Tag Archives: Niigata

Longtime market leader in all-electric injection presses NIIGATA will introduce two new machines to the market at the upcoming NPE in Orlando, March 23-27.

Visit NIIGATA at NPE Orlando, Booth W-1363, March 23^rd-27^th with a free guest pass.

NEW: NIIGATA all-electric MDVR110S7000 (Vertical IMM with 2-station rotary table)

NIIGATA introduced the world’s first all-electric vertical IMM in 1996 and its latest model, the S7000, capitalizes on NIIGATA’s long history and 100% focus on making all-electric machines.

Highlights of the new MDVR110S7000 include:

~While many vertical machines have high table heights, forcing the customer to build a work platform around the machine, the NIIGATA patented vertical toggle system allows lowering the table height on this 110-ton model to just 3.4 feet from the ground, including leveling pads.

~The machine has a wider table than standard verticals, allowing larger molds to be placed on the platen. The MDVR110S7000 boasts a mold size capacity of 500mm x 500mm (33.64” x 33.64”).

~Fast table rotation of under 1 second.

~Ultra low-speed injection can be beneficial in molding thicker walled insert jobs. NIIGATA boasts an ultra low-speed capability of just .01 mm/sec injection speed.

~With a 2-station machine running separate “A” and “B” mold halves, a molder can often encounter problems with differences in mold halves causing part variations. With the NIIGATA Vertical, two completely independent injection profiles can be set for the “A” and “B” halves, allowing the molder to finish the job without making expensive and time consuming mold repairs or adjustments.

Niigata MD110S7000 horizontal all-electric injection press, NPE Booth W-1363

NEW: NIIGATA MD110S7000 horizontal all-electric IMM

Having introduced our first fully-electric machine at the Japan Plastics Fair in 1984, NIIGATA has devoted 100% of its R&D resources toward improving all-electric molding machine technology. Using the Japanese Kaizen system, we are now introducing our 7th generation of the all-electric machine, built entirely in Japan to tough quality standards.

A few NEW features of the MD110S7000 all-electric IMM include:

~Elimination of moving platen’s lower side tie bar bushings to improve the cleanliness of the part drop area.

~Addition of an FDA-approved grease supply system that allows medical cleanroom and food grade applications with fewer worries about part contamination.

~NIIGATA’s standard high nozzle touch force, similar to that of the hydraulic machines, can now be dialed down when the application allows, to promote longer sprue bushing life.

~Fully automatic and adjustable mold clamping force is continuously monitored by tie bar sensors.

~NIIGATA’s horizontal machines boast the industry’s shortest footprint, but heaviest overall weight to provide superior machine durability.

Also in the Niigata booth…

NIIGATA MD385W6000 all-electric IMM:

NIIGATA’s “workhorse machine”, the MD385 is being exhibited running a drink cup mold provided by a customer, together with an impressive IN-MOLD LABELING SYSTEM manufactured by Campetella of Italy. See and learn more about the MD385 HERE and at the show!

Also running during the show…

NIIGATA MD55S6000 all-electric IMM:

NIIGATA’s small size all-electric press will be exhibited at the booth of LUBE Corp. USA ( #W-2389). This machine will have clear covers, highlighting the automatic lube system of the machine. ( http://lube-global.com/english/)

Don’t forget! NPE, Booth W-1363

For more information on all these developments, please contact:

Peter Gardner
Vice President Sales and General Manager
NIIGATA Operations North America
DJA Global Group
939 AEC Drive
Wood Dale, IL 60191
Phone: 630.875.0202
Fax: 630.361.6060
E-mail: peter.gardner@niigata-us.com
Website: niigata-us.com
Connect with NIIGATA online:

Hennig chip conveyors on Niigata machining centers maintain efficiencies and production on ductile iron castings used in heavy truck and military drive train projects at Michigan shop  

Machesney Park, Illinois – Accurate Gauge prides itself on the company motto that says, “The quality is not in the product, unless the quality is in the process.”  As this busy Rochester Hills, Michigan machine shop can attest, the machining and assembly of large ductile iron castings into components for the heavy truck and military drive train markets is one that demands accuracy at every turn.  Correspondingly, the heavy-duty manufacturing equipment here includes a line of Niigata SPN 701 horizontal machining centers (HMCs) with multiple pallets, used for machining very large, heavy workpieces with  accuracy that ranks among the highest in the machine tool world market. As a result, Accurate boasts the industry leaders among its customers, including Meritor, Axle Alliance, Dana and Mack.

The shop machines over 98% of its workpieces from ductile iron and the iron sludge build-up in the coolant tank is an all too familiar problem for the production personnel.  As Accurate’s engineering manager Mark Tario explains, “We approach every machine with a keen eye on machine uptime and an absolute ease of maintenance.  We had experimented with other systems to handle cast ductile iron fines and knew their benefits as well as their shortcomings.” Mark notes the company had actually designed two systems in-house to improve the handling of chips and the cleaning of coolant.  While the benefits had been appreciable, they felt there was still a shortfall and the team at Accurate began a systematic search for a better solution.

