Increased demand from industries such as energy and aerospace has pressed the need to remedy these problems. New technologies are now catalyzing the evolution of VTL to a truly multifunctional manufacturing with extensive possibilities for multi-axis operations – including drilling, milling and gear hobbing – with less need to move large, heavy components back and forth between different machines.

Versaltility’s the key

A key to the versatility of a modern VTL is its ability to accept many different types of toolholder systems on the end of the vertical ram. Hydraulic four-corner clamping or curvic coupling securely holds turning, boring and 90° milling heads with the main milling spindle permanently in the end of the ram. The attachments are changed automatically and stored in the tool magazine, much like individual tools.

Time saver: Automatic tool changer

The commonly known benefits of an ATC come into play in VTLs as well: minimum downtime and possibilities for tool presetting and unmanned production. Traditional disc magazines are increasingly being replaced by larger chain-type magazines. The advantages of ATC can be further enhanced by standardizing all tools with a single type of coupling, such as Coromant Capto (sizes C6, C8 and C10).

Shows RAM without attachment. Four-corner clamping and main milling spindle bookended by the attachment and tool magazines.

A firm grip: Vertical ram

The structure of a VTL is based on one or in large machines two vertical columns carrying the horizontal slideway (X axis) that provides crosswise movement for the vertical ram (Z axis). Rigidity in terms of the ratio of ram deflection to its extension is crucial in matching the high power capability of the turning table.

Stable choice: Coroturn SL70

The modular CoroTurn SL70 blade and adapter system is a standard solution for most profiling and pocketing operations in complex components, often eliminating the need for special or modified tools.

The strong oval coupling provides high stability and accessibility in confined workpieces. The possibility of a high-pressure coolant supply is a standard feature in these tools.

Originally published in Metalworking World 2.2012, a business magazine published by Sandvik Coromant.

Text: Turkka Kulmala

Continuous support from Sandvik Coromant engineers has been vital for Bost's success.

“When people think about Spain, they think about sun, the beach, flamenco,” says Karlos Aranbarri, the 30-year-old CEO of Bost, as he flips through a presentation of his company. “So we like to show them this photo of the factory in winter, all covered in snow.”

The location of this machine-tool manufacturer in Asteasu, just over 10 miles from the charming city of San Sebastián in the rolling hills of Spain’s Basque Country, is about as far from the stereotype of the country as you can get. But then the northern part of Spain is markedly different from the rest, and not just due to its climate. This has long been the industrial heartland of the Iberian Peninsula, with a high concentration of Spain’s manufacturing and construction companies based in the region.

A manufacturing family

Bost, a family company, will be celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2012. It offers a complete range of milling machines and lathes as well as turnkey solutions for railways, crankshafts and cylinder manufacturers. Despite the troubled Spanish economy, Bost is expanding, thanks to its focus on foreign markets, particularly emerging markets such as China.

“We’ve always exported, “explains Aranbarri, “but not at the levels we do now. We sell some machines in Spain, but 90 percent of our product is for export,” Bost already has an office up and running in Beijing and customers in Saudi Arabia, India, Russia, the United States, Poland, Germany, France and elsewhere.

“We don’t just sell machines,” Aranbarri says. “Everything we sell is tailor-made. We offer a complete solution, including the tool package and the training, to show the customer how to get the best out of the machine.”

Currently under construction in the 85,000-square-foot headquarters is a vertical lathe for a client in France, which, according to Aranbarri, is going to be the biggest machine tool ever manufactured in Spain.

“The column, which is a single piece, was forged in Germany,” says Aranbarri. He explains that the machine weighs 90 tons, has a 26-foot table and a 33-foot swing and is designed for pieces weighing up to 285 tons.

With its global focus Bost wanted a global partner Aranbarri says. It turned to Sandvik Coromant.

“I’ve spent my whole life working with Sandvik Coromant,” says Bost application manager Antonio Mangas, a 23-year veteran of the company. “But we have been working more intensely with Sandvik Coromant in the past few years, in particular in important turnkey projects such as crankshafts.”

In some cases the end product could weigh anywhere from one to 24 tons. Bost needed tools from Sandvik Coromant that could work in difficult-to-reach areas with great precision and could accommodate the varying requirements of each job.

A productive partnership

Most recently, Bost’s partnership with Sandvik Coromant has been tied to a different vertical lathe, the VTL20C, created by Bost for Siemens for the manufacture of wind-turbine gears.

A vertical lathe for a client in France, which will be the biggest machine tool ever manufactured in Spain.

“The aim is that when a piece enters the machine, it can be finished in one clamping, without having to be moved to another machine,” explains Aranbarri.

“We have worked hand in hand with Sandvik Coromant from the beginning on this, mostly on the slot machining,” adds Mangas. “We used the Coromant Capto C6 system, and thanks to two special headstocks, we have been able to create the keyways with great precision. This is the advantage of this machine. We can create an internal slot without a Y axis just using two linear axes.”

An added benefit for Bost is that once the machine is delivered to the customer, Sandvik Coromant will be there to offer support.

