Cmw nov 2014 de

MACHINE TOOL PRODUCTIVITY From cutting edge to common sense – p34

NOVEMBER 2014

SHOP FLOOR SECRETS How to improve productivity in cutting tools – p40

A COMPETITIVE FUTURE Abipa Canada, Laval, Quebec –p76

THE BOTTLENECK BLUES Materials handling streamlines manufacturing – p82

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New cutting tools and solutions from Sandvik Coromant October 1 st marks the launch of the latest tools and solutions from Sandvik Coromant. Stay ahead of competition.

Find out what’s new in metal cutting here!

GC4325 and GC4315 – Steel turning endurance

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With new technological developments emerging on the horizon, manufacturers are faced with extremely high demands in terms of quality, security and productivity. The groundbreaking insert grades GC4315 and GC4325 with Inveio™ are designed to bring endurance, predictability and long tool life to your steel turning operations.

The innovative InvoMilling solution is released as software supported by the dedicated milling cutters CoroMill®161 and CoroMill®162 as well as expertise from the Sandvik Coromant gear application team. With the CAD/CAM software InvoMilling 1.0, the CNC program is generated

CoroCut®QD – Reliable parting and grooving Having already introduced the CoroCut®QD concept for deep external grooving and parting off, Sandvik Coromant now adds internal machining to the application range. The stable clamping mechanism on the CoroCut QD tools is now supported by the ability to use Silent Tools™ damp ened boring bars for reduced vibration when machining with long overhangs. For tube-shaped components, typical ly found in the oil and gas industry, this is welcome news since it enables deep internal grooving with high process security.

Steel turning with GC4325 and GC4315

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Parting and grooving with CoroCut®QD

standard-stocked precision tools. The solution has proven effective for manufacturing of gears and splines with great

CoroDrill®808 – Deep hole machining for the STS system CoroDrill®808 is perfectly suited for the energy segment, for example when machining heat exchanger plates.

Cladded materials such as low carbon steel with Inconel, machine due to tricky chip-breaking and tool life mainte nance. Thanks to a specially designed geometry and grade technology, CoroDrill 808 produces superior close tolerance holes even in the toughest conditions. In addition, this drill is available as a stock standard item with 24 hour delivery.

InvoMilling with CoroMill®161 and CoroMill®162

Deep hole machining with CoroDrill®808

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Steel turning endurance

nology

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Uncompromised metal removal rate

rea Ground b

Steel turning grade GC4315 excels in applications that generate high temperatures. When other inserts reach a limit in metal removal rate due to high speed and long time in cut, GC4315 gets the job done.

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NOVEMBER 2014 ß VOL. 109 ß NO. 9

www.canadianmetalworking.com

A LOOK INSIDE SPECIAL ISSUE: INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY FEATURES BOOSTING MACHINE TOOL PRODUCTIVITY — 34 From cutting edge to common sense

SHOP FLOOR SECRETS REVEALED — 40 How to improve productivity in cutting tools

FORMULATING A COMPETITIVE FUTURE — 46

COVER STORY — 28

Abipa Canada, Laval, Quebec

RAISING OUR GRADE

CANADA’S FIRST ADVANCED MANUFACTURING FACILITY — 52

Canada’s productivity and innovation earn low marks

Burloak Technologies, Dundas, Ontario

52

ALUMINUM FILLER MATERIAL — 74 What are your options?

46

AUTOMATING JET ENGINE BLADE FINISHING — 76 Manual finishing doesn’t make the grade

76

40

74 www.canadianmetalworking.com

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 NOVEMBER 2014 | 7

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NOVEMBER 2014 ß VOL. 109 ß NO. 9

www.canadianmetalworking.com

A LOOK INSIDE SPECIAL ISSUE: INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY

96

FEATURES (CONT.) THE BOTTLENECK BLUES — 82 How material handling streamlines the manufacturing process

82

BIG INVESTMENT YIELDS BIG RESULTS — 90 Ventex, Bolton, Ontario

EXPANDING FABRICATING OPERATIONS — 96

100

Quality Machining & Metalworks, Mississauga, Ontario

QUALITY CONTROL: INLINE AND ON TIME — 100 Automated inline measuring systems

90

COMING IN FEBRUARY This issue marks the end of our 2014 editorial calendar.

We return in the new year with fresh, new content and exciting events.

And it’s all about Aerospace and Defence in our upcoming February issue of Canadian Metalworking magazine.

Also, on www. canadianmetalworking. com right now, visit our “Productivity Centre” section on the homepage to see case studies, news items, videos and blogs to help any business or shop ramp up producitivity.

And don’t forget to follow along and engage with us on social media – look for us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+!

8 | NOVEMBER 2014

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DEPARTMENTS VIEW FROM THE FLOOR — 10 NEWS — 12 THE BUSINESS OF WELDING — 22 KEN HURWITZ ON FINANCE — 24 SUCCESSION PLANNING — 26 TOOL TALK — 56 FAB & WELDING NEWS — 66

BY THE NUMBERS — 106

www.canadianmetalworking.com

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Amada_IMP_CM_Ad_Final_Layout 1 10/21/14 1:07 PM Page 1

“Amada’s ability to continuously innovate keeps us ahead of our competitors.”

Keith Billings, President (right) and Brian Heins, General Manager Integrated Metal Products

— Keith Billings, President Integrated Metal Products

Integrated Metal Products Retains Their Leadership Position by Partnering with Amada.

(Above) FOM2 laser cutting system.

(Right) EMLK punch/laser combination with MP automated load/unload system.

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Located in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, Integrated Metal Products (IMP) is a leading contract manufacturer of precision fabricated metal components. For nearly 30 years, IMP has served a wide range of industries and earned a reputation for unsurpassed quality and reliability. IMP president, Keith Billings, attributes the company’s success to investing in leading-edge technology and state-of-the art equipment. Billings put it in these words, “Amada’s commitment to advancing technology has allowed us to improve efficiencies and attract new customers, as well as keep our long-term customers coming back. We’ve always used Amada equipment. Over the years we’ve upgraded our older models to the latest generation — including press brakes, laser cutting systems and punch/laser combination machines. Amada’s innovative machines and processes keep IMP ahead of the competition.”

Amada’s Networked Solution Provides: • Maximum Productivity (High-speed shuttle tables on the FOM2 ensure continuous processing by externalizing the material setup process. The EMLK combines the punching power of the world’s fastest hit rates with the versatility of a 4kW laser).

• Maximum Flexibility (The FOM2 provides highspeed processing for a wide variety of material types and thicknesses. The EMLK provides the ability to tap, form, punch and cut on the same machine).

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• Accuracy and Reliability (The EMLK’s high-speed motion system is repeatable to .0003˝, ensuring accurate parts every time. For more than 10 years, the FO series has a proven reputation for unparalleled accuracy and reliability. As the latest generation, the FOM2 continues to set new standards for precision and performance).

IMP’s General Manager, Brian Heins is also impressed by Amada’s service and support. Heins states, “Our Amada service engineer gave us his direct contact information and on one occasion came in at 10 pm on a Saturday night to ensure our weekend shift could continue cutting through the night. It’s great to work with a company that’s committed to our success.”

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VIEW FROM THE FLOOR

BRINGING WORK BACK

S

Is advanced manufacturing with 3D printing and automated handling systems a route to bringing metalworking back to North America? Let me know what you think.

peaking with Peter Adams, founder of Burloak Technologies in Dundas, Ontario, Canada’s first production-level 3D metal printing facility, you get the feeling that additive manufacturing is on the threshold of gaining critical acceptance in the metalworking industry.

Adams will be investing $11.5 million over five-years to make sure his company leads the way as this advanced manufacturing process takes hold, spending not only on part making technology but also on automating processes to be as productive as possible.

He foresees a new generation of sophisticated parts being designed, parts previously unimaginable due to limitations of conventional machining. And as he tells it, these complex, high-value parts, will play a role in bringing manufacturing back to North America, because there is no cost advantage to low labour rates for products like these.

The picture Adams paints corresponds to a recent report from the Boston Consulting Group. In a survey of senior manufacturing execs, they found the number of companies repatriating production from China is on the rise.

And the survey found these companies see a payoff coming from investments in technologies such as 3D printing, robotics and digital manufacturing, with 72 per cent planning to make such investments in the next five years.

PUBLISHER STEVE DEVONPORT 416.442.5125 ß sdevonport@canadianmetalworking.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER ROB SWAN 416.510.5225, cell 416.725.0145 ß rswan@canadianmetalworking.com ACCOUNT MANAGER NICHOLAS HEALEY 416.442.5600 x3642 ß nhealey@canadianmetalworking.com EDITOR DOUG PICKLYK 416.510.5206 ßdpicklyk@canadianmetalworking.com ASSOCIATE/WEB EDITOR LINDSAY LUMINOSO 416.442.5600 x3645 ß lluminoso@canadianmetalworking.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR LISA WICHMANN 416.442.5600 x5101 ß lwichmann@canadianmanufacturing.com ART DIRECTOR STEWART THOMAS 416-442-5600 x3212 ß sthomas@bizinfogroup.ca CIRCULATION MANAGER SELINA RAHAMAN 416.442.5600 x3528 ß srahaman@bizinfogroup.ca

And the timing is right to be getting on board, especially if you’re in the auto sector.

Speaking to a full house at the Metalworking Manufacturing & Production Expo held last month in Windsor, Canada’s auto industry expert Dennis DesRosiers presented a beaming forecast for the industry.

Based on a series of trending factors, including a record number of new vehicle models coming to market, he sees the industry in growth mode through 2018, maybe through 2020 or later.

“I have the most positive possible outlook for the MTDM (machine tool, die & mold) sector in the Windsor Essex County that you can possibly have, and that I have ever had in my 44 years of studying this industry,” said DesRosiers.

