We recently received an enquiry from a customer, who required a spinning with the centre cut out for a range of sizes.
Due to the number of parts required, the manufacture of the part was best suited to being produced on our DENN CNC spinning lathe.
After our initial programming of the CNC to follow the profile of the tool and general R & D, the part can be produced in a matter of minutes if not seconds dependent on the profile of the spinning.
The advantage of using the CNC is the spinning programme is automatically saved and after the tooling has been correctly calibrated on the lathe, the part is ready to be spun.
When customers order repeat high volume parts, the CNC is a vital piece of equipment at Artec to ensure we can produce the parts in a short time frame whilst never compromising on the finish.
Step 1 – Tooling
The first stage of the process was to take a D2 billet and machine the profile to match the dimensions of the spinning.
We have expert tool makers in house, which enables us to reduce the lead time and make adjustments to the tooling to ensure that the profile is correct.
The billet started off as a 330 dia. D2 billet, which first requires a thread to be machined in the rear of the tool, so it can then be located on to the turning lathe.
The material is then gradually removed from the D2 billet to produced the final form of the spinning.
Once the spinning’s have been produced on the tool, this is when adjustments to the tool are made if requires before the tool is sent to het hardened to Rockwell 60.
The reason for hardening the tool is to make the D2 metal more resistant to wear and tear making the part more durable. Due to the number of parts being produced on this tool, it is essential that the tooling can maintain its profile after high volume batch work.
Step 2 – Cutting the blank
After the tooling has been proved, the next stage of the manufacturing process is to create a circular blank.
This process begins with taking a sheet of 1.2mm stainless steel in 304 and cutting a 2 x 1 sheet into 18 squares.
The squares are then taken to the circle shear, which cuts the metal into the required diameter blank.
Once the blank is cut, an 8mm centre hole is drilled, with this hole being used to locate the blank on the tooling.
All off cuts of material are stored in the allocated recycling container, which is later recycled by our waste contractor.
Step 3 – The spinning process
The next stage of the process is to take the blanks to the CNC, where they are located onto the tooling and spun.
You can see in the video, that the roller applies pressure at certain points to create the profile of the spinning.
When the cycle has finished, the spinning is removed from the tooling and then another blank is added and the process is repeated.
The short lead time allows for high volume production in a significantly faster time compared to traditional hand spinning and most significantly for the customer, reduces the item cost.
Step 4 – Cutting the centre and cropped sides
After the spinning has been produced on the CNC, the tooling is then transferred to the lathe.
The front of the spinning is then carefully machined to the correct dimensions.
For this particular spinning, we then had to mill two crops.
Step 5 – Finishing
The final stage of production, was to give the internal face a brushed finish.
Again, the finishing operation is conducted in house to maintain our high standards and reduce lead times
Get in touch today to see how we can assist you with your next project.
www.instagram.com/artec_engineering_ltd