“A machine tool is a very big investment for a customer,” says Mangas. “The return does not come back in a matter of months. It takes some years. But of course the benefits must be clear from the beginning.

“The good thing about working with a big company like Sandvik Coromant is that you can find it all around the world,” he continues. “I have worked in a lot of countries on several different continents, and sometimes we need a fast solution. We prefer to work with companies like Sandvik Coromant that can help us quickly and get tools to us within 24 hours.”

Sandvik Coromant has also played an integral role with Bost’s máquina de casa – an in-house vertical lathe with a swing of 20 feet. It incorporates Sandvik Coromant’s Capto C10 system.

“That machine is very different from what much of the competition offers,” explains Javier Guerra, Sandvik Coromant Customer Operations and Distribution Manager in Iberia.

“When we started thinking about this machine more than two years ago, we decided we wanted to use just one system,” explains Mangas. “Most vertical lathes use two different systems. My idea was that if we had a new machine, with a robot for quick changes, we could use the same system for turning and milling. That’s why we thought about the Coromant Capto C10. It’s very strong for turning operations, but also very strong for milling.”

The multi-million-dollar investment in the machine provides Bost with a test environment. It is also available for customers’ use.

“It’s here for any company that wants to try something out,” Mangas says. “There aren’t many machines of this size in the area. We can’t sell this particular machine, but we can of course manufacture an identical model for a customer.”

So visitors are welcome to check out the Bost máquina de casa any time they like; just watch out for the snow come wintertime.

Originally published in Metalworking World 2.2012, a business magazine published by Sandvik Coromant.

Text: Simon Hunter
Photo: Markel Redondo

Boeing has established two world records with its 787 Dreamliner, setting new marks for both speed and distance for the weight class.

“These records area  great way to demonstrate that this airplane is the game-changer we have promised,” says Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program.

From a materials point of view, the 787 Dreamliner is one of the most revolutionary leaps in the history of manufacturing. The use of carbon fiber reinforced plastics in the construction reduces weight significantly, allowing fuel savings and extended flying range.

The airplane uses 20 percent less fuel than similar-sized airplanes, and now holds the distance record with a 12,325-mile flight (which gave credit for 11,896 miles) from Seattle to Dhaka, Bangladesh. The former record was held by the Airbus A330, which traveled 10,503 miles in 2002.

Composites are used on wings, tail, doors, fuselage and interior. Passenger comfort will improve thanks to the material, as the internal cabin pressure will be increased. Also, the humidity in the passenger cabin can be increased.

Learn more about Aerospace Solutions from Sandvik Coromant.

Originally published in Metalworking World 2.2012, a business magazine published by Sandvik Coromant.

Text: Chian Gramfors
Illustration: Kjell Thorsson

In the above web cast see how this new-generation CoroDrill 870 exchangeable-tip drill features a unique gash and flute design with an optimized shape, size and helix angle for safe chip evacuation. Learn more about Drilling Solutions from Sandvik Coromant.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION:

Hello and welcome to the Sandvik Coromant web cast for CoroDrill 870.

CoroDrill 870 offers the high versatility of an exchangeable-tip drill with secure interface between drill body and tip for excellent hole making performance. Benefits include reliability and security, high penetration rates, optimized chip evacuation, and lower cost per hole.

The new cutting edge geometry delivers low cutting forces, high process security, good chip control, and high penetration rates.

Unique flute design features an optimized shape, size and helix angle for safe chip evacuation and overall tool stability. Through coolant is recommended for high-performance applications.

New grade 4234 offers a unique combination of crater wear and flank wear resistance, resulting in long and reliable tool life at high productivity rates.

The self-locating mount allows for easy handling only 1 ½ revolutions for secure tip exchange. Minimize downtime by changing tips inside the machine. And, because the tip only goes in one way, the risk of backward installation is eliminated.

The CoroDrill 870 is optimized for steel, ensuring excellent hole quality while achieving H9 to H10 hole tolerances. It is currently available in diameters from 12–20.9mm and in future releases the diameter range will include sizes from 9.5 to 33mm.

In this test case, we slightly increased the cutting speed and feed rate over the competitor, achieving a 90 percent increase in tool life while increasing productivity by 36 percent.

This concludes our web cast for the CoroDrill 870. For more information, contact your local Sandvik Coromant representative.

To register for this FREE event, please visit: Ohio HTEC Conference.

Click HERE for driving directions.

For further information please contact Mike White (michael.white@tric-c.edu), Program Manager in Advanced Manufacturing at Cuyahoga Community College.

“The greatest challenge facing the future of manufacturing is the limited amount of skilled labor. That’s what our participation in these events aims to address” said Tom Henry, manager of Sandvik Coromant’s Productivity Center. “It’s encouraging to see so many interested young students who are excited about the manufacturing industry. It’s inspirational.”

During the student’s Schaumburg Productivity Center visit, Henry presented a brief overview of Sandvik Coromant’s “Bridging the Skills Gap” presentation with Kevin Clay, sales manager, before detailing manufacturing processes such as milling, drilling and turning. Sandvik Coromant’s Craig Dimond, Jesus Nava, Brett Voigt and Rob Munn provided a CAD/CAM presentation, along with a number of live machine demonstrations on milling, drilling and turning, including a demo on gear cutting on the new Höfler gear milling machine.

