Contact us today:
(847) 934-4500
tdaro@bernardandcompany.com
Contact us today:
(847) 934-4500
tdaro@bernardandcompany.com
—–Original Message—–
From: Tim Daro (Bernard & Company)
Sent: Mon 15/02/2010 14:47
To: Jon W (BMW Oracle Racing)
Cc: Fred Young (Forest City Gear); Wendy Young (Forest City Gear); Nicole Zermatten (Bernard & Company); Wendy McCormick (Bernard & Company)
Subject: Congratulations!
We all welcomed the news of your success in winning the Cup.
And the story on Forest City Gear is popping up all over the trade press, here in the States.
Good news, all around!
Thanks for your help, Jon. Enjoy the victory.
Tim
—–Original Message—–
From: Jon W (BMW Oracle Racing)
Sent: Mon 15/02/2010 14:47
To: Tim Daro (Bernard & Company)
Cc: Fred Young (Forest City Gear); Wendy Young (Forest City Gear); Nicole Zermatten (Bernard & Company); Wendy McCormick (Bernard & Company)
Subject: Congratulations!
Hi guys,
I don’t think we could’ve written a better script! The victory will carry the article a bit further for you I’m sure. It was incredible to pick up the America’s Cup last night. I’ve been chasing it for more than 10 years!
Bye for now.
Jon
Check out our press release on FCG and BMW Oracle teaming up.
Go to our Facebook page to see more pictures of the BMW Oracle.
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During the last two years, AME’s Speedcut Division has invested in new production and measuring equipment and concentrated heavily on R & D and saw blade innovations to improve the tool life of carbide- and cermet-tipped circular saw blades.
We are very pleased to announce the promotion of Christian Schedler to the Product Manager position at this division.
In his new role, Christian will oversee P&L responsibility for the division, including its sales, application engineering, product management and project management functions.
Christian’s distinguished career has encompassed R&D, Engineering and Product Manufacturing. He has a broad assembly and service experience on machine tools and knows the market’s needs for productivity improvements. Prior to this promotion, he worked in service as a Global Service Rep for a German machine tool company and as a Designer of carbide saws at Advanced Machine & Engineering. Christian has the experience, energy and judgment necessary to lead the division to continued success, insuring its future growth objectives are achieved.
Advanced Machine & Engineering Co., is a manufacturer located in Rockford, IL, serving the Machine Tool Industry with precision components and accessories, including spindle interface components, workholding devices, and, through our sister company, Hennig, machine enclosures, chip removal and filtration systems. The Fluid Power – Safety markets are served with cylinder rod locks and safety catcher devises; and the Production Saw market with our Amsaw carbide saw machines and Speedcut blade products. AME has manufacturing partners and customers around the world and across the U.S. To learn more, visit www.ame.com.
Hennig, Inc. design 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 U.S., Germany, Brazil, India, Japan, China 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, visit www.hennigworldwide.com.
For more information, contact:
Tim Waterman
ADVANCED MACHINE & ENGINEERING CO.
2500 Latham St.
Rockford, IL 61103
Phone: 815-316-5277
Fax: 815-962-6483
E-mail: info@ame.com
Connect with AME online: 
Using Stotz air gages to validate spindle interface components, this leading supplier keeps quality on highest levels; every part, every time
Stotz USA, LLC, is a leader in air gaging technology, products and quality gaging system integration. According to company president, Chris Koehn, Stotz has achieved that goal by a variety of means, not the least of which has been the loyalty of good customers, who appreciate the value Stotz products brings to theirs. One of those customers is also a longtime friend of Koehn’s and he can say that with complete honesty, because he worked there, long ago.
Advanced Machine & Engineering (AME) of Rockford, Illinois is a world player in high-quality machine tool spindle interface components. As part of the Goellner, Inc. Group, AME enjoys a reputation throughout the machine tool industry for manufacturing the finest power drawbars, spindle shafts, guide bushings, locknuts, hydraulic sleeves, expansion gibs and more. AME components, through their own branded products and those of their brother companies such as OTT Jakob, Spieth and Tschudin & Heid, as well as their “other brother” Hennig, itself a world leader in chip conveyor and machine protection systems, are found on nearly every major machine tool brand.
AME was a customer of Stotz before Chris Koehn ever came to work at the air gaging company. Today, these two market leaders maintain a great working relationship, for all the right reasons. AME demands the highest level of quality in their machining and finishing departments and Stotz air gaging systems facilitate the accomplishment of that goal, every day, according to AME Service Manager, Greg Hobbs. “Air gaging is the only technology we’ve found that’s accurate enough to check the machine tooling and especially the spindle tapers we produce here. That’s a fact. In the past, we’d use hard gages and we still use them, but only for certain OD checks. We’d blue up the tapers, insert them, give them a good twist and do our inspections. Way too much inconsistency. Today, with sophisticated HSK tooling, this method is too hit or miss to be reliable. Air gaging provides dead stops on the test stand and the documentation is unbeatable for validation on the straightness, surface finish and taper angles. Plus, the Stotz system allows us to upload all the data on every part, so we have our favorite word…documentation…for every part we produce.”
