New Small-Footprint ST-10 Turning Center from Haas Automation

Turning small parts on a large lathe usually isn’t an efficient use of a company’s assets, and could even adversely affect the bottom line. The New Generation ST-10 CNC lathe from Haas Automation, Inc., provides an economical solution for small parts turning in a compact package that is loaded with full-size features.

The Haas ST-10 turning center was designed from the ground up to be extremely rigid, highly accurate, and very thermally stable. All castings were optimized using finite element analysis (FEA) to produce the most rigid designs, while improving chip and coolant flow, and simplifying maintenance and service. The spindle head features a compact, symmetrical design for thermal stability and rigidity, and the 45-degree wedge design greatly increases the tool-mounting envelope and improves chip flow.

The ST-10 is equipped with a 12-station BOT turret that indexes tools in 0.5 second to reduce cycle times. The machine provides a maximum cutting capacity of 14″ x 14″, with a swing of 16.25″ over the cross slide. The ST-10’s A2-5 spindle nose has a 2.31″ spindle bore and a bar capacity of 1.75″. It is equipped with a 6.5″ hydraulic 3-jaw chuck. The machine’s 15 hp vector dual-drive spindle turns to 6000 rpm, and provides 75 ft-lb of torque at 1300 rpm.

On-the-fly wye-delta switching yields a wide constant-horsepower band for constant surface feed cuts, and rapids are 1200 ipm.

Standard equipment on the ST-10 includes rigid tapping, a 15″ color LCD monitor, and a USB port. Available high-productivity options include high-torque live tooling with C axis, a belt-type chip conveyor, a tailstock with hydraulic quill, an automatic tool probe, an automatic parts catcher, high-pressure coolant systems, and much more.

The video below shows the accuracy and stability of the ST-10 in action.

Built in the USA by Haas, the ST-10 turning center is backed by the worldwide network of Haas Factory Outlets – the most extensive system of support and service in the industry. For more information about Haas Automation and Haas products, visit www.HaasCNC.com.

Click here to download the Haas ST-10 CNC Lathe datasheet.

Mommy Machinist: Young Mother Nurtures Career as Machine Tool Operator

Julia Bähr is an 18-year old mother to an eight-month old son and is in her second year of training as a cutting machine operator specializing in milling machines. Each day, Julia can be found working at the Haas CNC machines in the Haas Technical Education Centre (HTEC) of the Waldhaus socio-pedagogical youth facility in Hildrizhausen, near Böblingen, Germany.

Julia is the only female among 14 trainees who are currently in training as cutting machine operators, or as metal finishers at Waldhaus. Julia has found her place, and more than that: “She is a self-confident mum, quiet, but not too quiet, and she brings a whole different tone to our male-oriented workshop,” praises workshop manager, Edgar Stark. He wishes that the other trainees would occasionally look to Julia – her determination, her perseverance, and also her punctuality, as an example to follow.

Student Motivations

Herr Stark says that some of the male students in the Waldhaus workshops don’t demonstrate the same attributes. Many come from socially disadvantaged and often very difficult family backgrounds. Sometimes, for example, they find it difficult to get out of bed after a late evening, or when the desire to work has temporarily deserted them. This often makes it very difficult for the instructors to bring them back in line and to motivate them.

“We have no problems with Julia in this regard”, confirms Herr Stark. “She is able to motivate herself very well. ”

The night before this interview was a late one, thanks to her young son. “I got four hours sleep at the most”, she says, “but the next morning it doesn’t occur to me that I don’t want to work at the machines.”

Beginnings in Metal

Julia is motivated, even though the triple burden of a young child, school, and her workshop commitments weigh heavily upon her. She doesn’t show it, though, and talks enthusiastically about her work. Her blonde hair up in a ponytail, both thumbs hooked in the straps of her blue overalls in a casual manner, she explains how she ended up working with metal. First, she says, she wanted to become a hairdresser, but then she completed a short internship in her father’s locksmith shop, just for fun; she’s been crazy about working with metal ever since.

After finishing secondary school, she began a week long trial in the Waldhaus training workshops, and made a board game, bottle openers, and aluminum signs on the metal working machines. “That was great fun”, she remembers. It didn’t take long before she was given a fully-fledged apprenticeship. The HTEC concept is a unique, industry-led initiative that enables technical education establishments to acquire the latest CNC machine tools and related ancillary equipment, in order that students, often from disadvantaged backgrounds, may benefit from a technical educational experience that is relevant to modern industrial employers, preparing them for the manufacturing challenges of the future.