But he warned the audience: “This is now an intellectual-based industry. It’s not just product development and R&D, it’s as much to do with process as it is with product.”

That takes me back to Adams, who identifies the mold industry as a prime market for 3D-printed tools, where conformal cooling channels built into molds will lead to better products and faster cycle times. One of the many huge opportunities he sees to bring work back.

DOUG PICKLYK, EDITOR dpicklyk@canadianmetalworking.com

HOW TO REACH US Published by BIG Magazines LP, a division of Glacier BIG Holdings Company Ltd. 80 Valleybrook Drive, North York, ON M3B 2S9 Phone: 416.442.5600 ß Fax: 416.510.5140 CM, established: 1905 is published 9 times per year by BIG Magazines LP, a division of Glacier BIG Holdings Company Ltd. SUBSCRIPTION RATES Canada $55.00 per year, Outside Canada $90.00 US per year, Single Copy Canada $8.00.

RETURN UNDELIVERABLE TO CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 All rights reserved. Printed in Canada. The contents of the publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, either in part or in full, including photocopying and recording, without the written consent of the copyright owner. Nor may any part of this publication be stored in a retrieval system of any nature without prior written consent.

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10 | NOVEMBER 2014

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CM accepts no responsibility or liability for claims made for any product or service reported or advertised in this issue.

DISCLAIMER This publication is for informational purposes only.

The content and “expert” advice presented are not intended as a substitute for informed professional engineering advice. You should not act on information contained in this publication without seeking specific advice from qualified engineering professionals. Emails published should only be used to contact the company regarding their products. These emails are NOT CASL compliant.

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www.canadianmetalworking.com

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IN THE NEWS

MORE AND LESS THAN WHAT WAS BARGAINED FOR In late October reports began circulating in the media about Ford’s commitment to the Canadian automotive industry. On the one hand, Ford announced it will be adding 1,000 new jobs to its Oakville assembly plant preparing for the 2015 Ford Edge crossover, and on the other it has walked away from potentially bringing 1,000 jobs to a Windsor engine facility in favor of sending the contract to Mexico.

Many are praising the auto maker for its decision to invest $700 million in the Oakville plant, including Unifor’s national president, Jerry Dias, who states: “The benefits of this investment are enormous for the province and for the country,” citing studies showing that every job in the facility supports 10 jobs in some part of the value chain.

Canada has generally fit in well with Ford’s global strategy according to Dianne Craig, president and CEO of Ford of Canada. However, Ford’s decision to insource at Oakville and opt out of Windsor may have some questioning what this all means for Canada’s auto industry.

Upon Ford’s Oakville announcement, Automodular, a Ford supplier with two plants in Oakville, lost a contract they held for the past eight years, leading to those plants closing at the end of the year and the loss of some 525 jobs. Ford’s decision to insource is having a ripple effect on the entire supply chain, says Unifor’s Local 1256 President (Unifor1256.ca), Angus MacDonald, who represents the Automodular employees.

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“When they broke the news about the 1,000 jobs, there were a lot of upset members at Automodular obviously, they were losing their jobs and that wasn’t mentioned,” he says.

MacDonald reiterated that insourcing cannot be stopped, but one of the biggest challenges is that one union, Unifor, represents varying members throughout the auto industry, and for him, Unifor didn’t do enough to take care of the workers at Automodular.

MacDonald has been in talks with the national union and Ford since May 2013, which was when he found out about the insourcing.

MacDonald was candid, noting that he may not be saying exactly what the union wants, but he needs to speak the truth. For him, the loss of 525 jobs has a great effect on the auto industry and spin-off jobs down the supply chain. “There are a lot of spin off jobs where these people live and spend their money, it will all be affected now.”

For all workers and representatives in the auto industry, there is no guarantee that the Detroit Three or any company would allow for preferential hiring of the people whose jobs are being lost. For Automodular employees, this is a big challenge.

They have been successfully doing the same job Ford is hiring for; yet, according to MacDonald many are not passing the six-hour test that Ford requires from its workers.

MacDonald explains that for the workers, “they will hopefully have first crack at the work. That would be my hope anyway.”

However, MacDonald notes that the reality is that only 60 to 70 Automodular employees are making the move over to Ford. He also expressed that investment in the automotive industry is important and can help create a healthy sector.

At the end of October was the announcement that a Ford engine plant and upwards of a 1,000 jobs are going into Mexico and not Windsor, as had been hoped.

“We are disappointed,” said Dias in response to the news. “The auto industries that are flourishing around the world are ones where there is a deep commitment from government and an understanding of the importance and wisdom of investment—which always pays dividends.”

Overall, the automotive manufacturing sector in Canada is continuing to grow. Dennis DesRosiers, Canada’s leading automotive expert, has a positive outlook for the auto industry, citing that as a nation we need to focus on the global economy rather than inwards. One of the challenges going forward is to remain competitive and create an environment that attracts new jobs—or else other members of the supply chain will find themselves facing the same repercussions as the employees at Automodular.

According to Dias, the federal and provincial governments need to work with companies and unions in order to strengthen the Canadian economy in order to avoid losing other major investments. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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IN THE NEWS

SUCCESS AT THE MMP EXPO

Dennis DesRosiers speaks to a crowded room at the MMP Expo in Windsor, ON.

On Thursday, October 23, Canadian Metalworking magazine hosted its popular tabletop show at the Ciociaro Club in Windsor, Ontario.

The Metalworking Manufacturing & Production (MMP) Expo was co-hosted with the Windsor Mold Expo and featured 95 tables showcasing products from both the metalworking and moldmaking industries.

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The Metalworking Manufacturing & Production Expo has previously traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia, and Calgary, Alberta. However, this was the first time the event was held in Windsor, and it only made sense to invite Windsor-native Dennis DesRosiers, Canada’s authority on the auto industry, to address the audience on the state of the business.

The show kicked off with DesRosier’s keynote address, speaking to a crowded room about the strengthening of Canada’s automotive industry, “I have the most positive outlook for the tool, mold and die industry for the Windsor area,” he said, adding that this is an exciting time for automotive and auto parts manufacturing in Canada, wit the

www.canadianmetalworking.com

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IN THE NEWS most positive outlook he’s experienced in his entire career, which spans over 40 years. “The tooling sector is in unprecedented territory…I can understand why there are so many for-hire signs out there,” he said.

DesRosiers forecasts that by the end of the decade, North American vehicle production will reach 20 million units. He attributes this growth to the U.S. economic recovery and the growing number of new vehicles being launched annually. Wrapping up, DesRosiers cautioned that although he remains optimistic there are still major challenges ahead, suggesting suppliers take a more outward focus. He especially reiterated this to Windsor businesses, which he believes will be successful in the global market if they move away from the Detroit Three focus that they have traditionally held.

The tabletop show officially opened its doors following the keynote

address, and attendees were able to visit tables, explore the latest products and technologies, speak with industry professionals and network with peers.

A number of major machine tool, cutting tool, fabricating and welding companies were on hand to talk with local customers and discuss manufacturing solutions.

The show continued through the afternoon with exhibitors and attendees pleased with the event. Exhibitors were especially happy with the level of engagement and interaction that they received from visitors: “It’s been busy, the people coming through seem interested in the booth; they look, ask questions, they aren’t just perusing, they are actually interested,” said Jim Garfield, regional sales manager for HORN USA, Inc. Gerard LeBlanc, technical sales representative for Sandvik Coromant, also echoed this sentiment, “I think there’s good flow, good traffic coming

Vijay Raghavan visits Gregory Smuk from In-House Solutions

through taking a particular interest in our products, which is good.”

The MMP Expo has had success in other regions, especially in Western Canada, so Canadian Metalworking hoped to have continued momentum with this new location, and feedback has been positive. Many exhibitors commented on the wide variety of Continues on page 16 

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NOVEMBER 2014 | 15

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IN THE NEWS  Continued from page 15 industries and regions represented.

John McGonigle, regional sales manager for Ferro Technique, was surprised and happy with the number of people that traveled across Ontario to be at the show.

Whereas Nigel King, product manager for Elliott Matsuura Canada Inc., reiterated how busy the expo was, “I hope it continues for the rest of the day, a lot of people are here from different industries. Not so much on the fab side, as we are exhibiting the waterjet, but a lot of people interested in the technology, just to learn about it.”

Brendan Cunningham, area manager for EMEC Machine tools, expressed his thoughts on the event, saying, “I’ve met some good people and I think that since this is the first one there’s always going to be a trial to see how things work. By and large there’s been a good feel about the show so far, and I think overall it will be a success.”

The challenge with offering a new location is always the concern that there won’t be a large turnout or attendees won’t engage with the exhibitors. Windsor was the right choice because of the robust automotive and parts manufacturing industries as well as the thriving tool, mold, and die industries that were well represented at the expo.

“I’m actually very impressed with the turnout of the show, I was hoping that we would get quite a few people, and it’s two or three hours into the program and there are still lots of people here,” said Darcy Ball, area sales manager for Mazak Corporation Canada.

Canadian Metalworking continues to have great success with these oneday tabletop shows. In 2015, the MMP Expo will premiere in Winnipeg on April 7 and will return to Vancouver for the third annual event on May 5. With the positive feedback from exhibitors and great enthusiasm from attendees, the MMP Expo will return to Windsor in the spring of 2016.

This event was sponsored by Elliott Matsuura Canada, Mazak, Renishaw and Sandvik Coromant.

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WOMEN IN MANUFACTURING SUMMIT HIGHLIGHTS IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING A STRONG SECTOR The 4th annual Women in Manufacturing (WiM) Summit took place in Schaumburg, Illinois on September 29 to October 1, 2014.

The event focused on encouraging and engaging women in careers within the manufacturing industry.