Hobbs also commented on the user-friendliness of the Stotz air column. When the program is first input into the column for a part in the AME grinding department, for example, the Stotz column essentially becomes a PLC, providing hard data via the Ethernet connections to the host data base. In this manner, every parameter of every part is documented and recorded. In a classic example of the law of unintended consequences, this process is not only used on the parts run, it’s also used for calibrating the AME machines, in a predictive maintenance function.
At AME, various testing of machined spindle interface and other components is performed both at the machines in the grinding department, in a temperature-controlled 72° environment, plus in the company’s totally environment-controlled in-house testing department, supervised by the company’s Director of Quality, Brad Patterson. He confirmed Greg Hobbs’ observation that numerous other technologies have been investigated over the years for quality checking at AME and that air gaging has been found to be the best and most reliable for this company’s applications, particularly ID dimensions and configuration. Patterson also observed, “The sophistication of the Stotz air column is unmatched in the industry. We get all the data required and we get it in exactly the fashion needed to support our customers. Repeatable results and elimination of error, every time. Plus, the set-up is much faster than on our laser mics, which can’t be used for ID measurement.” Patterson further noted that the replacement of the bluing technique, one he termed a “black art,” with air gaging has brought and keeps AME up to the most current industry standards for quality evaluation.
The typical Stotz air column found here is the Model MSG, with four pneumatic channels or ten LVDT channels operating simultaneously, pneumatic length measuring, user specific programming up to 18 programs per column, full statistical analysis and full data transfer capability within the host network. All info is fed into the AME host computer by serial number, so any job can be quickly retrieved, while historical records on any part produced can be easily called up for evaluation, deviation claims or to dovetail with a customer’s internal quality protocols.
Typically, as AME’s Grinding Supervisor, Sam Schubert, explains, the finished product will rest for 24 hours of soaking, allowing the diameters to normalize. Though statistically predictable for most metal materials, thermal expansion can cause off-normal readings to occur. For checking certain bearing journals or spindle shafts, snap gages are set to accommodate size measurements down to the twenty millionths (0.000020”) range. The acceptable diameter tolerances for most AME products measured are in the 1-2 tenths (0.0001-0.0002”) range.
In cases where new masters are made for setting control values, those values are preset offline and programmed into the air column’s software, according to Greg Hobbs. Stotz typically performs this function for the customer in a remote manner over the Internet, through a proprietary IP address.
Among the many products finished in this grinding department are CAT/ISO 40 taper spindles, HSK test arbors, HSK grind quills, HSK steep taper milling tools and more. Often, older and worn spindle shafts are reverse engineered by AME for retrofits and reman’s. Even in these cases, air gaging is used to evaluate the finish process on the ID taper, as this versatile technology is easily adapted to such applications, according to AME personnel.
Sam Schubert expanded on the use of Stotz air gaging at AME.
“We have a full and very expensive inventory of hard gages with state-of-the-art indicators attached. But the air gages can do so much more. We use them for set-up on the grinding machines and they save us hours, every week. When you run the number of jobs we do here, that translates into substantial, additional work product and therefore more revenue for the company. In terms of reliability, some of the Stotz air gages we run here have been at AME since we began using the technology, nearly ten years ago now.” Schubert also noted the air gaging set-ups on the grinders dramatically reduce the time to first part in his department’s operation.
On one major spindle shaft project for an Asian machine tool builder, who was looking for a local source of supply in America, Schubert notes, AME was confronted with an unusually large quantity run, where tool degradation during the run would normally impact the production at some point. After an initial batch was produced, the machine builder claimed that everything but the taper was satisfactory. Quite surprised by this claim, AME checked all the documentation and determined that the customer’s test unit was actually out of spec, in a case where the error was repeated consistently and thus overlooked. In the end, the AME products were deemed better than perfect, in that instance.
Sam Schubert cites a useful analogy here. “The documentation we can produce from the air gaging procedure is like a birth certificate on every unit we make. All our spindle shafts for customers, for example, can be viewed as a series of genetically identical twins to each other and we’re providing the documentation of their DNA.” Quite a family.
As evidence of their commitment to this technology, Schubert notes that AME is now purchasing air gaging fixtures for all new customer applications. This quality spindle interface manufacturer aims to “keep breathing easy” in their process and product validation, as a result.
“Stotz has been a leader in gaging technology for almost 60 years. We are constantly striving to improve our designs and develop new products to solidify our position as a leader in measuring technology. The Stotz customer base consists of the top manufacturers and suppliers in the machine tool, automotive, aerospace and medical industries,” according to company president, Chris Koehn.
