compartmentalize capabilities can be attributed to leaner staffing without a comparable decrease in the number of "urgent" projects. Furthermore, organizations have been doing this for so long now that it's becoming standard practice. Where are the positions for "generalists" who can perform multiple functions? Are the "utility players" in organizations being hired into management and then driven down into tactical projects? There's an inherent risk to the business if IT turns into a "tool shop" for the enterprise. Yet there's little indication that CIOs are concerned about or even aware of this situation.

Networked machinists: high-technology industries in antebellum America

A century and a half before the modern information technology revolution, machinists in the eastern United States created the nation's first high technology industries. In iron foundries and steam-engine works, locomotive works, machine and tool shops, textile-machinery firms, and firearms manufacturers, these resourceful workers pioneered the practice of dispersing technological expertise through communities of practice. In the first book to study this phenomenon since the 1916 classic, English and American Tool Builders, David R. Meyer examines the development of skilled-labor exchange systems, showing how individual metalworking sectors grew and moved outward. He argues that the networked behavior of machinists within and across industries helps explain the rapid transformation of metalworking industries during the antebellum period, building a foundation for the sophisticated, mass production/consumer industries that figured so prominently in the later U.S. economy.

Neural network based manufacturability evaluation of free form machining

Most CAD/CAM and computer-aided process planning systems manipulate all geometrical features on the part equally. In the area of free form machining, lack of efficient methodology for assessing the degree of manufacturing pretentiousness of free form features is still noticeable. Developing this methodology inside CAD/CAM systems brings the following benefits to the tool shop praxis: it minimizes the number of set-ups and tool changes and at the same time ensures the right sequence of machining strategies in order to achieve the best possible surface quality in the machining area. Based on this assessment, the CAD/CAM process will also be greatly simplified. When there are an increased number of non-prismatic and non-cylindrical features, this problem is even more exaggerated, and its solution cannot be found in the framework of analytical mathematics. This paper reports a neuro-fuzzy model that uses the concept of “feature manufacturability” to identify and recognize the degree of “pretentiousness—difficulty of machining”. The model is created by means of the construction of parametric fuzzy membership functions, based on neural networks learning process. This makes possible simultaneous evaluation of features complexity in a CAD model and manufacturing capability in an environment description model.

Tooling competence a key competition factor

High-quality tools are needed for volume production of PM parts. GKN Sinter Metals has created a central tool shop near Bonn to supply several European production sites. Klaus Vollrath reports…

Rapid tooling technology. Part 2. A case study using arc spray metal tooling

In this case study of arc spray metal tooling, the feasibility of implementing arc metal spraying on a master, produced using an RP technique, to produce the tool is tested. This tool is then used to produce plastic parts in injection molding. In this project, the tool was completed in less than 2 weeks arid at an approximate cost of $4180. Compared to traditional tool shop methods, this method would provide time and cost savings of at least 50%.

Optimization of work loading for the die and tool shop

Currently, in automobile tool and die shops, the typical practice for loading work is performed by trial and error using spreadsheet programs. This paper presents a decision support model using mixed integer programming to optimize the work loading. The model can be used to assign the tasks in each time period, to determine the ideal time to start activities, and to improve capacity planning and utilization.

Structure and properties of diffusion layers formed in vacuum cyanidation of steel 20Kh13 in an atmosphere of pyrolysis of liquid hydrocarbons

The use of carburized high-chromium steels with 13–18% Cr for the production of wear-resistant shaping tools and attachments is advantageous for many branches of industry. At the same time, the deposition of carbide diffusion layers on corrosion-resistant high-chromium steels has some special features and technological difficulties, specifically, in quenching, tempering, and polishing of parts and tools. The results described in the present paper and the developed technology of vacuum chemical heat treatment (VCHT), namely, cyanidation of steel 20Kh13 in an active carburizer based on ethanolamines, are of interest for the production of small-size tools and attachments in tool shops of enterprises producing instruments, electronics, watches and clocks, etc.