Ready and Able

Applied Machinery’s can-do attitude sees Able Engineering invest in more Yawei equipment.

Since its formation in Melbourne in 1975, SME (Small and Medium sized Enterprise) Able Industries Engineering has become a leader in the design, fabrication, and assembly of metal products, delivering hi-tech engineering requirements from its robotic equipped factory in Melbourne. With a raft of industry accreditations and skills, Able’s customer base covers a diverse range of industries including Defence, Architecture, Renewable Energy, Transport, Public Infrastructure and Industrial; delivering on high quality specifications for niche projects and difficult engineering requirements.

Owned and managed by Stephen Martyn, the company supplies the smallest-sized metal components for vehicles, right through to large architectural structures for buildings. From providing metal facades for major projects like Crown Casino and Federation Square in Melbourne, through to rubbish bins and planter boxes for smaller public infrastructure projects.

The Lethal Weapon roller coaster at Movie World on the Gold Coast (the first inverted roller coaster in Australia) and the Big Dipper, originally installed at Luna Park Sydney, were both built by Able. As were the electric central umpires’ chairs used at the Australian Open and the large roof speaker frames used at the MCG & Optus Oval – testament to Able’s wideranging metalworking skills. The company is Defence Industry Security Program (DISP) accredited; it has also secured the DIN (Defence Innovation Network) 2303

Q2/BK1 certification from the German governing body, GSI (Global Systems Integrator) SLV. The certification was obtained after completing a rigorous audit process confirming its welding procedures are to international standard– the first company in Victoria to achieve this.

The highly sought-after German military welding standard officially recognises Able’s compliance and commitment to superior welding skills, quality processes, and procedures. Able is also accredited with welding standard certification ISO 3834–2.

"We’ve supplied parts for pretty much all the military vehicles that the Australian Government has purchased since the 1970’s,” said Martyn. The company has been involved with the Bushmaster program since its inception, supplying parts that include compartments and lockers on the outside and seat frames, floors, and radio racks on the inside; anything that is bolted on or in a Bushmaster is made by Able. The company also has specialist skills in military painting, holding an APAS certification.

Understandably the renewable energy market is a growing part of Able’s business, which includes wind farm equipment, solar panels and frames and the more modern heliostat concentrators.

Martyn’s personal association with Applied Machinery goes back many years, to when he purchased a CNC press and more recently an oversized Yawei guillotine. To maximise production efficiencies, reduce the cost of manufacturing and offer the latest fabrication technology to customers, the company recently moved into large scale robotics. This necessitated machinery to be upgraded to match the fine tolerances and accuracy the robot's demand.

A Yawei HPE 3078 turret punch press was the first new machine purchased; a unique model with a large 2,000mm throat. A 6kW HLF-2040 flatbed fiber laser and YLP10040 tube laser with bevel head and semiautomatic loading followed.

“We had very specific requirements for the tube laser. We needed a machine that could not just cut the pipe, but also cut the weld prep on it too. We also needed a bevel cutting head that would allow us to cut any type and any shape section that can fit within 410mm diameter,” Martyn said.

“Other companies we spoke to told us it couldn’t be done. This is where Applied excel. They went above and beyond to obtain a Yawei YLP-10040 tube laser with a 3D bevel head and spec’d up with other options that we required. ableind.com.au appliedmachinery.com.au

“The quality componentry that comes standard with all Yawei machines was another reason we opted for Yawei; both the turret punch press and fiber lasers have been game changers for us,” he said. “The other key reason we partner with Applied is that they are an established local supplier - no other machinery company has the capability, expertise and technical back-up and support. If I have any issue or query they get straight back to me – that won’t happen with a supplier who doesn’t have a local operation,” Martyn added.

“We bought the machines sight unseen during COVID – testament to our trust and confidence in Applied,” he added.

Martyn says that the new fiber lasers also enable him to be more responsive and have cut lead times down significantly.

Able Industries Engineering will be reaching the impressive milestone of 50 years of manufacturing in 2025. With a reputation for providing solutions to any kind of fabrication requirement, a clear focus on customer satisfaction and a commitment to staying ahead of the game by investing in the latest machine technology, it’s sure to be a big celebration.

Face and shoulders

The world of metalworking is undergoing major changes. Complex machining processes are unimaginable without the utilisation of face milling operations.