Harold Goellner, Vice President at AME, also contributed to this article.
For more information: STOTZ USA, LLC Email: chris@stotz-usa.com Attention: Chris Koehn, President
All photos kindly supplied by Bill Edmundson of Advanced Machine & Engineering
Release: STOTZ USA, LLC
Date: January 20, 2010
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Noisy gear trains have been a common problem for gear designers for a long time. With the demands for smaller gearboxes transmitting more power at higher rpm and incumbent demands for greater efficiency, gear engineers are always searching for new ways to reduce vibration and limit noise, without increasing costs.
Some popular solutions to the noisy gear problem include enlarging the pinion to reduce undercut, using Phenolic, Delrin or other noise-absorbing products, where possible, or changing to a helical gear train. Other methods include tightening specifications to insure greater gear quality or redesigning the acoustical absorption characteristics of the gearbox. Occasionally, experimentation with gear ratios can limit harmonic frequency amplification, which otherwise can cause a gearbox to amplify noise like a finely tuned stereo system. The engineer can also study material and hardness requirements, so that modifications may be made to minimize heat treatment distortion or possibly eliminate the need for heat treatment entirely.
Particular attention must also be paid to gear geometry to insure maximum contact.
Another approach to the gear noise problem that yields good results is crowning or barreling of the teeth. This technique involves changing the chordal thickness of the tooth along its axis. This modification eliminates end bearing by offering a contact bearing in the center of the gear.
A second benefit of the crowning approach to gear cutting is the minimization of misalignment problems, caused by inaccurate machining of the casting, housing, shafting, gearboxes or bearing journals. Crowning can also reduce lead problems in the gears themselves, which causes the gears to wear unevenly and bind because of eccentricities and position errors. Obviously, a gear with a center contact is less affected by discrepant manufacturing or design; furthermore, one can reduce the backlash requirements and allow the gears to wear in rather than wear out.
Shaving is a secondary gear finishing operation done after rough hobbing or shaping to create the desired crown. Crown shaving has long been a popular method, especially in manufacturing coarse pitch gears. With the recent evolution of gear equipment capable of crowning while cutting, the need for shaving just to achieve a crown has been eliminated.
Two variations of the crown shaving method will produce a gear to compensate for off-lead or misalignment conditions.
One approach produces a crown by rocking the table during the reciprocation of work and cutter. The degree of crown is readily changed by this method. The other approach is plunge feeding, which requires dressing the shaving cutter to the desired crown. Generally, it is faster to plunge feed, but the technique can subject the cutter to greater wear. Of course, it is more difficult to change the crown, provided one starts with good quality gears. Shaving improves the quality of profile and reduces error in the gear tooth, through the cutting and burnishing action of the cutters.
The crown form can be produced on gear teeth in several other ways. One method is to shape the gear by use of a crown cam in the shaper back-off mechanism. The proper radius of the gear is calculated by using the amount of crown on the flank and the pressure angle of the gear. Unfortunately, the blocks, while not complex, tend to be expensive.
The advent of the latest generation of gear equipment has made two methods of crowning while hobbing popular. Both methods produce crowns by increasing and decreasing the center distance of cutter to workpiece. The first method utilizes physical copying of a template by a hydrocopying or mechanical following device. This allows taper hobbing or even the creation of sinusoidal wave forms, if desired. More recently, the second method, CNC hobbing, has become commonplace.
Depending on software limitations, CNC allows cutting gears in almost any desired form. A disadvantage to this approach is the high cost of the equipment, though the payback has decreased considerably, in recent years.
New CNC shapers can cut a crown gear or spline without the need for buying a special crowning cam. On our Gleason Pfauter P 300 ES, for example, we can crown by cutting a slight right and left hand helix angle along the face width of the part. This leaves the root diameter straight. We also have a Bourn & Koch Fellows MS 450 with a U-axis for controlling the back-off. It can be programmed to move the cutter spindle in and out during the stroking cycle to crown the tooth by cutting deeper at the ends of the face width and more shallow at the high point of the crown.
Who is using this gear cutting technology today?
Users of heavily loaded gears have been using crowning for quite some time. Another area ripe for the use of crowning is in the manufacturer of hydraulic wobble motors. Here, the application is strictly for misalignment problems rather than for noise
reduction. An allied area involves heavily loaded pinions used in actuators for aircraft control surfaces. Generally speaking, it is more advantageous to crown the pinion because it makes more revolutions per minute and may generate more noise. In this case, it is of paramount importance to compensate for load deflection. Unfortunately, few companies in the United States have been applying this technology to commercial fine pitch gearing. However. the few manufacturers who have tried it are most pleased with the results. Some users have reported a 5x to 10x reduction in noise, accompanied by less vibration, wear and power draw.