Professionals from all levels and areas of manufacturing gathered to discuss and learn the importance of participating in an industry that generates more the $1.8 trillion annually and approximately 17.2 million jobs in the United States alone.

The WiM Summit had its highest attendance to date, with 262 people.

Attendees had the opportunity to connect with industry professionals, network with peers, and learn through professional development tracks.

The goal of the conference was to promote manufacturing as a viable and exciting career option. Stating that only 30 per cent of the manufacturing workforce is comprised of women, in a co-sponsored survey with Plante Moran, WiM aimed at providing attendees with insights as to why this is the case. The survey found that “most women working in

manufacturing today hold favorable opinions about the sector as a career path and would recommend a manufacturing career.” However, one of the major challenges comes from outside perceptions that offer outdated views of the industry. One of the survey results advises companies to do a better job promoting the sector.

And TRUMPF Inc. is one company doing just that. In a Professional Development Track, Christine Benz, training manager for TRUMPF, spoke about new training initiatives and apprenticeship opportunities her company is offering young people.

Benz explained that her success is due to someone just giving her a chance. When she was young and living in Germany, she was offered an apprenticeship opportunity that changed her life. Now, with TRUMPF, she is working towards providing the same opportunities for young people in the United States and advocates for other businesses to develop their own programs.

Benz explained that TRUMPF’s apprenticeships offer tuition reimContinues on page 18 

Best Practices Panel: (L-R) Lisa Blais, North American industrial practices leader for Egon Zehnder; Natalie Panek, Mission Systems Engineer (MSE) for MDA Space Missions; Karen Norheim, executive vice president for American Crane Equipment Corporation; Diana Peters, director of Symbol Training Institute; and Christie Flemming, senior vice president of marketing for Chicken of the Sea.

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IN THE NEWS  Continued from page 16

from their challenges and successes.

At the end of the day, businesses need dedicated and skilled employees in order to do well, and this is one way to develop a thriving workforce.

Another highlight of the event was the panel discussion on “Attraction, Retention, and Advancement of Women in Manufacturing,” that allowed for audience-driven discussion. Panelists included Lisa Blais, North American industrial practices leader for Egon Zehnder; Christie Flemming, senior vice president of marketing for Chicken of the Sea; Diana Peters, director of Symbol Training Institute; Karen Norheim, executive vice president for American Crane Equipment Corp.; and Canada’s own Natalie Panek, Mission Systems Engineer (MSE) for Christine Benz, training manager for TRUMPF, speaks to a group about the MDA Space Missions. importance of apprenticeships and her The panel focused on issues and company’s success in attracting young obstacles women face in the induspeople to the industry. try. One of the most prominent sentiments was the need for perception changes. There is still a negative perception that follows the trades, which many businesses report as the reason for the skills gap.

Events like the WiM Summit are working towards breaking the mold and creating a positive environment to promote all aspects of the industry and trades.

The 5th annual • Fine Adjust Twin Boring Heads Women in Manufacturing • ER25 & ER40 Finish Boring Heads Summit, will be • Micro Boring Heads - ø0.018 - 0.752 (0.3 - 19.1mm) held September 23-25, 2015, in TOOLHOLDING SOLUTIONS Minneapolis, www.eri-america • info@eri-america.com • 877-374-8005 MN.

bursement and a position within the company upon completion, and their retention rates are high.

Developing programs that young people can learn hard and soft skills is important for promoting positive industry growth. Supporting young people through these types of programs is necessary and Christine Benz demonstrated how her company is contributing so that others can learn

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18 | NOVEMBER 2014

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UNIQUE TOOL INVESTING $3.5 MILLION By the end of 2014, Windsor, Ont.-based moldmaker Unique Tool & Gauge will have made a multimillion dollar capital equipment Unique Tool investment. president and The company CEO Darcy King. intends to spend in excess of $3.5 million to increase throughput in its moldmaking operations.

The new equipment consists of one new Makino high-speed CNC milling machine, three new Makino sinker EDM machines, two Roeders high-speed milling machines, and a central robot for automation. First deliveries to the 60,000-squarefoot Windsor facility began in September and all machines will become operational during the fourth quarter of 2014.

“Our capital investment program is market-driven,” says Darcy King, Unique Tool’s president and CEO. “Our competition is global and our customers are moving faster from initial part design to full-scale production, which is placing added demands on us to do things faster and more cost-effectively than ever before.”

The company is also planning to add at least 30 additional professional and hourly employees to its present staff of 90, “in order to position the business for an increase in workload that is expected to last through 2015,” King continued.

Founded in 1982, Unique Tool works with all major global automotive producers and their key Tier 1 suppliers. www.canadianmetalworking.com

14-11-05 12:03 PM

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14-11-04 2:15 PM

IN THE NEWS

NAIT BECOMES LARGEST CNC TRAINING FACILITY IN NORTH AMERICA The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology has received a major donation from Haas Automation. The company has provided NAIT’s machinist programs with new equipment to help students learn the skills necessary to be successful in the industry.

NAIT has recently undergone a large scale expansion to support an influx of students, while re-examining its curriculum to meet the growing demands of the industry and changing technologies. Haas Automation has been a strong supporter of this initiative, specifically though HFO Thomas Skinner, the Western Canadian Haas Distributor.

Haas has recently donated CNC equipment including four CNC turning centers and 10 CNC Vertical

Mini Mills, raising the total of Haas machines to 30. NAIT has also invested in the addition of 15 other machines. Students registered in NAIT machinist and other like-programs will now have access 70 different machines. This is the largest number of CNC machines in any Poly Tech in North America, making NAIT the largest CNC training centre in

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North America.

“The need for skilled workers continues to rise, and it is the responsibility of the business community to get involved and support trade and technology education. We have over 20 years of working with NAIT and look forward to providing continued support of their programs for many years to come,” said Ross McDonald, VP Sales, Thomas Skinner & Son Ltd. HFO Thomas Skinner has supported this development from the ground up, managing the project from start to finish. They have provided assistance with machine configurations, installation, training and will provide ongoing on-site service.

“The need for an infusion of trained and talented people into our industry is at a critical level. Providing support to Poly Techs such as NAIT is a commitment we take very seriously. We are pleased to have been able to play a role in bridging the gap between the machining industry and education” states Paul Krainer, president, Thomas Skinner & Son Ltd. Thomas Skinner worked with NAIT to provide guidance in purchasing the tooling required to make the most of its new machines. Supplier partners include Sandvik Coromant, Mitutoyo, Sowa, Kar and Lyndex Nikken. NAIT’s program is equipped with the appropriate tools and technologies to develop the next generation of machinists and industry professionals.

For additional information, visit www.nait.ca. www.canadianmetalworking.com

14-11-05 2:29 PM

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14-11-04 2:16 PM

THE BUSINESS OF WELDING

CAPITALIZE ON OPPORTUNITIES

BY IAN CAMPBELL

W

hat happens when you get over 200 welding professionals in a room? In one word: opportunities. So, are you looking for opportunities? Are opportunities critical to what you need to succeed?

Opportunity is an interesting thing—it cannot be directly planned for, but it can be greatly helped along with planning. Having just witnessed a ton of planning come to fruition in the form of this year’s CanWeld Conference I can say that we did, indeed, facilitate opportunity, maybe even more so than in previous conferences. But success is never guaranteed, even with the best intentions.

Consider that every year for the past five years welding professionals from across Canada and around the globe have come out to the CanWeld Conference, formerly the CWA Conference. Considering the scope of welding topics covered, the range of industries represented and the mix of people attending—everyone from students to CEOs—it’s easy to see how such an event might not hit the mark for everyone. However, it seems that for at least this year, we have.

Yes, on one hand, everyone at the conference is connected as they are all part of the welding world. But on the other, the scope of welding as a skill, occupation and or business is so broad that connections really only exist at the most general of levels.

Everyone might share a common set of welding processes, but what they use those for or where they use them tend to create a bit of a fragmented industry. So, it was refreshing to once again see so many different people coming together, and most 22 | NOVEMBER 2014

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importantly, functioning as a single industry.

There is a simple truth here that has been learned by those of us who put these kinds of events together.

While planning and having a great event team on the ground helps point people in the right direction, it’s really up to the attendees to take it beyond the planned schedule.

Getting the planning right simply makes it easy for people arrive, listen and leave. The real success of an event is what happens between the planned events; these are the things that can only be driven by the attendees. Conferences are not, and should not be, passive events.

There needs to be time for material just learned to sink in, time made for further discussions and interaction and allowances put into the schedule to allow for people to take advantage of the opportunities that surround them—be it access to speakers, new potential business contacts, or renewal of existing relationships.

Simply put, the real important outcomes cannot really be easily predicted, planned for or scheduled.

Case in point: this year’s CanWeld Conference had a lot of “off the schedule” attendee-driven activity. We saw students getting interviewed and offered jobs. There was a free flow of information outside the confines of the formal technical sessions. We know several large business deals that were both born and signed, and a lot of new connections made. Attendees, it seems, were fully committed to making the most of the event. The last point is telling; this year’s conference was in Vancouver, right on Stanley Park, a part of the city not without its charms, yet every session was well attended and it was a full house for all the social and evening events.

That speaks volumes to the value the attendees see in the event.

What this tells me is that the CanWeld Conference has evolved into so much more than a three-day “sit

and listen” technical seminar marathon. Yes, clearly visitors are coming to learn, but the technical sessions and planned social events are really just there to prime the pump.

Sure, attendees can take a passive approach and just sit through the sessions and absorb the material provided, but to most it’s clear that even the best presenters cannot possibly cover everyone’s specific needs.

I was happy to see that attendees were taking the next step, seeking out the speakers or other attendees who could help them make the “theory-to-practical” connections that will move their real-world needs forward.

