1. Parts loaded in the machine. (Courtesy of Staub Precision Machine)
CERATIZIT USA has joined forces with several companies to make ventilators. The company’s experience in the carbide production process allows special-purpose tools to be developed for user-specific applications.
Staub Precision Machine recently chose CERATIZIT reamers to perform a finishing operation of high-precision holes to size. The reamer was a solid carbide PCD tipped (polycrystalline diamond) with a through-tool coolant diameter of .626-in. +.0005 -.0000. The material cut was aluminum, and the production run quantity was 2,500 parts per week. In addition, Staub designed and machined two tombstones as well as collets. There were 33 parts on each of the four sides of the tombstone in the machine, and Staub made 132 parts at a time. The machine was running at 4900 RPM and 78-in. per minute feed. The hole was only .250-in. deep, taking less than a second per hole to ream.
Additionally, the hole was .616-in. before reaming, leaving .010-in. of stock allowance. While the hole has a .0005-in. tolerance, the reamer cuts the same size every time with a high mirrored finish (See photos 1 and 2).
The close collaboration between Staub and CERATIZIT team was facilitated through Abrasive Tool. Located in Buffalo, New York, the company is a distributor of tooling solutions. Jay Janca, distributor sales engineer, supplied StaubPrecision Machine with the reamers, helped process the part, and coordinated delivery of several other parts. Along with Tony Staub of Staub Precision Machine, the two started this project on a Thursday evening in his garage with a set of drawings and a part he needed to make for a ventilator client. Through Janca, he reached out to Chuck Somerville, CERATIZIT sales engineer, and told him about the project.
A close-up of the part with the holes being reamed. (Courtesy of Staub Precision Machine)
Tony, Jay, Chuck, and the staff at CERATIZIT worked on confirming tool details. An approved drawing was created by the beginning of the week and the reamers were shipped on Friday of the same week and in production the following Monday. This was just over a week after the initial discussion. Staub machines run unattended for maximum productivity 24/7, so the team worked to make the process as smooth as possible.
Another two companies that joined CERATIZIT in the manufacturing of ventilators were Blackhawk Industrial and another manufacturer of precision metal components. As Blackhawk distributes CERATIZIT products, the company helped connect CERATIZIT with their customer.
Blackhawk Industrial is an industrial distributor in Brunswick, Ohio. The machining process performed by their customer company involved machining adapters. To ensure that the tool holding device could accommodate various types of cutting tools, CERATIZIT reamers were used to create a hole for better positioning. Different cutting tools in the adapter were used on multiple machines. The tool involved was number 52M.57.0497, known as Fullmax – DBGU – Ø4,97 +4µ. The material cut was stainless steel.
The ventilators had to fit in a precise location; thus, dowel pins were used to locate the mounting brackets to the mobile unit. In this process, five reamers were used to provide a true position diameter. The tool diameter of the reamed blind hole in stainless steel was .1958 +/- .0005. There were three holes in each bracket, and over 10,000 brackets were made.
The Fullmax reamer. (photo courtesy of Blackhawk Industrial)
Blackhawk’s customer blends old world craftsmanship with cutting- edge technology. Capabilities include precision turning, grinding, milling, automated assembly and inspection, semi-automated assembly, manual assembly, and wire EDM. Additional capabilities are CNC machining, Swiss machining, machining ranges between 3mm and 66 mm, and material neutral machining. Within the medical field, the company specializes in manufacturing small diameter components requiring strict tolerances and superior finish.
As an industrial distributor, Blackhawk specializes in metalworking equipment categories such as carbide cutting tools, abrasive, fabrication, and machining equipment.
CERATIZIT U.S.A.
ceratizit.com
Filed Under: Hack the Crisis: Engineering through COVID-19