Prime candidates for use of the crowning technique are the small fractional horsepower motor manufacturers or anyone dealing with spur or helical pinions that are susceptible to noise or misalignment. Because crowning on foreign gear hobbing equipment has been available for a greater length of time, this method has been developed to a greater extent in Europe.
American manufacturers would be wise to take advantage of the availability of this kind of technology. Exploration of crowning as a solution to noise and misalignment problems can produce a real competitive advantage for gear manufacturers and users alike.
Fred Young, CEO Forest City Gear Roscoe, Illinois
For more information, please contact Fred Young at: Forest City Gear 11715 Main Street Roscoe, IL 61073 fyoung@forestcitygear.com 866-623-2168
AUTHOR-Fred Young is the owner and CEO of Forest City Gear Co. in Roscoe, Illinois. He has worked for the company since the mid-1950s and assumed its management in 1968. He is a graduate of Rockford College, where he studied physics, mathematics and English literature. Mr. Young is a leading authority on gear manufacturing.
Agency contact: Tim Daro Bernard & Company tdaro@bernardandcompany.com 847-934-4500
Editor note: Mr. Young is available for interviews on this or other gear design and manufacturing issues. Please contact agency to arrange. Also, any publication-generated leads from this article should be sent to Wendy Young at wyoung@forestcitygear.com. Thanks!
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Fryer Easy Turn Combination Lathe with Siemens SINUMERIK 840D sl CNC lets operators at Continental Machine program, set-up and run faster; critical for one-off operations
By definition, says Josh Johnson, vice-president, Continental Machine, Rockford, Illinois, his prototype and short-run production shop must constantly run lean. There can be no tolerating excessive programming, set-up or machining time of any kind, otherwise the shop loses and, in this economy, Johnson notes, that is simply unacceptable.
Continental Machine is a seven-person, 13,000 square-foot facility that houses a variety of CNC milling, turning, wire EDM, hole popping and grinding machines, as well as various sheetmetal and plastic injection molding machinery. Therefore, the shop is well positioned to produce a wide variety of metal and plastic prototypes used by its diverse customer base, which spans markets such as window hardware, bicycle components, automotive parts, chemical processing, medical devices and foodservice equipment. Materials processed here are just as wide-ranging, including aluminum, CRS, tool steels such as A2 and D2, zinc, brass, copper, bronze, titanium and a variety of engineered plastics such as glass-filled Delrin.
Recently, this job shop purchased a Fryer Easy Turn-21 CNC Combination Lathe, controlled by a Siemens SINUMERIK 840D sl numerical control. The two operators responsible for this machine upgrade at Continental had limited experience with CNC and none whatsoever with the Siemens protocol, as this was the first of its kind at the shop.
The Easy Turn-21 was particularly appealing to Josh Johnson, who comments, “The set-up is extremely easy. Teaching the tools, altering the lengths and diameters is kept very simple. After the initial learning curve, which took only a few days, the operators picked up on the conversational programming, right away. Also, one of the best features on the machine was that you could still turn the parts by using the electronic handwheel and just one function, such as hogging off material automatically or putting on a tapered thread.” He noted this feature was not only more comfortable for the operators, but it also allowed them to quickly and efficiently prove out part programs. Johnson commented that this would not have been possible on previous machines, owing to the flexibility of the control onboard the Fryer. The result has been a minimum 20% improvement in the overall cycle time on most part programs run at Continental. For this primarily prototype job shop, that fact translates into a substantial increase in the work product possible here.
Echoing this sentiment, Sue Ostrander, sales manager, Fryer Machine Systems, explained the process that led her company to select the SINUMERIK 840D sl numerical control for all its milling and turning machines, a move that was recently formalized by the company and announced to the trade.
“Since its inception 26 years ago, family-owned Fryer Machine Systems has based its operation on three core principles: build a quality product, price it fairly and provide quality service. This philosophy has allowed Fryer’s business to grow even in challenging times,” she said.
Fryer manufactures a diverse line of over 50 models of high-quality CNC machine tools in its 50,000 square-foot facility in Patterson, New York. Over the years, Fryer has become well-respected for its quality and innovation, throughout the job shop and production machining market segments.
“Moving to the Siemens 840D sl platform was the next step in Fryer’s ongoing commitment to provide our customers with the most innovative machine tools available in the market today,” Ostrander continued. “The Siemens solution allows machine tool end-users to achieve higher productivity through easy and intuitive features and step-by-step, on-screen programming. This enables them to dramatically reduce set-up, programming, and tooling times, while significantly increasing output.”
“The SINUMERIK 840D sl modular design allows us to take full advantage of the superior mechanical features in our machines,” continued Larry Fryer, president and CEO, Fryer Machine Systems. “Fryer has always been known for our easy conversational controls and the move to Siemens has allowed us to greatly enhance this feature,” Fryer noted. “The 840D sl menu-driven system combines an advanced geometry calculator that displays the part while the operator is programming it. Sophisticated solid model graphics allow the operator to verify the part program with more clarity than ever before,” he said.
