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Many manufacturing companies and machine shops are striving to increase productivity of one area in particular: Micromachining.
WTO is offering a new and affordable solution for micromachining applications.
CoolSpeed® mini is a revolutionary patented ultra-high-speed spindle that can reach rotation speeds of up to 75,000 RPM. The spindle turbine is driven by coolant, cutting oil, or air mist. It is affordable, fits in standard tool holders for cylindrical tools, and is compatible with Milling Centers, Turning Centers, and Swiss Type lathes.
The patented spindle technology ensures continuous high precision. By its design, the cutting tool shank serves as the spindle shaft. As the result, the dynamic run-out is 4 microns or better. Bearings can easily be replaced by the customer with each cutting tool change. The CoolSpeed® spindle does not require any service.
The challenge in micromachining is how to achieve the required high rotation speeds. The majority of driven tools or spindles are mechanically-driven. Using a mechanically-driven device, it is impossible to reach the speeds recommended in the micromachining environment. This leaves machine shops searching for alternative solutions for their micromachining operations, or oftentimes, turning down jobs that require a significant amount of high-speed machining with micro tools.
CoolSpeed® is an affordable plug and play solution
CoolSpeed® offers a plug-n-play setup that makes installation fast and easy. To select the right high-speed Spindle for the application, it needs to be determined first which drive type is available and can be supported by the machine to run the spindle. CoolSpeed® can be driven by through coolant, oil or air mist. The coolant pressure ranges from 145-870 psi with a max. rotation speed of 75,000 rpm. When operating the CoolSpeed® unit with air mist, the pressure range is from 58-73 psi with a max. rotation speed of 55,000 rpm.
If through-spindle flow is unavailable, as it is often the case with swiss-type lathes, WTO offers CoolSpeed® mini models that can support a point-to-point coolant, oil, or air mist supply line connected directly to the high-speed spindle unit. Compressed air is commonly available in machine shops and can be easily utilized to convert an older piece of equipment into a high-speed machining center. The CoolSpeed® line of products has been designed with versatility in mind and can support nearly any machine configuration.
The customer Ar El Automatic and CNC Machining Ltd. is one great example of how the CoolSpeed® mini can improve throughput from your shop and extend your tool and machine life. By utilizing a CoolSpeed® mini in their swiss-type lathe to machine small electronic parts, Ar El realized a tool life improvement off 400% and a productivity improvement of 750%.
Micromachining can be affordable and also possible with existing machinery. The CoolSpeed mini line of turbine-driven spindles from WTO can be utilized in existing equipment and provides ultra-high rotation speeds at an affordable price point. If you have dismissed the possibility of adding micromachining to your shop’s capabilities or previously turned down potential revenue due to micromachined part features, perhaps it is time to take another look at adding micromachining capability in your shop.
Related Glossary Terms
- centers
centers
Cone-shaped pins that support a workpiece by one or two ends during machining. The centers fit into holes drilled in the workpiece ends. Centers that turn with the workpiece are called “live” centers; those that do not are called “dead” centers.
- computer numerical control ( CNC)
computer numerical control ( CNC)
Microprocessor-based controller dedicated to a machine tool that permits the creation or modification of parts. Programmed numerical control activates the machine’s servos and spindle drives and controls the various machining operations. See DNC, direct numerical control; NC, numerical control.
- coolant
coolant
Fluid that reduces temperature buildup at the tool/workpiece interface during machining. Normally takes the form of a liquid such as soluble or chemical mixtures (semisynthetic, synthetic) but can be pressurized air or other gas. Because of water’s ability to absorb great quantities of heat, it is widely used as a coolant and vehicle for various cutting compounds, with the water-to-compound ratio varying with the machining task. See cutting fluid; semisynthetic cutting fluid; soluble-oil cutting fluid; synthetic cutting fluid.
- gang cutting ( milling)
gang cutting ( milling)
Machining with several cutters mounted on a single arbor, generally for simultaneous cutting.
- lathe
lathe
Turning machine capable of sawing, milling, grinding, gear-cutting, drilling, reaming, boring, threading, facing, chamfering, grooving, knurling, spinning, parting, necking, taper-cutting, and cam- and eccentric-cutting, as well as step- and straight-turning. Comes in a variety of forms, ranging from manual to semiautomatic to fully automatic, with major types being engine lathes, turning and contouring lathes, turret lathes and numerical-control lathes. The engine lathe consists of a headstock and spindle, tailstock, bed, carriage (complete with apron) and cross slides. Features include gear- (speed) and feed-selector levers, toolpost, compound rest, lead screw and reversing lead screw, threading dial and rapid-traverse lever. Special lathe types include through-the-spindle, camshaft and crankshaft, brake drum and rotor, spinning and gun-barrel machines. Toolroom and bench lathes are used for precision work; the former for tool-and-die work and similar tasks, the latter for small workpieces (instruments, watches), normally without a power feed. Models are typically designated according to their “swing,” or the largest-diameter workpiece that can be rotated; bed length, or the distance between centers; and horsepower generated. See turning machine.
- machining center
machining center
CNC machine tool capable of drilling, reaming, tapping, milling and boring. Normally comes with an automatic toolchanger. See automatic toolchanger.
- milling
milling
Machining operation in which metal or other material is removed by applying power to a rotating cutter. In vertical milling, the cutting tool is mounted vertically on the spindle. In horizontal milling, the cutting tool is mounted horizontally, either directly on the spindle or on an arbor. Horizontal milling is further broken down into conventional milling, where the cutter rotates opposite the direction of feed, or “up” into the workpiece; and climb milling, where the cutter rotates in the direction of feed, or “down” into the workpiece. Milling operations include plane or surface milling, endmilling, facemilling, angle milling, form milling and profiling.
- shank
shank
Main body of a tool; the portion of a drill or similar end-held tool that fits into a collet, chuck or similar mounting device.
- turning
turning
Workpiece is held in a chuck, mounted on a face plate or secured between centers and rotated while a cutting tool, normally a single-point tool, is fed into it along its periphery or across its end or face. Takes the form of straight turning (cutting along the periphery of the workpiece); taper turning (creating a taper); step turning (turning different-size diameters on the same work); chamfering (beveling an edge or shoulder); facing (cutting on an end); turning threads (usually external but can be internal); roughing (high-volume metal removal); and finishing (final light cuts). Performed on lathes, turning centers, chucking machines, automatic screw machines and similar machines.