A Calling in CNC

Julia’s first time at a CNC machine was a special experience: “CNC was like, whoa! I was hooked. My first CNC machine was the Haas Toolroom mill where the control system was relatively easy to understand. You don’t forget something like that.”

Julia enjoys the challenge of making things with a CNC machine. She explains that considerable thought is required before the client’s drawings for a component are programmed and the piece of metal can be turned into the finished product. She has learned the programming languages for the Haas machines and has also studied the other CNC machines in the Waldhaus workshops.

Mastering these machines is a prerequisite for her intermediate examination this year. She wants to do well in this exam because it counts a whole 40 percent towards her final qualification after three and a half years of training. The next challenge awaits Julia during her internship: “5-axis simultaneous milling machines are everybody’s dream.” Julia is enthusiastically looking forward to her internship at a different company. She wants to learn new things and gain new experiences. CNC clearly inspires Julia, which is why her senior instructor Klaus Vötsch is not at all worried about her: “With her positive attitude, I have absolutely no doubts that Julia will do well.”

Enthusiasm to Overcome

Despite all this, Julia is conscious that she is still the odd one out. She is acutely aware of this at times, although working with metal and CNC technology itself has become second nature to her. She is the only female in a class of 28 in her vocational school, and many of her peers are older than her. The fact that she gets along well with the men helps her to hold her own.

Her girlfriends in her home city of Stuttgart have little interest in what she does: “We hardly ever talk about it,” she says, “but I’m happy with my choice of career as a machine tool operator, even if it is very different to my home life, raising my son. Naturally, I still prefer the smell of baby’s milk powder to that of metal filings.”

This interview was conducted in April 2010 by Albrecht Ackermann, Freelance journalist

About HTEC
The HTEC initiative is a partnership between European educational establishments, Haas programme in 2007 to counter what it regards as one of the greatest threats to the continent’s sustainable economic development: Namely, a shortage of talented and motivated young people entering the precision engineering industry with CNC machining skills.

New Hydraulic Device “Automates” Machining for Haas Automation

Haas Automation Inc. is the largest manufacturer of CNC machine tools in the Western Hemisphere, so its own choice of machining technology is a reliable indicator of productivity and process quality. Recently, Haas phased-in an automated machining cell using a new model Kurt Manufacturing Co. workholding set-up that brings the capability to increase output by two to three times, according to Phillip Linscheid, machine shop manager at Haas Automation in Oxnard, Calif.

“The goal with the new workholding set-up was to automate the milling operations used to produce our machining center spindle shafts in a cell with two lathes and a milling machine tended by a Motoman Hp 165 robot,” Linscheid reported. “The robot provides the load/unload operations for each of the three machines. There is no fixture set-up labor required. The cell operates automatically during the 8-hour day shift and continues to run unattended through the night.

“We’re operating continuously 20 to 21 hours a day with this new cell, depending on quantities required,” he continued. “We’re achieving two to three times greater output for different size spindle shafts versus the previous set-up. We’re able to get that kind of productivity increase without needing a machine operator for the nighttime hours.”

Linscheid explained that the new Kurt double-acting hydraulic vise gives Haas the automated and repeatable clamping needed in the cell set-up. Using hydraulic pressure, the double-acting design ensures that the moveable jaw opens and closes precisely, with up to 6,000 lbs of clamping force actuated by the machining center’s computer numerical control programming. (Single-acting hydraulic clamping devices close with hydraulic pressure but use a less precise spring mechanism for reopening, so they aren’t designed for automated CNC machining set-ups.)

To facilitate automated part handling, the machining centers and robot are pre-programmed with the correct load/unload position. To begin, the machining center positions the fixture in the load position and the robot inserts the workpiece into the vise jaws, which then clamp the part. The robot exits the machine and the machining cycle begins. When machining is completed, the robot moves back into position, grasps the finished part as the vise jaw opens. The robot moves and stacks the part in an offload station. This cycle repeats with the robot picking up a new workpiece for placement in the vise jaws.

The new Kurt vise is mounted vertically on a holding fixture in a Haas VF 4 SS with 12,000-rpm inline direct-drive spindle. This Haas machining center achieves top-quality surface finishes, with thermal stability while maintaining a very quiet operation. The vise is an ideal workholding choice for this machine because of its many performance features.