A conference is a gathering place for the industry. Conferences set up a unique environment; it’s not like a tradeshow where the focus is on selling, it’s not like a seminar where the focus is around a very specific topic or issue, it’s something in between. It’s a casual, no pressure environment where people come to learn, network and build their business. For those that were there, you know what I mean; for those who didn’t come, I hope that you will join us next year in Newfoundland for CanWeld15 and find out for yourself.

I assure you that there will be more going on than the scheduled events, and there will be lots of opportunities for those who go looking for them.

Welding in the Atlantic Provinces is going to represent a huge opportunity, likely on the scale of what we’ve seen in Alberta. The question to ask yourself is: where are you going to go to start making the required connections?

Hopefully, the answer is the CanWeld15 Conference, and hopefully I will see everyone at the conference next year, with business cards in hand.

Ian Campbell is Director of Marketing and New Product Development with the CWB. www.canadianmetalworking.com

14-11-05 12:09 PM

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14-11-04 2:16 PM

FINANCE

END OF YEAR PURCHASES AND YOUR BALANCE SHEET The right financial strategy lets you tap into post-show machinery deals

BY KEN HURWITZ

I

have to admit when Canadian Metalworking offered me the opportunity to write a monthly column I wasn’t sure I could get through the year. However, the year has flown by, and I thought it would be relevant to talk about year-end purchases and how they can be handled on a company’s financial statements.

Having spent almost two decades in the machinery industry, I can tell you the calendar year generally starts off slowly, and is quiet in terms of purchasing financing. As a general rule, most companies tend to put off purchases until the fall; usually because they want to see how the year goes before making a big commitment, or they’ve been too busy to spend the time necessary to research and source the right piece of equipment. But at this point, they’re under pressure to get it done because budgeted money needs to be spent or it will be lost going forward, or there are financial reasons to get a purchase “on the books” before the year end.

In a good market, and particularly during an IMTS year, there’s normally quite a bit of available inventory. Machinery manufacturers will have had booths full of stock machines that are now “demos” which distributors will have access to.

It’s a good time to get a great deal on a stock or demo machine because sellers want to move the equipment before the January lull. If the equipment is in stock anywhere in North America it can normally be delivered and invoiced in a matter of days or a few weeks, so getting the purchase in the current year is fairly easy.

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But there are times when a machine may need to come from another part of the world. In these cases, getting it on a buyer’s floor by the end of the year could be challenging. Even if the machine is sitting crated on a factory floor in the Far East, it will still take about 30 days to get to Canada. Travel time should be taken into account when trying to get a piece of equipment delivered before your financial year-end.

When a piece of equipment is bought outright, the buyer will take on ownership, meaning the equipment will become an asset on their balance sheet. A standard company balance sheet has three parts: assets, liabilities and ownership equity. The difference between the assets and the liabilities is known as equity, or the net worth of the company.

From a taxation perspective, the benefits of ownership allow the company to depreciate the asset, which is a fancy way of reducing earnings and in turn, pay less taxes. But if the purchase happens near the end of the financial year, the tax savings become minimized because the full year’s depreciation can’t be taken.

A preferred method to handle the transaction is an operating lease.

Accountants classify equipment leases into two main categories: capital leases and operating leases.

Capital leases are treated in a fashion similar to the outright purchase of the equipment (or bank loan).

An operating lease is a contract that allows for the use of an asset but doesn’t convey rights of ownership. In fact, the leasor maintains ownership.

The equipment isn’t put on the books as an asset but instead accounted for as a rental expense in what is known as “off balance sheet financing.”

Operating leases have tax incentives as well, but don’t result in assets or liabilities recorded on the balance sheet. From a financial perspective,

and due to the nature of the asset, the company’s efficiency will improve dramatically since new income-generating equipment has been installed, allowing the company to return more sales and boost profits.

Another ancillary benefit of the lease—capital or operating—is how GST or HST are handled. Even though most businesses get all GST or HST they’ve paid out back at some point, when equipment is purchased, or if the funds are borrowed from a bank, the federal and provincial taxes are either paid in cash or must be borrowed as well (and the interest paid).

When the equipment is leased it’s the leasing company that pays the taxes in full up front because it’s the entity taking ownership. The lessee pays tax on each payment, so there’s a positive impact on a company’s cash-flow.

I realize I have covered a lot of territory but if you take one thing away from this column it’s the suggestion to look beyond the dollars and cents of an equipment purchase and ensure you talk to your accountant or auditor before finalizing. This will allow you to strategize how best to handle it from a financial perspective. As the certified experts in this area, they’re in the best position to give you sound business advice.

Lastly, if you’ve been reading this space all year, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading as much as I’ve enjoyed writing.

Ken Hurwitz is the Senior Account Manager with Blue Chip Leasing Corporation, an equipment finance company in Toronto. Ken has years of experience in the machine tool industry and now works to help all types of manufacturers either source or tap into their own capital to optimize their operations. Contact Ken at (416) 614-5878 or via email at ken@bluechipleasing.com. Learn more at www.bluechipleasing.com www.canadianmetalworking.com

14-11-05 12:00 PM

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14-11-04 2:18 PM

SUCCESSION PLANNING

WHAT IS YOUR COMPANY WORTH? Finding your EBITDA

BY ALMA JOHNS

W

e continue our theme on baby boomers exiting business ownership over the next several years.

After being at the helm for some 30-odd years, these owners are finally ready to cash in on their investment. In the last article, we talked about key drivers that directly contribute to increasing the value of an enterprise.

This subject matter takes us to the art and science of business valuation, especially for privately-owned smalland medium-sized enterprises.

To demonstrate a straightforward scenario, let’s assume it took three years to prepare and implement your succession plan prior to the sale of your business. You needed this much time for various reasons: to maximize your tax efficiencies, align your family’s interest, and ensure your business continues to be profitable in order to sell at a premium.

Now that you’re ready to sell, your next challenge is to find out “what is the real value of my business?”

Business valuations are based on sound methodologies appropriate for the size of your business, your industry, your geography, and it also fundamentally reflects current market realities. Additionally, certain characteristics that are inherent to your business materially influence your enterprise value, including the diversity and quality of your customer base, intellectual property and future growth prospects, among others.

Unlike large publicly traded companies, SMEs don’t need to create a sophisticated Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model to determine what their businesses are worth.

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Yet a simplistic version where only future cash flows and a discount rate are established (not separately taking into account the interest rate on borrowed money and rate of return on equity) will hardly suffice. For privately-owned companies, inputs to valuation variables are only as good as the owner’s assumptions.

Following are the two methodologies most commonly applied when valuing SMEs. 1. Asset-Based Valuation. Typically used in an asset sale where the valuation is based on the value of the company’s existing tangible and intangible assets. This is a common approach for either very small businesses, companies in distress, or liquidation situations where the value is based upon the remaining cash when assets are sold and all liabilities are paid. This method undermines the company’s ability to generate future cash flows— even when supported by successful historical performance or highly promising future prospects.

2. EBITDA Multiple is a type of valuation where the basis for determining value is a multiplier of the company’s average earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for an established time period. Although it is typical to use this method to determine value based on the average historical EBITDA for the past three years, another approach is a trailing 12-month (TTM) EBITDA. For example, let’s say that over the past 12 months your company had a net income of $500,000, to that, you add (1) interest expenses of $50,000, (2) income taxes of $50,000, (3) depreciation and amortization expenses of $150,000, and (4) non-recurring and extraordinary expenses of $50,000.

Accordingly, the resulting EBITDA

is $800,000. If today’s industry standard EBITDA Multiple is 5x (a multiple is based on trading comparables, i.e. SME, industrial, auto parts…), your company’s valuation is approximately $4 million.

To arrive at what we consider the “Normalized” EBITDA above, numerous factors are taken into consideration to ascertain what falls under non-recurring items and extraordinary expenses.

Non-recurring items are costs that are not expected to occur in the following years of operation. These may include restructuring costs, one-time legal fees and losses pertaining to the sale of assets.

Examples of extraordinary expenses are management salaries above and beyond fair market value and shareholder’s drawings. On the flipside, extraordinary incomes, such as those generated from nonarm’s length transactions, should also be deducted from the EBITDA during the “normalization” process.

Diverging interpretations of what items should be included to calculate the normalized EBITDA can often contribute to a serious disagreement over pricing between the seller and the buyer, leading to a transaction eventually falling apart. But no matter what the determined valuation is, it is always the buyer who ultimately decides how much he or she is willing to pay for your business.

Finally, hiring a Certified Business Valuator, or an M&A Advisor, could alleviate complexities associated with valuation and the entire business selling process.

Alma Johns is president of Bench Capital Advisory Inc., an independent financing consulting practice based in Toronto. She can be reached at alma.johns@benchcapital.ca or www.benchcapital.ca. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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Productivity and innovation earn low marks in Conference Board ‘Report Card on Canada’

BY NATE HENDLEY

E

arlier this year, the Conference Board of Canada released a detailed document called “How Canada Performs.” Described by the Board as “a report card on Canada,” the study offered letter grades and analysis on the state of the economy, health, innovation, education, environment, etc. While Canada’s overall economy earned a ‘B’, recent labour productivity growth got a ‘C’ while innovation rated a lowly ‘D’.

The report card’s essence can be distilled to a

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www.canadianmetalworking.com

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simple equation: productivity = prosperity.

“Productivity is the single most important determinant of a country’s prosperity over the longer term. Countries and provinces that are innovative and able to adapt to the ebb and flow of the new global economy boast higher productivity and thus a superior standard of living,” reads the report card.

The Ottawa-based Conference Board defines productivity as “a measure of how efficiently goods and services are produced.”

Innovation, meanwhile, is defined as “a process through which economic or social value is extracted from knowledge—through the creating, diffusing and transforming of ideas—to produce new or improved, products, services, processes, strategies or capabilities.”