Eisenhower Middle School is participating in the Rockford School District’s Introduction to Manufacturing Program, which created the Pathways for Technical Careers Academy to expose interested students to local colleges and manufacturing businesses to help them begin developing career aspirations in the manufacturing industry. Program participants were presented with their honorary “Surgeons of Steel” T-shirts by Sandvik Coromant during a Rockford School District Event in February, when the program kicked off.

Sandvik Coromant is dedicated to ensuring the future of our manufacturing workforce through ongoing education, training, and dedicated tools and resources. Lear more about these programs from Sandvik Coromant.

The SkillsUSA Championships are designed to recognize outstanding career and technical education students in the U.S. that compete in more than 94 different trade, technical and leadership fields. Each student contestant has already won the SkillsUSA competition in their respective state.

Sandvik Coromant Training and Productivity Center Manager, Kevin Mayer, and Senior Training Specialist, Chuck Tate, will be involved in supporting, organizing and judging the separate contests. Sandvik Coromant supplies the appropriate metal cutting tools for student competitions and insures tools are the same for each contestant. Categories include CNC Milling Technology, CNC Turning Technology and Precision Machining Technology.

“The education and success of the next generation of the manufacturing workforce is essential not just for our company, but for the metalworking industry as a whole,” said Kevin Mayer. “This is why the SkillsUSA Championships are a great opportunity for students to demonstrate skills learned and developed through their schools’ training programs.”

Sandvik Coromant remains dedicated to ensuring the future of the manufacturing industry on a local, regional, and global level through ongoing training and education.

Thirty 8th grade students from Eisenhower Middle School in Rockford, IL were selected to participate in a trial experience that introduces them to the manufacturing industry and opportunities for career paths. During this experience, the students have visited the University of Illinois School of Engineering, GE Aviation Systems, Woodward, and Sundstrand to gain first hand knowledge in the field.

Tomorrow, these students will be hosted at the Sandvik Coromant Productivity Center in Schaumburg, IL and DMG/Mori Seiki University to further explore the manufacturing industry and its possibilities.

The underwater kite was included in Time magazine's 50 Best Inventions in 2010. It was also the only invention to make the 2011 list of Top 15 Utility Solutions compiled by the Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries Organization.

The Swedish company Minesto has developed a form of underwater kite that could provide a more environmentally friendly and efficient renewable energy source than wind power.

Minesto reports that the kites can generate 500 kilowatts of power even in calm conditions. Each small kite device will be capable of generating enough energy to power 300 households and could be commercially operational by 2013. The kite can travel 1o times faster than the flow of the water it operates in. Because of the relationship between speed and energy, the faster the kite travels, the more efficiently it can create energy. Seawater is 800 times denser than air: the turbine can generate 800 times more energy than if it were in the sky. Each kite is tethered to the seabed and moves in a  pattern, converting tidal currents into energy.

Learn more about Energy Solutions from Sandvik Coromant.

Text: Geoff Mortimore
Photo: Kjell Thorsson

Originally published in Metalworking World 1.2012, a business magazine published by Sandvik Coromant.

Fair Lawn, N.J. – Sandvik Coromant introduces the CoroDrill 861, a brand new range of solid carbide drills for deep hole drilling applications. Featuring Advanced Chip Management (ACM) flute geometry, the new drills are able to generate small, manageable chips. This, combined with specially designed point geometry to reduce thrust forces and patented double-offset margin geometry, helps provide the high stability necessary for drilling deep holes in the most expedient and efficient manner.

CoroDrill 861 with innovative fluted geometry.

Effective chip evacuation is critical when deep hole drilling. The buildup of heat and friction resulting from an accumulation of chips can impact productivity and tool life, even leading to drill breakage and downtime in some instances. With CoroDrill 861, Sandvik Coromant provides consistent edge preparation that protects the cutting edge from premature chipping and flaking, thus helping to minimize cost-per-hole.

Using its innovative geometry, CoroDrill 861 produces accurate, deep holes to depths of 12-30 x drill diameter, without pecking. Using a suitable high precision chuck, IT8-IT9 is the achievable hole tolerance in workpieces materials in the steel, stainless steel, cast iron and non-ferrous metal application areas. Internal coolant holes deliver coolant directly to the tip of the drill even at deep drilling depths, further aiding precision and chip evacuation. As well as conventional drilling, CoroDrill 861 is capable of producing cross-holes, and holes in angled faces, making it highly desirable for automotive powertrain shops producing components such as crankshafts, engine blocks and cylinder heads.

In a customer performance trial, using a 0.406 inch diameter CoroDrill 861 for horizontal drilling operations in alloy steel produced remarkable results. Drilling to a depth of 5.5 inches (15xD), the tool achieved 60 percent higher productivity than a comparable competitor drill (in 30 minutes’ machining time). The machining feed rate increased from 22 to 36 in/min, resulting in an impressive drilled length of 90 feet, compared to the competitor drill, which completed 55 feet.

Learn more about Drilling Solutions from Sandvik Coromant.