The jaws of the vise are custom machined for clamping the spindle shafts, which vary in length from 14.32 up to 17.14 in., and are held to a 2.362-in. diameter. The dedicated steel jaws have been machined to hold specific part diameters so there is no need to change jaws between set-ups.

As for the machining process, both accuracy and speed are required while maintaining a high-quality finish overall on all part surfaces. The spindle shafts are made of 86L20 steel with machined drive dogs at the shaft ends. Machine speeds and feeds on these spindles range from 1.0-in. end-milling operations at 2,700 rpm and 28.0 inches per minute, to 0.375-finish end-milling at 3,056 rpm and 20.0 in. per minute. While the part-clamping requirement is very high, Linscheid explained that the new vise holds tolerances of +0.005-0.000, without any variations to date.

Haas Automation’s new HDM690 has several new features over previous Kurt vise models. Foremost, the vise has a full 9-in. jaw opening, so there’s ample capacity for large spindle diameters and other large parts when needed. The vise’s top-down bolting and tall body design is a new feature, for reduced deflection. A narrower vise body allows for more vises in the work envelop should more clamping stations be required.

The Kurt HDM690 vise also has high-precision roller bearings and a specially hardened vise screw mechanism enhancing precision clamping and smooth operation. This design distributes up to 6,000 lbs of clamping force evenly and precisely across the full jaw surface. Kurt’s patented AngLock® spherical segment in the moveable jaw further reduces jaw lift. The pull-type body design stabilizes stress in the vise body resulting in accurate clamping for Haas cylindrical spindles as well as flat and irregularly shaped parts.

Linscheid indicated he liked the ruggedness of the Kurt HDM690 Double Acting vise models. Made of 80,000-PSI ductile iron, the vise bodies provide strength, rigidity and long-term accuracy while absorbing even slight machining vibration. Also, the vises have enclosed screws and clamping mechanisms so chips don’t foul up the hydraulic clamping mechanism: they clamp and unclamp quickly and accurately with each cycle.

Easy set-up features of this new vise include a stationary jaw that bolts down from the top, so there is no need to remove the vice from the table for disassembly. Bolting the stationary from the top reduces the stress in the body and keeps it flatter after assembly. The vise has a movable jaw allowing for quick-change ability, to hold the cylindrically shaped Haas spindles.

According to Linsheid, Haas machines 200 to 400 spindles each workweek using the Kurt HDM690 vise. The set-up has been in operation successfully for about a year, and a second cell incorporating another HDM690 vise set-up is nearing completion. It will be phased in as production orders increase. “We would not be capable of machining these spindle shafts in a robot cell without the Kurt HDM690’s,” Linsheid reported. “They were introduced at a good time and helped us increase productivity while lowering our costs.”

This article originally appeared on American Machinist, an online source for the latest product news and technology trends for contract manufacturers and job shop leaders. Find more articles on their homepage: AmericanMachinist.com.

Haas Automation – Advanced Tool Management

Haas Automation – The New 2010 ST-Series

In this video installment, Jeff Law from Haas Automation introduces the new 2010 ST-series turning centers. The ST machines are the culmination of 15 years of continuous development of the SL-series lathes. They offer the most performance for the money and the best value of any turning center on the market today. As Jeff explains, in this new series, the castings are new from the ground up. The tailstock is stouter for increased rigidity and better damping. Many improvements have also been implemented to cut down shipping time and accelerate machine installation. Watch for more features below.

Haas in the UK: Supporting Industry Growth

The Hethel Engineering Centre (HEC) is a business dedicated to supporting the growth and success of high-performance engineering and manufacturing companies throughout the East Anglia region of Southern England. As well as acting as an engineering technology hub, the HEC also provides a beautiful CNC training facility and a fully-equipped machine shop, both of which use Haas CNC machine tools supplied by the local Haas Factory Outlet, Haas Automation UK.

The HEC has strong links with adjacent sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars, but serves sectors well beyond the scope of automotive and motor sports.  Haas Automation, UK shares distinction with Lotus Cars as one of the Centre’s key strategic partners. Lotus Cars served as a founding partner in the facility, while Haas provides much of the CNC machines for student training.

If you’re gonna be dumb, you’d better be tough.

Aircraft Beauties

Gorilla mills were not used during the manufacture of any of these aircraft!

What’s a Golf Ball Worth?

Captions

« Previous Page — Next Page »