Innovation, adds the Board, is one of the main drivers of productivity.

“Improving productivity is not about working longer or harder; it’s about working smarter.

It’s about finding more efficient and effective ways to produce goods and services so that more can be produced with the same amount of effort,” explains the report card.

Despite the low grades, not all the news is bad on the productivity/innovation front.

Canada’s automotive

industry—one of the major legs of the manufacturing sector—is relatively healthy. Ottawa has been pouring cash into this sector to push R&D, thus giving innovation a boost. And, despite a dip in August, overall manufacturing sales are higher than they were last year.

The federal government isn’t the only group trying to encourage innovation among manufacturers either. The Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME), headquartered in Ottawa, is promoting a methwww.canadianmetalworking.com

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odology called the Innovation Engineering Operating System (IEOS) which is designed to kick-start idea generation in Canadian firms. “[IEOS] is a systematic process, which is why the term ‘engineering’ is used. It’s a scientific-based approach to generate ideas to address opportunities or resolve issues primarily at the front end of a business or product life cycle,” explains Ralph Eschenwecker, P. Eng., director of innovation engineering, CME, Manitoba division.

It’s too soon to see if innovation engineering (which is still quite new to Canada) will join the ranks of other popular manufacturing philosophies, from lean to Six Sigma and the Toyota Production System.

But back to productivity for a moment.

“Taken as a whole, Canada and many of its provinces have a mediocre record [on productivity] compared with international peers … Canada’s poor performance is not a new phenomenon. Between 2002 and 2012, the U.S. posted average annual compound growth in labour productivity of 1.7 per cent while Canada posted growth of 0.8 per cent. Ontario and Quebec—the two largest provinces—posted gains below one per cent per year … low productivity levels present an enormous challenge for the future economic prosperity of most provinces,” states the Conference Board report card.

In terms of individual provinces, Nova Scotia and Manitoba both earned a ‘B’ for NOVEMBER 2014 | 29

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labour productivity growth. New Brunswick, PEI, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta all received a ‘C’ grade while Newfoundland got a lowly ‘D minus’.

On a national level, Canada’s level of labour productivity in 2012 came to US$42 per hour worked, “much lower than that of the United States at US$56,” reads the report card.

“We’ve done well in terms of overall economy, in terms of employment. Better than the U.S. in terms of employment. But this one benchmark on productivity, it’s not just through the last cycle or the last 10 years.

It’s a long-standing situation that U.S. productivity tends to outpace ours,” says Pedro Antunes, deputy chief economist at the Conference Board of Canada.

For the record, the U.S. earned an overall ‘B’ in recent labour productivity growth, in the report card.

Canada’s unemployment rate, meanwhile, stands at 6.8 per cent (as of September) the lowest it’s been since December 2008.

Manufacturing employed 1.719 million Canadians in September, up from 1.712 million in August. Sector fortunes have been sliding a bit: manufacturing sales in Canada fell 3.3 per cent in August, to $52.1 billion, according to Statistics Canada. Roughly half of the decline was due to lower sales of motor vehicles and vehicle parts. Transportation equipment sales dipped 12.8 per cent to $8.9 billion in August while motor vehicle sales

LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH REPORT CARD Australia Austria Belgium CANADA Denmark Finland France Germany Ireland Japan Netherlands Norway Sweden Switzerland U.K. U.S.

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1970s D N/A A D B B A A A A A A D D C D

1980s D N/A B D D B B C A A D C D D C D

1990s C D C C C B C D A C C B C D B C

2000s C C D D D C D D A C D D D D C C

2010-12 C C D C A B C D A A C D B D D C

dropped 12.0 per cent to $4.5 billion.

The decline in sales, however, comes after seven consecutive months of good news on the manufacturing sales front, points out the CME. “In spite of the setback in August, manufacturing sales are still enjoying a strong year so far in 2014. Monthly sales in August were 6.1 per cent higher than they were the same month last year. Even if manufacturing sales were to remain flat for the rest of the year, output would still be 5.1 per cent higher than it was in 2013,” reads a recent CME press releases.

Automotive production also remains strong, if on a slight decline. According to the WardsAuto automotive industry research firm of Southfield, Michigan, there were 1.186 million vehicles produced in Canada between January and June 2014, versus 1.207 million for the same period in 2013.

This represents a volume drop of 1.8 per cent. Total production for 2013 came to 2.379 million vehicles.

It should be remembered that current production figures are a major improvement from just a few years ago, when the country was in the grips of a recession. During 2009, total vehicle production in Canada came to 1.49 million for the entire year.

This represented a sickening 28.4 per cent drop in production, notes the Paris-based International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers.

The recession also devastated automotive employment, which sank from 152,600 in 2007 to 109,100 in 2009, says Statistics Canada.

As of 2012, “the automotive sector employed 115,000 persons in Canada, which represented 7.7 per cent of all manufacturing jobs in the country. Of this total, 64,300 employees were in parts manufacturing, 37,200 were in motor vehicle manufacturing and the remaining 13,600 were in motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing. The majority of the sector’s jobs were located in Ontario. In 2012, the province accounted for 81.9 per cent of jobs in the automotive sector, while the second largest employer, Quebec, was home to another 6.5 per cent of jobs,” reads information from Statistics Canada.

“We still need to do more in terms of other manufacturing if we’re going to be competitive on a global stage … but we are seeing [some areas of strength] … in automotive, we’ve seen a recovery in production.

Productivity has been strong as well … we are seeing some pretty good growth in manufacturing productivity in Canada in the last two years,” says Antunes. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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Ottawa clearly recognizes the importance of the auto industry and has made serious investments to fund improvements. In the 2008 budget, the federal government introduced the Automotive Innovation Fund (AIF), which offered $250 million over five years for automotive firms to conduct R&D into greener, more fuel efficient vehicles. On January 4, 2013, the government renewed the AIF, adding another $250 million in funding over five years. Then on February 11, 2014, Ottawa announced an additional infusion of cash to the tune of $500 million for the 2014–2016 period.

That said, Canada’s overall record in investing in machinery and equipment (M&E) is not good, which is bad for productivity.

Capital investment in M&E is a “key driver for productivity,” points out Antunes, a fact driven home by the Conference Board’s report card.

“Investing in machinery and equipment— particularly information and communications technology—enables the adoption and diffusion of the latest state-of-the-art technologies, which in turn boost productivity.

We know that countries with higher investment in machinery and equipment generally have higher productivity growth. Canada’s investment in machinery and equipment as a per centage of gross domestic product (GDP) is among the lowest of its peer countries… in the 2000s, Canada ranked 11th among 16 [western] countries” in terms of investment, reads the report card.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Canada’s investments in machinery and equipment came to roughly seven per cent of GDP. This declined to just above six per cent in the 1990s and 2000s.

AIF aside, Canada earns low marks on innovation in the Conference Board report card.

“Despite nearly two decades of innovation agendas and prosperity-reports, Canada remains near the bottom of its peer group on innovation. While there is no easy answer to improving innovation performance, research has shown that both public policy and business culture can help. Some examples of measures are: initiatives such as credits and programs that encourage business spending on research and development, investments in public infrastructure, reductions in barriers to trade and labour mobility,” states the report card.

The Conference Board ranks Canada 13th out of 16 western nations in terms of innovation (Switzerland was number one, followed by Sweden than the United States). “Innovation indicators” writes the Board, include the presence of high and medium technology manufac32 | NOVEMBER 2014

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turing (Canada is graded a D), export market share of aerospace (Canada gets a C), export market share for electronics (D), business enterprise R&D spending (D), etc.

Only 1.3 per cent of Canada’s GDP comes from high-technology manufacturing. The ranking is based on data current as of April 2013.

“Essentially, the commercialization of ideas is where I think Canada has lagged. We do a bit of R&D and the research end of things.

But sometimes we don’t see that necessarily pan out into new businesses or into a profitable enterprise,” says Antunes.

Out in Winnipeg, Eschenwecker is spearheading an effort to rectify this situation.

Eschenwecker has been enthusiastically promoting innovation engineering to Manitoba companies since last year. IEOS aims to create a system for generating and disseminating ideas and resolving problems, with the ultimate aim of making firms more innovative and thus, competitive.

The CME has partnered with inVision Business Edge, a Winnipeg company that owns the license to IEOS in Canada. Eschenwecker holds introductory workshops for manufacturers interested in the system. Further training is provided to companies that want to launch an innovation engineering project. It’s up to the company to follow the project through to the end, with input from the CME. The ideas behind the Innovation Engineering Operating System were developed over the past three decades by Doug Hall, a chemical engineer at Procter and Gamble. Hall in turn was influenced by Dr. W. Edwards Deming.

Dr. Deming was an American statistician who helped rebuild the Japanese economy after devastation of World War Two. IEOS directly relates to productivity: “You’re increasing the productivity of your ideas and resolving strategic issues for organizations,” says Eschenwecker.

While an initial project launch requires up to three months, it takes roughly a year for a mid-sized organization to fully roll-out an IEOS program.

Since the CME in Manitoba started promoting IEOS, three manufacturers have started to actively use the system while four other firms are looking to launch projects in early 2015, says Eschenwecker.

If all goes well in Manitoba, the CME will expand IEOS training, encouraging innovation generation in other provinces, leading hopefully to increased productivity and better marks next time the Conference Board rolls out a report card. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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From cutting edge to common sense

BY NATE HENDLEY

A

recent report from utilities giant General Electric states the “industrial Internet” might boost worldwide productivity by 1.5 per cent over the next two decades, potentially adding $15 trillion to global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). By “industrial Internet” the authors of the GE paper mean intelligent machines connected to online networks, transmitting production data for instant analytics.