One of the potential vendors, Hennig, was an established force in the market, as the company’s chip conveyors and machine enclosures are found on many of the global machine tool builders’ equipment.  A particular development from Hennig caught the attention of the team at Accurate, namely, a magnetic chip disc filtration system that represented a substantial improvement over the traditional drum screen filtration system used on most competing brands.  The relative ease of changeover immediately impressed the Accurate engineers, both from the production and maintenance perspectives.  As Mark explains, “Replacing the drum filter screens is not an easy task, in fact it can be downright miserable.  The Hennig disc arrangement seemed to us a much easier system to operate and maintain.  The incorporation of a rare earth drum & scraper assembly inside the conveyor appeared to be a great solution for minimizing the amount of cast iron fines reaching the coolant tank side of the system.”  Mark notes the heavier-duty mechanical components and drive chains used on the Hennig conveyor were also impressive, providing a greater wear life and reduced downtime likelihood.

An initial order was placed with Hennig for four Chip Disc Filtration (CDF) conveyors to run in tandem with the Niigata machines.   All electrical controls, coolant tanks, pumps and other hardware were provided by Hennig.  Mark and his team worked closely with the Hennig mechanical and electrical engineers, as well as the Hennig’s local representative, John Kaczmarek of Marathon Industrial Sales in Sterling Heights, Michigan, to complete the first installation.  “We have over 40 years of experience in what works and what doesn’t in the machining of cast iron, so we had a very defined list of needs in all facets of the design, electrical functions and the very important aspect of machine to auxiliary equipment communication,” Mark notes, adding that the worst scenario in the shop occurs when the machining center is working, but the chip conveyor is not.

Every aspect of the machine-to-conveyor connection was planned out by the Accurate team, including the layout of the coolant tank covers and the access ports.  This attention to detail is something in which the company takes great pride.  “The Hennig team was very good on this job and they realized that nothing less than their best efforts would satisfy us,”   Tario notes.

Among the many issues Accurate had to overcome, downtime for maintenance was the most prominent.  The machining of cast iron, by definition, creates considerable problems arising from the frequent need to replace conveyor chains, drum screens and other mechanical components that get infiltrated by the iron fines and literally lock up.  The conveyor chains on the Hennig system, for example, were found stronger than the typical styles used on competing brands, which often required adjustments and repairs several times annually and were usually in need of total replacement, once a year.   Depending on the severity of the repair or replacement operation, this situation resulted in many hours or even several days to rectify.  Practically speaking, the maintenance personnel would get completely soaked and filthy with the coolant and sludge as a result.

On the Hennig CDF system, by contrast, the discs can be easily removed and cleaned on a workbench, rather than reaching through narrow access ports to wrestle with a drum style filter.  According to Mark, this entire process is a two-hour operation at most.  Simple screen replacements can be done in thirty minutes or less, he notes.

Another common problem for the maintenance personnel are coolant related failures.  On the HMCs at Accurate, a substantial amount of “through the spindle coolant” is used to improve productivity.  However, this generous use of coolant can create an immediate and dangerous problem, if the coolant runs low and the machine has no safeguard-warning device, especially when drilling and tapping.  Nearly half the Accurate systems had no such devices originally, resulting in some damage conditions on the high-speed drills used here.  A third of the later systems used at the company had a communication device to put the machine’s CNC into a single block state when the coolant tank ran low, but had no protection to shut off the pump to prevent dry running.  Mark notes, “On our third generation systems, we changed from a diaphragm style pump to a screw pump, where dry running would be very bad, to say the least.  With our fourth generation Hennig conveyors, however, we have all the protections of the previous generations plus all the necessary controls to shut down the pumps to prevent very costly system component damage.”

Accurate has already installed four Hennig systems, just received an additional three and has plans to purchase two more shortly, for a total of nine in the shop.  All are connected to Niigata HMCs that have an opening in the back of the machine with a horseshoe-shaped channel where the conveyor fits.  The overall machine size is 10’ wide by 30’ long.

Other Accurate personnel involved in this project who contributed to the story include Greg Mann, plant manager, Dennis Shepp, maintenance technician and Jim Weeks, shift supervisor and maintenance technician.

To see a video of this installation, please go to http://youtu.be/GDPHtJdFul4

—

Hennig, Inc. designs and produces custom machine protection and chip/coolant management products for state-of-the-art machine tools. Hennig products are designed to protect against corrosion, debris and common workplace contaminants. Manufacturing facilities located in the USA, Germany, France, Brazil, India, Japan, Czech Republic, England and South Korea. Repair centers are located in Machesney Park, IL; Chandler, OK; Livonia, MI; Blue Ash, OH; Mexico City, Mexico; and Saltillo, Mexico.

To learn more about Hennig products & services, visit www.hennigworldwide.com or call 1-888-HENNIG6 (436-6446).

For more information, please contact:

Tim Waterman
Hennig, Inc.
2500 Latham St.
Rockford, IL 61103
Phone: 815-316-5277
Fax: 815-962-6483
E-mail: info@hennig-inc.com
Connect with Hennig online:

For more information on Accurate Gauge in this story, please contact:

Accurate Gauge & Manufacturing, Inc.
2943 Technology Drive
Rochester Hills, MI 48309
Phone: 248-853-2400
Web: www.accurategauge.com
Email: mark@accurategauge.com
Mark Tario, Engineering Manager