Larry Fryer has also been impressed with the automatic tool set-up and easy part set-up, made possible by the Siemens CNC. Fryer explained that auto-run mode is where many operators experience difficulty. Siemens and Fryer Machine Systems worked together to create an electronic handwheel run mode that gives the operator a safer way to prove out program execution, both forward and backward, using a standard electronic handwheel.
Fryer further stated, “Siemens provides us with a highly flexible solution that is critical to our ability to meet the specific needs of each customer. Our enhanced capability to offer the same control for both turning and milling gives Fryer machines a unified platform that is very important to customers both in the short-term and for long range expansion. Coupled with Siemens quality and reliability, they are invaluable to us in competing in today’s aggressive marketplace.”
Johnson added this comment on the service and training received by his operators at Continental. “Siemens has been helpful and very thorough in their training and after-sale service. The ShopTurn program, being integral to the control, now enables us to accurately determine tool path, potential collisions, tool changes and real world run time. This makes our operators’ jobs much easier, with the added benefit of allowing us to estimate much more accurately than ever.” Johnson further noted the CNC has substantial hard drive space, thus allowing most programs to be stored directly on the machine, though the company does maintain a back-up system.
For more information on this story, please contact:
CONTINENTAL MACHINE CO.
Email: conmach@onecommail.com
FRYER MACHINE SYSTEMS, INC.
Web: www.fryermachine.com
SIEMENS MACHINE TOOL BUSINESS
John Meyer
Manager, Marketing Communications
Siemens Industry, Inc.
(847) 640-1595
www.usa.siemens.com/cnc
SiemensMTBUMarCom.industry@siemens.com
Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SiemensCNC or Twitter: www.twitter.com/siemens_cnc_us.
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Siemens Industry Sector is the world’s leading supplier of innovative and environmentally friendly products, solutions and services for industrial customers. With end-to-end automation technology and industrial software, solid vertical-market expertise, and technology-based services, the sector enhances its customers’ productivity, efficiency and flexibility. With a global workforce of more than 100,000 employees, the Industry Sector comprises the Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services Divisions as well as the Metals Technologies Business Unit. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/industry.
The Siemens Drive Technologies Division is the world’s leading supplier of products, systems, applications, solutions and services for the entire drive train, with electrical and mechanical components. Drive Technologies serves all vertical markets in the production and process industries as well as the infrastructure/energy segment. With its products and solutions, the division enables its customers to achieve productivity, energy efficiency and reliability. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/drivetechnologies.
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Hennig custom enclosures on generators provided through W.W. Williams to huge dairy products processing plant in Michigan.
Machesney Park, IL-On a recent installation at the Ovid, Michigan processing plant of the Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA), the standby power generation system supplier, W.W. Williams (WWW) of Dearborn, Michigan, required an increased level of sound and environmental protection on the three generating stations, in accordance with the specs received from their customer’s architectural firm. They turned to their enclosure suppliers for assistance, as the challenges were many. For the complete package, the project was awarded to Hennig. As WWW’s Brunswick, Ohio-based project manager on the job, Al LaManna, puts it, “We’d begun to see Hennig as our go-to guys on enclosures, owing to the continued satisfaction we’d experienced with their levels of quality, engineering and especially responsive service.”
The Ovid facility of MMPA processes over three million pounds of milk per day, specializing in the production of liquid dairy blends, dry powders and bulk butter. These dairy ingredients are offered in spray-dried, liquid, condensed and instantized forms. Fluid products are typically loaded for bulk tanker or 55-gallon drum delivery, while powders are packed in 50 lb. bags, 25 kg bags or one-ton totes. Butter is produced in 25 kg cubes. Such production processes place substantial load on the local utility company’s power generation system and also create ambient dust contaminant challenges for the plant’s equipment.
During the construction process on the three enclosures needed for the standby power generators, extra attention was given to the insulation, silencers and electrical controls for the unit, to ensure proper functioning, sound attenuation and minimized environmental impact. These enclosures and fuel tank assemblies further required additional features, as mandated by the Michigan Department of 
Environmental Quality, including overflow protection valves with a spill box for fuel containment on the remote filling apparatus, fill panel alarm system with level switch, extended vents above the roof line, a special mastic coating on the bottom of the fuel tank and stainless steel fuel supply and return lines.
Following the submission of the complete specification and winning the job, Hennig engineers Christian Grobe and Robin Moore, as well as sales rep Matt Sopchyk, led the team that produced the enclosures at the company’s manufacturing/fabricating facility in Rockford, Illinois. Al LaManna had occasion to visit the plant during the construction and was impressed by the efficiency of the vertical integration. Hennig performs all metal fabrication, finishing and the rigorous testing to UL standards in-house. “Even a midstream specification change by our customer was handled at Hennig with no upset in the production schedule,” notes LaManna.
Founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1912, W.W. Williams has evolved from one of the nation’s largest industrial distribution, repair and service companies to a highly diversified solutions provider. They provide solutions to customers with technical / mechanical service and repair, remanufacturing, warehouse / supply chain management and service a varied customer base. Their products and services include diesel engines, transmissions, heavy duty truck repair, refrigeration, power generation and third party supply chain logistics services. Their customers comprise on-highway trucking, off-highway equipment, Department of Defense OEM’s, vehicle OEM’s, U.S. Military and marine enterprises. The company represents the MTU Onsite Energy group and specializes in gas and diesel engine systems, fuel cell systems, gas turbine systems and gen-drive engines, to provide primary, standby and continuous power.
As Territory Manager for the company, Todd James Rundhaug, observes, “We are constantly looking for quality component suppliers to
complement our MTU Onsite Energy power generating equipment. We began our relationship with Hennig in 2008 and have been extremely satisfied with the quality, workmanship, delivery and especially the after-sales sales support on their enclosures and fuel tanks. Due to a variety of factors, our types of equipment require highly specialized enclosures and UL Rated fuel tanks. The total service package from Hennig on these products has been excellent.” LaManna agrees, noting his customers’ repeat satisfaction with the full package supplied by Hennig. On this Michigan Milk Producers job, Hennig supplied the enclosures, each equipped with a heater, overhead lights, powered louvers, battery back-up lighting with NiCad battery power and GFI wall outlets.
Point man on the job for Hennig Enclosure Systems was Matt Sopchyk, who noted there were three enclosures needed for the onsite generators on this project. Each generator is a 2000 KW unit, with a sub-base fuel tank holding 3480 gallons of diesel. “Hennig design standards for this application included our complete in-house powder coating process for the enclosure walls, doors and roof sections over the all galvanealled steel construction. This job was finished in MTU gray, matching their gensets.”
The UL142 approved steel fuel tanks are finished with a phosphoric pretreatment high-pressure wash and then a 2-step polyurethane process. Hennig enclosures are of a semi-monocoque design, meaning the structural integrity and inner strength are engineered and built into every panel and roof section. This allows for clean and functional design, without the need for separate framing or additional substrate supports of any kind. Also, the Hennig fuel tanks are engineered and built in a similar way, with full interior baffling and sub-structure integrity to support the genset without the need for surface mounted I-beams to support the genset or the need for an additional, costly raised floor above the tank top. The tank top is the floor within the genset.
To learn more about Hennig products & services, visit www.hennigworldwide.com or call contact:
Tim Waterman
Hennig Inc.
9900 N. Alpine Rd.
Machesney Park, IL 61115
(815) 316-5277
info@hennig.ame.com
www.hennigworldwide.com
Connect with Hennig online: 
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Hennig, Inc., at www.hennigworldwide.com, has been designing and producing custom machine protection and chip/coolant management products for state-of-the-art machine tools for over 50 years. Hennig products are designed to protect against corrosion, debris and common workplace contaminants. Hennig has manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Germany, Czech Republic, France, Brazil, India, Japan, China and South Korea. Its North American repair centers are located in Machesney Park, Ill.; Chandler, Okla.; Livonia, Mich.; Blue Ash, Ohio; Mexico City, Mexico; and Saltillo, Mexico.
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Kimray, Inc., an Oklahoma City-based manufacturer of control valves and related equipment for oil and gas producing companies, reports an 83% increase in their machining efficiency, achieved largely as the result of recently acquired CNC production equipment.
Founded in 1948 by Garman Kimmell, Kimray operates a 274,000 sq. ft. facility and employs over 400 people to serve its expanding customer base of oil and gas producing companies. Kimray machines iron, steel and aluminum, as well as thermoplastic materials, to build its comprehensive line of control valves, thermostats, energy-exchange glycol pumps, gas-operated pilots and other process control devices. Their products are used to control vessel and lead line temperatures, liquid level inside pressurized vessels, pressure drops and liquid/gas flow.
The company maintains a turnkey manufacturing facility, including dozens of lathes, grinders, turning, milling, sawing and bore finishing/honing machine tools, nearly all with CNC systems onboard. Originally, two machines were purchased, an Emco Maier EMCOTURN 420 MC PLUS and HYPERTURN 665 MC PLUS Lathes, each equipped with Siemens SINUMERIK 840D CNCs and SIMODRIVE 611D drive packages. As their productivity greatly increased, Kimray decided to purchase two more Emco Maier machines to keep up with increased demand for their products.