Published in November 2012, the report only briefly touches on advanced manufacturing, focusing instead on the transporta-

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tion and health-care sectors. Nonetheless, the document gives a sense of the potential of high-tech productivity-enhancing solutions for machine tools. A potential all the more significant given only a tiny percentage (one or two per cent, say productivity pundits) of manufacturing machines are currently connected to a network or set-up to automatically measure production metrics.

Of course, amidst the high-tech hoopla, there’s no shortage of “low tech” methods that can also enhance machine tool productivity, most of which are based on simple common sense. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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LUMAR MACHINING & MANUFACTURING LTD. Lumar Machining & Manufacturing Ltd., a family-owned, highprecision contract machine shop in St. Thomas, Ontario, is set to expand—again.

The firm began life as a mom and pop with a limited client base and only manual machines. It’s now a bustling operation with 10 CNC machine tools, plus grinders, welders and other equipment and double the revenue of the original company. Services rendered include turning, milling, grinding, EDM and product design support.

In December 2013, Lumar moved into a larger facility, a relocation that “quadrupled our floor space,” says Lumar president, Ian Wagter.

The new facility offers 25,000 square feet but is presently less than half full, a situation Wagter is eager to remedy. He’s hoping new customers in the Texas oil and gas sector will bring a revenue windfall next year, allowing him to buy new tools and expand the workforce beyond the current roster of 18 employees. “We’ve made several contacts. We haven’t actually got any work yet, but it’s looking positive,” he says.

Wagter, who has a materials engineering degree from the University of Western Ontario, and his father, Jack, acquired Lumar in 2000. At the time the firm was run by a husband and wife who employed roughly 16 people doing tool adaption and fixture work for mostly automotive clients on manual machines. The most high-tech piece of equipment in the shop was a fax machine. Annual revenues were around the $1 million mark.

The new owners quickly realized they had to upgrade the company’s machines and expand the customer base.

A CNC mill from Japanese firm, Okuma, was purchased first, in 2005. The same year, Lumar achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification. More machine tool purchases followed. The company currently has seven Okuma CNC machines and three mills from Southwestern Industries of Rancho Dominguez, California. Wagter is particularly taken by Okuma tools, regarding them as reliable and low-maintenance.

After upgrading to CNC machines, Lumar revenues hit a peak of $2.5 million in 2012.

For various reasons, revenues will probably slide in 2014 to “about $2 million,” says Wagter.

In 2015, with the possible addition of new clients in Texas, he’s “hoping for $3.5 million, but we’ll see how it goes.”

Should Lumar’s client base, which now includes aerospace, automotive and oil firms, expand to cover the Lone Star state, Wagter anticipates going on a machine tool buying binge.

Ideally, Wagter would love to buy three more CNC machines, “hopefully” all from Okuma. On his wish list is an Okuma Multus B750 multitasking lathe.

“The focus is definitely towards a bigger CNC lathe with a longer bed with live tooling … I have a very positive outlook on workload and the economy for next year,” he says.

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Memex Automation, a firm from Burlington, Ontario, offers a statement on its website that underlines the allure of productivity-enhancing technology. “If you can measure it, you can manage it,” reads the site. In other words, if you can get a handle on production data, you can use that knowledge to bolster your bottom-line.

Memex’s main product is a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and Machineto-Machine (M2M) communications platform called MERLIN (an acronym for “Manufacturing Execution Real-Time Lean Information Network”). A “machine monitoring OEE hardware and software” solution in Memex’s words, MERLIN records and analyzes real-time and historical performance data.

This data can be viewed by plant staff on a dashboard set-up. MERLIN is compatible with “all and any machines” according to its makers, including CNC and non-CNC machines alike.

OEE stands for Overall Equipment Effectiveness and is a statistical measurement of capacity utilization in manufacturing facilities.

Memex president and CEO David McPhail explains why ultra-connectivity is important: “If I buy a brand new Mazak machine and put it on my floor, chances are it’s going to sit with 19 other [machine tools] that are not as new, that in most cases don’t have the ability to communicate … I’ve got a great machine, and get great data, but to be effective, I need data from the other 19 machines on my floor.”

In addition to collecting data, MERLIN can be used to identify production bottlenecks, predict machine failures, offer online diagnostics to get failed machines up and running, embed maintenance records and link to quality control systems. MERLIN can also be programmed to automatically send email or text notifications about machining problems. MERLIN can increase productivity up to 50 per cent and raise a company’s OEE from a plant average of roughly 35 per cent to 80 per cent, claims Memex.

MERLIN isn’t new, but at this year’s International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in Chicago, Memex was showing off an improved version of its system.

This new version (dubbed “MERLIN 3.0” by McPhail) is scheduled for release later this year or early 2015. MERLIN 3.0 replaces the system’s current dashboard application with a web-based application.

McPhail talks about using MERLIN 3.0 to create financial reports based on real-time data about plant-floor operations. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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the neighbourhood of 50 per cent. Like its “If we can get management teams to make counterparts at Memex, 5ME showed off an decisions based on cost impacts in real-time, enhanced version of the Freedom eLOG at then I think we have a real paradigm shift IMTS 2014. coming in manufacturing,” he says.

5ME is also a leader in “cryogenic machinMERLIN isn’t Memex’s only product: the ing technology”—that is, using liquid company also offers the Ax760-MTC and nitrogen (LN2) instead of traditional coolant Ax9150 UMI-MTC hardware adapters. Fully in machining applications. Liquid nitrogen— configurable, these adapters enable users for those who failed high school chemistry— to communicate with CNC machines via makes things extremely cold.

MTConnect (an industry standard for transWhile it sounds like science-fiction, cryomitting data between shop-floor machines genic machining isn’t new. The problem was, and software applications).

The KOMET Brinkhaus ToolScope process monitoring system serves a similar purpose as MERLIN. The system was developed in 2008 by the technology branch of the Germanbased KOMET Group. ToolScope can be connected directly to a CNC The New Modular machine to detect, record and anaChip Processing lyze data for the purpose of determinSystems from PRAB ing peak running parameters.

“The system is a process recorder.

It records all necessary machine information relevant to this process, like spindle/motor torque, speed, position, coolant flow and pressure ... this data gets stored as Excelreadable files … ToolScope monitors process signals, visualizes and Engineered to Get You Up documents them and, in a case of an and Running Faster alarm, the machine can be stopped Fully-integrated chip processing systems at once. Different alarm reactions from PRAB combine prewired modules that can be programmed,” explains Dr. integrate and communicate seamlessly. They Joachim Imiela, CFO of KOMET move and process scrap and fluid efficiently Brinkhaus in Hanover, Germany. and maximize returns. They’re also designed This year marks the release of the for mobility as your process changes. PRAB tenth version of ToolScope. engineering designs every system to meet your 5ME of Cincinnati, Ohio has a webspecific application. And they’re backed by our based machine monitoring solution industry exclusive Performantee®. called Freedom eLOG. “We can extract data from any industrial asset, and through a series of insightful web-based reports, take that data and provide a visualization to customers such that they can understand exactly what’s happening on the plant floor with volUmE FlUid scRAP loAd All-in-onE their machines,” explains Pete Tecos, REdUcTion REcYclinG TRAnsFER oUT executive VP marketing and product strategy, 5ME. “It’s a way to identify bottle-necks. Drill into root cause issues and use that information to streamline their operations.”

Freedom eLOG can interface Contact us at sales@prab.com with any machine tool on a shop 1.800.968.7722 | prab.com floor. Tecos says Freedom eLOG can result in productivity gains in www.canadianmetalworking.com

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it was an expensive and not very effective process. Companies tried spraying tools externally or submerging the workpiece in liquid nitrogen. Neither method worked well.

5ME figured out a way to deliver liquid nitrogen in vacuum jacketed feed lines through a machine, through the spindle or turret, then inside the tool body, right to the cutting edge. When the liquid nitrogen reaches the latter, it evaporates and the cutting edge is chilled to a brisk -321°F (-196.11°C). This counteracts the heat generated in metalworking applications and allows the tool to be used beyond normal parameters.

5ME call this process, simply, 5ME cryogenic machining.

Productivity gains with 5ME cryogenic machining “depend on the material types and the processes. We’ve seen improvements in throughput up to five times—so five times faster…[cryogenic machining] works very well for the types of materials and machining processes that you would find in the oil and gas industry, aerospace or automotive,” says Tecos.

5ME literature says cryogenic machining on compacted graphite iron (GCI) can result in a five-fold increase in finishing cutting speeds.

Cryogenic machining can also produce a twofold increase for semi-finish cuts on titanium.

Tool life can be increased up to 10 times and there’s less wear on the cutting edge.

Not only that, 5ME cryogenic machining is “a very safe technology” that’s environmentally friendly, continues Tecos. Nitrogen is a non-greenhouse gas that isn’t flammable.

Using liquid nitrogen means there’s no coolant to dispose of.

“IF THE TEMPERATURE IN THE SHOP IS VERY COOL IN THE MORNING AND EXTREMELY HOT IN THE AFTERNOON, THEN MACHINE AND PART ACCURACIES WILL SUFFER… CAUSING THE OPERATOR TO CHASE DIMENSIONS AS CONDITIONS CHANGE” For all these high-tech strides, there are also some decidedly “low-tech” methods of achieving greater machine tool productivity.

“The placement of machines into areas or ‘cells’ within the plant can definitely help increase productivity,” says Michael Cope, product technical specialist at Hurco, in Indianapolis, Indiana. “For example, if a shop often runs multiple operations of the same part on several different machines— such as turning the first operation on a lathe, then completing the milling operations 38 | NOVEMBER 2014

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on a mill—having those machines located close together will allow one operator to easily move the parts from one machine to the next, as the parts are finished in each operation … thereby reducing the time it takes for completing all necessary operations.”

