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A rotary transfer machine is a machine tool, typically for metal working by machining, comprising a large indexing table with machining stations surrounding the table. Such rotary transfer machines are used for producing a large number of parts in fairly short cycle times.
In rotary transfer machines, the workpieces are located and clamped in pallet type fixtures that are indexed in a circular path. During one cycle, sequential machining operations are performed simultaneously on the workpieces. The indexed table turns vertically or horizontally, and its movement could be continuous or intermittent. As the indexing table turns, the subsequent machining operation is repeated on the workpiece which was just machined by the previous station. This design combines automated part feed with simultaneous operations, enabling rapid completion of parts.
Rotary transfer machines are commonly used for the mass-production of metal parts in the automotive industry and for pneumatic and hydraulic fittings. The parts can range from simple to complex, depending on the layout of the machining tool, which is often custom-designed for the manufacturing of a single part or family of parts. Rotary arrangement presents a compact arrangement that saves floor space. The annual production capacity of one rotary transfer machine can range from 100'000 units to tens of millions of units.
Rotary transfer machines can generally cope with all standard machining operations like turning, milling, drilling, reaming, threading, recessing, marking, deburring, etc... for sizes ranging more or less from a fingernail up to a backpack.
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A lathe is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece to create an object with symmetry about that axis.
Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer or a die. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which it is performed: cold forging, warm forging, or hot forging. For the latter two, the metal is heated, usually in a forge. Forged parts can range in weight from less than a kilogram to hundreds of metric tons. Forging has been done by smiths for millennia; the traditional products were kitchenware, hardware, hand tools, edged weapons, cymbals, and jewellery. Since the Industrial Revolution, forged parts are widely used in mechanisms and machines wherever a component requires high strength; such forgings usually require further processing to achieve an almost finished part. Today, forging is a major worldwide industry.
A drill or drilling machine is a tool primarily used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a bit, either a drill or driver, depending on application, secured by a chuck. Some powered drills also include a hammer function.
Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale: from huge ships, buildings, and bridges down to precise engine parts and delicate jewelry.
A die is a specialized machine tool used in manufacturing industries to cut and/or form material to a desired shape or profile. Stamping dies are used with a press, as opposed to drawing dies and casting dies which are not. Like molds, dies are generally customized to the item they are used to create.
Broaching is a machining process that uses a toothed tool, called a broach, to remove material. There are two main types of broaching: linear and rotary. In linear broaching, which is the more common process, the broach is run linearly against a surface of the workpiece to effect the cut. Linear broaches are used in a broaching machine, which is also sometimes shortened to broach. In rotary broaching, the broach is rotated and pressed into the workpiece to cut an axisymmetric shape. A rotary broach is used in a lathe or screw machine. In both processes the cut is performed in one pass of the broach, which makes it very efficient.
A tool bit is a non-rotary cutting tool used in metal lathes, shapers, and planers. Such cutters are also often referred to by the set-phrase name of single-point cutting tool, as distinguished from other cutting tools such as a saw or water jet cutter. The cutting edge is ground to suit a particular machining operation and may be resharpened or reshaped as needed. The ground tool bit is held rigidly by a tool holder while it is cutting.
A punch press is a type of machine press used to cut holes in material. It can be small and manually operated and hold one simple die set, or be very large, CNC operated, with a multi-station turret and hold a much larger and complex die set.
Turning is a machining process in which a cutting tool, typically a non-rotary tool bit, describes a helix toolpath by moving more or less linearly while the workpiece rotates.
A metal lathe or metalworking lathe is a large class of lathes designed for precisely machining relatively hard materials. They were originally designed to machine metals; however, with the advent of plastics and other materials, and with their inherent versatility, they are used in a wide range of applications, and a broad range of materials. In machining jargon, where the larger context is already understood, they are usually simply called lathes, or else referred to by more-specific subtype names. These rigid machine tools remove material from a rotating workpiece via the movements of various cutting tools, such as tool bits and drill bits.
A rotary table is a precision work positioning device used in metalworking. It enables the operator to drill or cut work at exact intervals around a fixed axis. Some rotary tables allow the use of index plates for indexing operations, and some can also be fitted with dividing plates that enable regular work positioning at divisions for which indexing plates are not available. A rotary fixture used in this fashion is more appropriately called a dividing head.
Punching is a forming process that uses a punch press to force a tool, called a punch, through the workpiece to create a hole via shearing. Punching is applicable to a wide variety of materials that come in sheet form, including sheet metal, paper, vulcanized fibre and some forms of plastic sheet. The punch often passes through the work into a die. A scrap slug from the hole is deposited into the die in the process. Depending on the material being punched this slug may be recycled and reused or discarded.
An indexing head, also known as a dividing head or spiral head, is a specialized tool that allows a workpiece to be circularly indexed; that is, easily and precisely rotated to preset angles or circular divisions. Indexing heads are usually used on the tables of milling machines, but may be used on many other machine tools including drill presses, grinders, and boring machines. Common jobs for a dividing head include machining the flutes of a milling cutter, cutting the teeth of a gear, milling curved slots, or drilling a bolt hole circle around the circumference of a part.
Single-pass bore finishing is a machining process similar to honing to finish a bore, except the tool only takes a single pass. The process was originally developed to improve bore quality in cast iron workpieces.
Surface grinding is used to produce a smooth finish on flat surfaces. It is a widely used abrasive machining process in which a spinning wheel covered in rough particles cuts chips of metallic or nonmetallic substance from a workpiece, making a face of it flat or smooth.
In metalworking and woodworking, an automatic lathe is a lathe with an automatically controlled cutting process. Automatic lathes were first developed in the 1870s and were mechanically controlled. From the advent of NC and CNC in the 1950s, the term automatic lathe has generally been used for only mechanically controlled lathes, although some manufacturers market Swiss-type CNC lathes as 'automatic'.
Milling is the process of machining using rotary cutters to remove material by advancing a cutter into a workpiece. This may be done varying direction on one or several axes, cutter head speed, and pressure. Milling covers a wide variety of different operations and machines, on scales from small individual parts to large, heavy-duty gang milling operations. It is one of the most commonly used processes for machining custom parts to precise tolerances.
CNC riveting is a CNC process used for obtaining permanent mechanical fastening of geometrical shapes, ranging from simple to complex shapes, such as aircraft fuselages. This is done in a shorter duration of time with a high riveting rate. The process is fast, robust, and is flexible in nature; thus improving its usage and providing reliability to the riveted joint along with the final product quality. CNC riveting can be used for a variety of operations ranging from riveting and fastening belts, skin panels, shear ties, and other internal fuselage components.
Sheet metal forming in medium-high volume production environments is often completed through the use of a Transfer Press operating a number of dies as a complete system. Each die in the system is responsible for adding more shape to the part until the metal work piece attains its final shape. What makes transfer stamping unique is that a single press operates a number of tools, the movement of the sheet metal work piece from one operation to the next is performed by automation either built into the press or onto the dies. With each closing of the press the entire system of tools will close, each performing its designed work to the sheet metal. Upon opening the built in transfer mechanism moves the workpiece from one operation to the next in the sequence.
Rule based DFM analysis for forging. Forging is the controlled deformation of metal into a specific shape by compressive forces. The forging process goes back to 8000 B.C. and evolved from the manual art of simple blacksmithing. Then as now, a series of compressive hammer blows performs the shaping or forging of the part. Modern forging uses machine driven impact hammers or presses which deform the work-piece by controlled pressure.