The company operates a host system for file storage and back-up on all part production data. As one operator of these lathes observed, “I liked the Fanuc 18i-T CNC we used on other machines in the shop, but, with the SINUMERIK 840D, you can do so much more, such as instant programming and cut and paste operations, while the machine is running or stopped. Each screen allows you to be very detailed about what you’re doing, such as separating your mains from your subs with your part and workpiece programs. I use the Siemens CNC for axis and spindle movements on both machines (Emco Maier 420 Dual Main and Counter spindle Machine and the 665 Main and Counter Spindle Machine). My programs and data can be recessed easily and transferred back to the machines (from the company’s main host system), as needed. I can run my programs out of workpieces and sub-spindles, including milling and stenciling out of the sub-programs. I use the parts program as my way to transfer files and folders to the main system and back again.”
He further commented on the controls, “On a typical set-up, I like the sensitivity of the CNC. Being able to move the axis only a ten thousandth at a time to a hundred thousandth at a time comes in very handy for me. I also like the program test feature, especially on new programs. Each tool has its own geometry page and up to four offsets, making things much less complicated.”
Lastly, regarding the machine builder, this operator noted, “I received lots of good advice and training from the folks at Emco Maier, especially Doug Poling. He’s also assisted me a few times by phone, when needed.”
In the manufacture of its oil and gas production controls, Kimray typically machines bar stock of 303, 304, 310, 316 and 17-4 stainless, as well as D-2 tool steel, 6061-T6 aluminum, brass, Delrin and Teflon. Cast iron, ductile, steel, stainless and aluminum are also machined here. The 83% increase in machining efficiency has been achieved, due to these four Emco Maier machines with Siemens CNCs, according to Kimray sources and company production data.
In determining the increase in overall machining efficiency at Kimray, VP of Operations David Hill commented, “Our commitment to run CNC machine tools has long been in place and the addition of the Emco Maier lathes with Siemens controls onboard are the latest steps in this process. We’ve literally had no problems with these machines, the CNC’s or the drives. When Kimray operators can keep running and producing parts in such a way, the impact on our overall efficiency is immediate and substantial.”
Mike Morris, Kimray’s Plant Engineer, added that “the control is strong and easy for the operators to use”. Over the years, the CNCs have been virtually bulletproof.”
From the builder’s perspective, Emco Maier shares Kimray’s appreciation for the performance of its CNC/drive package supplier.
“Our 420 machine enables simultaneous production of two parts without interruption or collision. The digital drives (Siemens SIMODRIVE 611D) produce dynamic performance in both the main spindle and X/Z axes,” commented the company’s Director of Sales Support Operations for Emco Maier USA. “Plus, programming is just the same as on any CNC lathe. Only one program is generated. The program for the second workpiece is simply transferred to the bottom system by means of a selector switch. No additional programming is necessary. As we like to say, twice as nice.”
The 665 Hyperturn machine enables true 4-axis machining plus full c-axis capability on both the main and counter spindles. The 665 uses some of the same programming features, plus the same digital drive system as the 420, but in a larger package.
For more information on this story, please contact any of the following individuals:
KIMRAY, INC.
Web: www.kimray.com Email: info@kimray.com
EMCO MAIER CORP.
Web: www.emcomaier-usa.com
SIEMENS MACHINE TOOL BUSINESS
John Meyer
Manager, Marketing Communications
Siemens Industry, Inc.
(847) 640-1595
www.usa.siemens.com/cnc
SiemensMTBUMarCom.industry@siemens.com
Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SiemensCNC or Twitter: www.twitter.com/siemens_cnc_us.
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Siemens Industry Sector is the world’s leading supplier of innovative and environmentally friendly products, solutions and services for industrial customers. With end-to-end automation technology and industrial software, solid vertical-market expertise, and technology-based services, the sector enhances its customers’ productivity, efficiency and flexibility. With a global workforce of more than 100,000 employees, the Industry Sector comprises the Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services Divisions as well as the Metals Technologies Business Unit. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/industry.
The Siemens Drive Technologies Division is the world’s leading supplier of products, systems, applications, solutions and services for the entire drive train, with electrical and mechanical components. Drive Technologies serves all vertical markets in the production and process industries as well as the infrastructure/energy segment. With its products and solutions, the division enables its customers to achieve productivity, energy efficiency and reliability. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/drivetechnologies.
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Several clients have appointed designated hitters for the internet blogs and especially the engineering chat areas of publication websites.
We applaud this action, especially in this economy.
One client said to me, during a meeting where I was encouraging this tactic, “Tim, how can I take a very busy engineer or sales guy away from customers and quoting to play on the internet?”
After I calmed down, I explained to him that:
Seriously, since very little is new under the sun, this is just the new version of that longtime and revered guy at every company, the one people flocked to see at trade shows.