“FREQUENT HEAT AND COLD OR DRAFT CONDITIONS CAN ADVERSELY AFFECT PRODUCTION BY CAUSING MACHINE THERMAL MIGRATIONS TO BECOME ERRATIC” “Fluctuating temperature can also be a huge problem,” adds Cope. “For example, if the temperature in the shop is very cool in the morning and extremely hot in the afternoon, then machine and part accuracies will suffer…causing the operator to chase dimensions as conditions change. However, if the environmental temperature around the machine is controlled and steady the accuracy of the machines and parts will also stabilize, making it much easier for the operator to manage tolerances and make it easier for that operator to multi-task. If he or she spends all of his or her time chasing dimensions, that isn’t very productive.”

“Yes, frequent heat and cold or draft conditions can adversely affect production by causing machine thermal migrations to become erratic and unpredictable which in turn will affect the operators’ ability to maintain a consistent size in production leading to more frequent offset changes and the possibility of producing [scrap] depending on the tolerance required,” echoes Tom Sheehy, manager of applications engineering for Hardinge based in Elmira, New York.

“Moisture can produce rust conditions on the machine tool and on the finished components being produced leading to rework or increased scrap.”

Sheehy and Cope both cite a list of obvious—but sometimes neglected—steps that should be on any machinist’s check-list.

These include checking the spindle chiller, doing warm-up procedures on the spindle and axis, inspecting fluid levels, etc.

In other words, as impressive as high-tech solutions can be at identifying hard to see areas for manufacturing improvement, it doesn’t hurt to regularly kick the tires and check under the hood of your machine tool, so to speak, if you want to ensure maximum productivity. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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Improving productivity in cutting tools

BY NATE HENDLEY

“A

nybody can produce a cutting tool. But there are many secrets to making it work at optimum performance,” notes Cullen Morrison, business development manager of threading at KOMET of America, headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois.

A wise observation, indeed.

Here are some of those secrets, revealed through interviews with industry experts:

IF SPEED IS THE SINGLE BIGGEST FACTOR IMPACTING CUTTING TOOL LIFE, IS THERE A SINGLE BIGGEST FACTOR IMPACTING TOOL PRODUCTIVITY? WOULD IT BE SPEED, FEED OR SOMETHING ELSE? “I wouldn’t really say it’s one main thing. It’s 40 | NOVEMBER 2014

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kind of a combination of different things.

The overall performance of your cutting tool depends on speed, feed and depth of cut and also the material you machine. Those would be the main factors in my opinion,” says Steve Geisel, senior product manager, Iscar Tools in Oakville, Ontario.

“Speed, feed and depth of cut. They’re all related in how the parameters of cutting tools work, but the biggest factor impacting productivity to me is the tool path itself—the programming. [There’s new CAM technology] where even using the same tool you can dramatically improve your productivity by changing your cutter path and choosing new strategies,” says Daniel Kennedy, who works for Walter Canada, a branch of Walter USA, headquartered in Waukesha, Wisconsin. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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AS A GENERAL RULE-OF-THUMB, IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET LONG TOOL LIFE AND HIGH PRODUCTIVITY FROM THE SAME CUTTING TOOL? “If the tool is properly designed for the job, then yes this is possible. Often we find shops using tools designed for another purpose and they usually will not be able to achieve long tool life and productivity relative to a specialty tool,” says Morrison.

“The answer is, ‘it depends.’ It depends on the machine type, torque curve of the spindle and type of fixturing to name a few things. But if the capability is there, increasing the feedrate and/or speed can sometimes increase both tool life and productivity,” says Scott Etling, director of global product management in indexable milling at Kennametal in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

WHAT ROLE DOES THE SHAPE OF THE INSERT PLAY IN TERMS OF CUTTING TOOL PRODUCTIVITY? “Basically, the shape of the insert that people are going to use is really dependent on the type of workpiece they are trying to machine.

So can it play a factor? Yes, it definitely can.

When you talk about turning, sure you can still use high speed turning tools that can www.canadianmetalworking.com

09CMW-CuttingTool.indd 41

drastically reduce machining time. But then again, you can only use those tools if the workpiece you’re machining allows it. You can’t just apply any type of cutting tool to any type of workpiece and think, ‘Oh, I’m going to get awesome productivity!’” says Geisel.

“This is one of the key factors for any machining process. The shape of the chip formed is critical for evacuation from any machining process, but you also have to account for how the tool engages the material.

For example, in cast iron materials we can approach the part with a neutral or even negative rake angle which creates a very strong cutting edge but a poor shearing action.

However the properties of cast iron cause it to break into a powdery chip when machined so a shearing action is not really needed. With materials like stainless steel a positive cutting angle is usually needed to get the chip to form and break without creating too much heat and work hardening the part. The shape of the insert including topography of the cutting edge and chip breaker as well the coating and substrate material all have key roles in chip formation and evacuation,” says Morrison.

“We always recommend going with the strongest geometry. If you look at ISO standards, the round insert is going to be your strongest geometry by the nature of its shape,” says Chad Miller, product manager for turning and advanced materials at Seco Tools in Troy, Michigan.

ARE THERE ANY COMMON MISTAKES MACHINISTS MAKE THAT ARE DETRIMENTAL TO PRODUCTIVITY? “Yes. They choose the wrong insert for the type of machining they want to do. You have to understand, when you’re machining, you’ve got to select the proper cutting tool. If you don’t, you’re [not] only sacrificing productivity, you’re sacrificing tool life and could be sacrificing part quality,” says Geisel.

“Not using their spindle to its full potential.

It’s a common one that I walk into. I’ll use turning as an example: when in a roughing operation, there are people out there who won’t use all the horsepower (hp) they have available.

If you’re not roughing close to your peak hp, my first question is ‘Why not?’…when you’re using every single hp you have and you can’t push that tool any farther, you change your [insert] shape. Now you can affect the amount of power that the tool draws to increase productivity yet again,” says Kennedy.

“On the first signs of premature wear—chatter or chipping—many machinists will turn NOVEMBER 2014 | 41

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down the override controlling the feedrate.

Depending on the situation, most times it is better to increase the feedrate,” says Etling.

“Under utilizing the tools. Our tools are designed to run as fast and productive as possible. If they are not used that way, they might not generate enough heat at the cutting edge for the coating to work properly, causing a built up edge and/or changing how the chip is formed. For example, feeding a drill too slow in carbon steel will result in a long stringy chip that the flute design of a high performance carbide twist drill is not designed to handle. By increasing the feedrate and cutting speed to the parameters the drill was designed to run, usually good chip formation and evacuation happens…this is also commonly seen with taps. Out of fear, a lot of shops run them too slowly causing the chips to not form correctly,” says Morrison.

ARE THERE ANY CUTTING OR MACHINING TECHNIQUES THAT ARE GREAT FOR ENSURING HIGH PRODUCTIVITY BUT DESTRUCTIVE FOR CUTTING TOOLS AND INSERTS? “Probably not one particular technique applies. But in general, too much speed and/ or too much feed is detrimental to tool life but good for productivity,” says Morrison.

“One example would be placement of the milling cutter on the workpiece—thinking that using the entire diameter of the milling cutter would improve productivity. What can go wrong is the entry angle of the insert entering the workpiece can be at the weakest point of the inserts/cutter pocket combination. Sometimes it is best to move the center-

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line of the cutter body off of the workpiece in order to lead the insert into the workpiece with less entry force,” adds Etling.

DOES DIRECT CONSISTENT COOLING USUALLY EQUAL HIGH PRODUCTIVITY? “Generally, I’ll go with ‘yes’ on that. Again, it’s application specific. I mean, you wouldn’t cut stainless steel dry. At the same time I wouldn’t advise running coolant on an indexable milling cutter in steel … but as a general rule of thumb, I would say direct, consistent cooling does improve your productivity,” says Kennedy.

“In milling steel, cast and some stainless steels we always recommend cutting dry.

However, the addition of coolant in these areas can help chip evacuation and surface finish so it is sometimes more productive to use coolant. In heat resistant super alloys and aluminum, coolant is a must,” says Brian MacNeil, milling products and applications specialist at Sandvik Canada in Mississauga, Ontario.

“Productivity is directly related to coolant pressure. For example, if you have a low pressure system, you are definitely not going to be as productive as somebody that’s got a 1,000 psi coolant pump. With higher pressure in the coolant, you’re cooling the chip faster, lubricating the cut better and reducing the amount of heat generated in the cut. There’s so much volume and so much pressure going through the heat being generated, it will cool much more rapidly. Because of that, you can technically run a much faster spindle speed or increased speed rate or a better depth of cut. Because you’re cooling it so drastically,

www.canadianmetalworking.com

14-11-05 11:58 AM

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you can increase your parameters and get the part done quicker,” says Geisel.

“Select the proper coolant for the application you’re doing. The coolant you’re going to use on a lathe is not the same coolant you’re going to use on a mill. They have completely different properties. Make sure you’re using the proper coolant for the type of machining you’re doing. If you’re doing a lot of tapping on your machine then obviously you’re going to have additives inside the coolant that will facilitate better performance for tapping. If

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IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, DO MACHINISTS CARE MORE ABOUT TOOL LIFE THAN CUTTING TOOL PRODUCTIVITY? “Yes, up until we come in and show them what productivity they are capable of … our rule of thumb is, your tooling costs should be five per cent of your input costs…when you’re concerned about that five per cent at the expense of the other 95 per cent, the focus needs to shift. Yes, the cost of tooling does need to be a consideration, but it shouldn’t be the main consideration. The main consideration should be how much productivity you can get out of that tool before you need to replace it,” says Kennedy.

“Depends on what type of industry.

If you go into automotive, it’s high volume, with lots of deadlines—‘We’ve got to get ‘x’ number of parts through the door each day.’ They’re really concerned about productivity. You see them running inserts a bit faster in both speed and feed than typically what’s recommended…just because they are more concerned about productivity. Now, on the flipside of that, go into aerospace. Say they’re machining a jet engine component.