Face milling processes facilitate the preparation of datum surfaces by producing planes and flats, and enable improving precision and surface quality parameters. Moreover, the production of many rotating parts is incomplete without face milling. Face milling is the very operation that cannot be undermined.

In face milling, the axis of a cutter is normal to the machined surface. A large majority of face mills or surface milling cutters are common indexable tools in shell mill configuration. They feature various tool cutting edge angles (entering angles) such as 45°, 60°, 65°, 75°, 90°. Face mills intended specifically for productive rough machining by use of high feed milling (HFM) methods have a significantly smaller cuttingedge angle, typically 10°-17°. In some cases, shell mills that mount round inserts enable extremely strong cutting edges. The cutting-edge angle has an impact on the decomposition of the cutting force, which acts on the plane of the cutter axis, on radial and axial components referred to as radial, and axial cutting forces. With all else being equal, this angle defines the maximum depth of cut. The cutting-edge angle largely determines the application field of a face mill making 45° face mills most versatile. Such mills have an important advantage that stipulates a first-choice selection of 45° cutters in face milling, specifically when machining open plane surfaces. These cutters assure a good balance of radial and axial cutting forces, a high-quality machined surface, and favourable cutting conditions when a tool enters or exits the material being machined. The most common face mill types are 45° cutters. However, 45° face mills have certain disadvantages with an emphasis on forming rectangular profiles. Although machining square shoulders characterises end milling applications, there is a need for rectangular profiles as well. All plane surfaces of a machined part are bound by shoulders. Applying 45° face mills even when cutting near to shoulders may entail difficulties. Face mills with 90° cutting edge angles are regularly in demand for rectangular profiles. In addition, 90° tools assure low axial forces providing good reason for machining parts with thin-walled structures or cutting under poor clamping conditions. Beyond that, inserts for 90° face mills provide a higher depth of cut when compared to the same-size inserts, intended for 90° endmills.

The correct and sensible method to design 90° face mills utilises the same inserts that are intended for 90° endmills. This concept provides high insert versatility and remains prevalent. To ensure a good surface finish, the inserts of large diameter multitoothed indexable face mills should be designed with a wiper flat that is significantly larger compared to an endmill, which is characterised by fewer teeth. Tool manufacturers maintain various principles in their developments which focus on productivity solutions, shoulder profile accuracy, and the efficient utilisation of tungsten carbide being the main material of indexable inserts. The ideal design provides excellent solutions and complies with competitive machining requirements. sided trigon-shaped inserts for true 90° profiles at a depth of cut up to 4mm for ultra-high productivity. The insert’s trigon shape provides six indexable cutting edges and forms positive tool rakes in both radial and axial directions. Combined with a wide wiper flat, the insert’s design contributes to an improved surface finish and easily performs ramp-down milling.

NEODO S90° is a family of 90° face mills that mount 8mm double-sided square carbide inserts.

LOQIQ-8-TANG face mills mount tangentially clamped inserts with eight cutting edges and provide a cost-beneficial solution for rough machining planed surfaces near square shoulders. The tangential insert mounting concept combined with a dovetail clamping principle and a durable insert structure results in a strong and rigid tool design to withstand heavy loads in roughing applications.

This family of inserts is intended for rough and semi-finish machining of steel and cast iron. The double-sided insert concept shows a durable insert structure and facilitates eight indexable cutting edges. The insert may appear simple, but when looking closely, the insert side surface features a complex shape that provides a wide wiper flat on every cutting edge. The face mills have a positive radial and negative rake angle and ensure an exact 90° profile when milling with depths of cut up to 5mm. The NEODO S90° cutters enable face and shoulder milling while providing an additional option for machining close to shoulders where workpieces or work holding fixtures entail constraints.

In small tool diameter ranges between 3263mm, ISCAR introduces a family of the HELIDO Trigon Line.

ISCAR has upgraded the HELIQUAD family of 90° mills with traditionally designed single-sided square inserts. Specifically, the new inserts are intended for machining titanium and heat-resistant superalloys (HTSA), especially when milling near-toshoulder faces. In milling applications that require small tool diameters, MULTIMASTER solid carbide exchangeable face milling heads in diameters of 12-25 mm can provide effective results.

Due to the multi-tooth design, the heads guarantee productive cutting at high feed

This family of tools is characterised by high-tooth density face mills with double- speeds. An important advantage of this unique face milling head is its high precision attributes, which are comparable with those of solid carbide tools. Such precision levels result in increased machining accuracy and excellent surface finish. iscar.com