Two quick examples:
We had a client (sadly passed away) who invented polymer quenchants for commercial heat treating. This ancient industry used water and oil, mostly, as it had for literally centuries. People would come to the trade shows and actually wait in line to see the guy. Then, with almost papal severity, he would lean into them, listen to their quenching problem, ponder it for a moment and then put his finger in their chest and say, “OK, here’s what you do…”
We have a current client who runs what is arguably the finest gear company on the planet. He’s also a world-class fly fisherman. He stands in the aisles and goes “casting for customers,” as he says. When he arrives at a show or conference, you’d think Ghandi had walked into the room…with Mother Teresa on his arm! Talk about drawing a crowd. His theory evokes the old John Kennedy line that a rising tide lifts all boats. He actually shows customers, prospects AND his competitors his operation and his p&l. His company currently exports high-precision gears worldwide, including to China!
The internet guru at your company can be a powerful force for growth and a true agent of change for your business and the industry as a whole. Don’t overlook the possibilities or think that it’s just playtime! When a “social” network has a tangible business upside, that’s a game we’d all like to join!
TD
Bertsche iJet waterjet deburring system built for Linamar combines waterjet deburring with part cleaning for one inline system.
Canadian automotive part supplier realizes significant gains with Bertsche-designed multi-function system in its plant
With factory floor space at a premium and capital equipment funds scarce, Linamar, a Tier One Canadian automotive part supplier, turned to Bertsche Engineering recently for an all-in-one part deburring, final rinse and drying solution.
Typically, complex machined automotive parts with multiple intersecting holes require feature-specific part deburring to insure that parts are burr-free. After deburring, parts also need a final cleaning/washing to insure removal of microscopic particles that might adversely affect performance. They are then preserved with a rust or oxidation inhibitor and dried for shipment (transport) to be assembled. Usually, this involves separate pieces of equipment linked by conveyors or robots to transport parts to each machine.
To solve the problem of densely filled factory floor space, Bertsche Engineering developed a machine that handles all these processes in one machine, in one deburring cycle. The machine takes oil and chip contaminated parts, previously machined on CNC milling centers and mill/turn machines, then selectively deburrs critical features using high pressure water, blasting chips out of internal cavities, knocking off all feather-edge burrs and fan washing the outside of the part, using a CNC for full cycle control.
Close-up shows parts infeed and outfeed station, where considerable space savings were realized by the customer, Linamar, a major Canadian Tier One automotive parts supplier.
This process is accomplished by a series of rotating lance nozzles that probe small diameter internal holes in order to blast feather edge burrs clean at intersection points and wash chips out of dead-end passages. External features are then blasted with a series of direct nozzles that release up to 10,000 psi of water at the burr while tracing the part edges. The part is then washed with high-pressure rotating fan nozzles. Note: When required, additional mechanical wire and filament brush tooled deburring stations can be incorporated into the Bertsche system to mechanically remove burrs.
The same machine moves the deburred part to an agitated wash and rinse station, where the part is rinsed, cleaned and preserved with an aqueous rust inhibitor (providing up to 24-day protection) and is finally dried. The part is then ready for final assembly.
Close-up shows parts being indexed over high-pressure (10,000 psi) waterjet nozzles for full wash cycle and rust-inhibiting aqueous coating process
For more information on this application, please contact:
BERTSCHE ENGINEERING CORPORATION www.bertsche.com
PR agency contact: Tim Daro Bernard & Company www.bernardandcompany.com
Release: BERTSCHE ENGINEERING CORPORATION
Date: December 28, 2009
Automated loading and parts handling system complement state-of-the-industry laser and machine control technology
Han-Kwang USA announces immediate availability of its new Model TL 6015, a tube cutting laser system capable of handling 24’ long, 6.5” diameter workpieces up to 1/4” wall thickness in mild steel and 0.200” in stainless steel. Equipped with a powerful 2.5KW Panasonic laser and a versatile Siemens 840D CNC to control all functions of the machine, the TL 6015 can significantly increase the tube production in any department or shop, especially when used with Han-Kwang’s proprietary “Flex 3D” tube cutting software . The unit comprises an automatic bundle loading system with tube V-support, auto-centering rotary chucking system, laser cutting station and automatic parts removal station.
Maximum positioning speed on this new laser system is 4700 ipm for the X-
axis and 120 rpm for the rotary A-axis. Max acceleration rate is 1G, while the laser beam is precisely controlled by the unique Han-Kwang Auto Focus Control (AFC). This AFC technology allows the machine to automatically adjust the focal length of the cutting lens to accommodate variations in the materials being processed or changes in material feed, which eliminates the downtime normally associated with manual adjustments.
A new generation of sensing board in the S5 laser cutting head on the TL 6015 translates into faster cutting speeds on round, square or rectangular shapes.
In a recent design modification, the entire loading section of the machine has been enclosed, as depicted in the attached illustration.
For more information or to arrange a demonstration, please contact:
HAN-KWANG USA INC. Phone: 630-916-0200 Web: www.hankwang.com
Agency contact: Tim Daro Bernard & Company tdaro@bernardandcompany.com www.bernardandcompany.com
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