Productivity is important to them but not nearly as important as the quality of that component. So we see them running parameters that are a bit more conservative, so they get longer tool life. The reason being, they want to make sure that insert completes the part. When machining jet engine components, they can’t have an insert break,” says Miller.

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you’re doing hole-making, you’re going to have different properties in that type of coolant that will provide you with better performance for drilling and reaming,” he continues.

“For one of my customers, we did almost a full conversion in their shop.

Initially, their tool spends went up for the first couple months, but after they had been up and running for six months, they were putting 50 per cent more product out the door, for about 10 per cent more tool expenditure per month. The tooling was more expensive, but they were putting out that much more product. It was making them money,” says Kennedy. www.canadianmetalworking.com

14-11-05 11:59 AM

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BUSINESS PROFILE: MACHINING

ABIPA CANADA, LAVAL, QUEBEC Company streamlines operation with automated 5-axis machining cell COURTESY OF MAKINO

B

ecoming a world-class supplier for today’s leading aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) requires a steadfast determination to remain focused on the future. Abipa Canada Inc. of Laval, Quebec, is always looking forward as it continually strives to improve its processes.

Abipa recently streamlined its operation with a new automated 5-axis machining cell it purchased to adapt to industry pricing realities and customer expectations for a low-cost content strategy. It is now able to produce parts at a ratio of at least 3-to-1 compared to previous processes, without adding labour.

“We are continuously looking to improve our processes and to be better than we were yesterday, and this means seizing opportunities to become more competitive,” says Rui Cabral, general manager at Abipa. “What matters most to us is developing new innovations that add value to our customers, shareholders and the aerospace industry as a whole.”

While this successful integration has helped Abipa stand today as a leading Tier 2 supplier of small to midsized aircraft engine and structural components for the likes of Bombardier Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney Canada, the path to its success was paved with several difficult learning experiences.

Following the recession of 2009, although Abipa was recognized for its quality and agility performance, it found itself frequently ranking as one of the pricier suppliers in its bidding efforts. It was this eye-opening experience that led Abipa to reevaluate its manufacturing processes with a forward-looking mentality.

46 | NOVEMBER 2014

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“When we took a close look at the situation, we realized that low machine run-time ratio due to multiple setup operations was the single biggest differentiating factor in our cost equation,” says Cabral. “Similar to the local suppliers, our shop floor was composed of stand-alone machining centers with an operator stationed at each machine.”

While the answer to improving Abipa’s competitiveness was clear, its leadership team did not take the investment decision lightly. Driven by a thorough strategic plan process, they defined a clear mission and vision, and identified the core activities for development. The company determined that in order to become truly cost competitive, the right automated 5-axis machining solution would have to produce parts at a ratio of at least 2-to-1 compared to previous processes, without adding labour. Additionally, the technology needed to be modular in order to aggressively expand and pursue further cost reductions in the future.

www.canadianmetalworking.com

14-11-05 12:04 PM

BUSINESS PROFILE: MACHINING Abipa made its move into automation with the purchase of a Makino robotic fixture plate distribution system, known as MMC-R, equipped with 20 fixture plates and an a61nx-5E 5-axis horizontal machining center. The success of this automated 5-axis machining cell quickly created enthusiasm and interest among the staff at Abipa, who aptly named the cell’s robot “Shorai,” which translates to “the future” in Japanese.

“Looking back now, it’s odd to think that we were concerned about finding a solution that would meet our 2-to-1 production ratio requirement,” states Éric Deconninck, director of production. “It hasn’t even been a full year since the cell’s installation, and we are already exceeding those expectations without fully optimizing all of our processes to take advantage of the a61nx-5E’s full capabilities. Based on the current performance of this automated 5-axis machining cell, we are now looking to gain the same level of productivity as three of our previous machines, without the need for additional manpower.”

Despite its current size and market position, Abipa has spent much of its history as a small single-ownership company. Founded in 1982, the company got its start as a sheet-metal fabricator. In the 1990s, it performed assembly, welding and low-volume part production for the aerospace market. This expansion continued over the next decade, and by 2004, Abipa was growing by 20 per cent year over year as orders from Pratt & Whitney Canada and Bombardier Aerospace grew. At this point, the company began investing in milling and turning machines to help boost production capacity, and in 2006 the shop expanded to double its original floor space.

PROVING OUT THE PROCESS “Justifying the cost of automation was critical,” says Cabral. “We needed to demonstrate that an automated 5-axis machining cell would help us save jobs by becoming more competitive, not eliminate them. It was important for us to share how we could maintain current employment and allow workers to become better trained and more tech savvy—potentially advancing their careers from operators to programmers or inspectors.”

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The first priority for Abipa was to search for an automation and machine tool supplier, which was carried forward with a focus on finding the right technology and the best value proposition in order to ensure that the best solution was identified. The company weighed several machine characteristics, including cutting speed, rigidity and tool capacity, to meet its 2-to-1 production ratio benchmark. Several members of Abipa’s leadership team had prior experience working with Makino’s larger MAG-series machines for structural aerospace components. Through this experience, they knew that the company and its regional dealership, Single Source Technologies–Canada (SST– Canada), offered deep knowledge and experience in aerospace applications.

“WE NEEDED TO DEMONSTRATE THAT AN AUTOMATED 5-AXIS MACHINING CELL WOULD HELP US SAVE JOBS BY BECOMING MORE COMPETITIVE, NOT ELIMINATE THEM. IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR US TO SHARE HOW WE COULD MAINTAIN CURRENT EMPLOYMENT AND ALLOW WORKERS TO BECOME BETTER TRAINED AND MORE TECH SAVVY...”

“From application engineering support to the build quality of the machines themselves, it’s clear that Makino and SST–Canada have a deep understanding of this market,” says Nicolas Girard, director of methods and technologies, Abipa. “When we first saw the a61nx-5E, it reminded us of a smaller version of the MAG-series machines, offering exceptional levels of material removal and productivity. Additionally, the MMC-R system offered the flexibility we needed in a small enough footprint that could work within our available floor space.”

Cabral and his colleagues evaluated the productivity of their current technologies. Through their analysis, they found that approximately one-third of all available pro-

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BUSINESS PROFILE: MACHINING duction hours were currently being consumed by setup and maintenance processes. At 5,760 production hours per year, this meant that Abipa was achieving just 3,745 hours of available machining time.

“Based on test results coming in from Mason, Ohio, we calculated that the setup and maintenance hours for a stand-alone a61nx-5E were roughly equivalent to that of our current technologies; however, the machine’s cutting performance was capable of increasing productivity by 80 per cent—the equivalent of 5,949 production hours on our current equipment,” says Deconninck. “These production figures grew exponentially when factoring in the impact of the MMC-R system. By eliminating setup hours and increasing spindle utilization to 95 per cent, the productivity gains of the a61nx-5E were extended, reaching what would be the equivalent of 9,850 machining hours on our existing systems.”

Abipa also took note of several new capabilities afforded by the automated 5-axis machining cell, including lights-out production scheduling and a larger machine work envelope that would enable the company to expand the work envelope and consequently offer larger part sizes to the market.

“There were many tangible and intangible considerations that went into building our case for 5-axis machine automation,” says Cabral. “The justification covered every detail, evaluating actual cutting performance, return on investment, customer service, applications support and anticipated business growth. The Makino cell fulfilled each and every aspect without question, and our senior management team agreed to move forward with the plan immediately.”

PUTTING THE PLAN INTO ACTION

headquarters to prove out performance expectations on the three parts designated by both parties.

The automated 5-axis machining cell was installed in September 2013, and within weeks the company was loading orders into the cell and producing parts in a fraction of its previous processing times.

“The performance of the a61nx-5E has not only met but exceeded expectations on several occasions,” says Deconninck. “Depending on the part design and material, we’ve seen productivity increases ranging anywhere from 85 per cent to 525 per cent. Production ratios are up to 3-to-1, and the more material that needs to be removed, the more productive we are. For example, the cycle time for one of our smaller parts dropped from 58 minutes to 26 minutes; meanwhile, the cycle time for one of our larger, more complex parts was reduced from 300 minutes to just 48 minutes.”

According to Cabral, current performance enhancements are scratching only the surface of the a61nx-5E’s full potential. Today, Abipa is working to perform tap testing on each part program in order to optimize cutting processes based on the a61nx-5E’s capabilities. Equipped with Makino’s unique 107-horsepower, 24,000-rpm spindle, the company expects to see significant performance gains from the a61nx-5E that go beyond initial expectations. “Of the parts currently undergoing tap testing, we’ve been able to double and even triple feedrates to achieve higher material-removal rates. In one application, average material-removal rates increased four times. The biggest contribution to this growth was during the roughing process, where rates increased up to 20 times,” says Girard.

Other process optimization activities in development at Abipa include setup alterations to support reductions

Working closely with Makino and SST–Canada application engineers, Abipa’s manufacturing team began to develop an implementation plan including not only the installation of the equipment but also design and fabrication of the modular fixturing, tool holders, cutters, probing routines, presetter integration and the development of CNC programs for three parts that would represent the various parts targeted for the machine that would also serve as acceptance tests. The MMC-R cell with a61nx-5E was assembled at Makino’s Mason, Ohio, 48 | NOVEMBER 2014

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www.canadianmetalworking.com

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BUSINESS PROFILE: MACHINING in out-of-cut time. The company is evaluating how it can better use the larger work zone in a way that is unique for small to midsize components.

“One of the unique capabilities that we have is our ability to apply prior experiences and methodologies from experience with the MAG-series machines to the production of smaller parts,” says Girard. “With our previous equipment, it was difficult for us to produce hole features with tight tolerances for circular interpolation.

These features required us to use a honing machine or boring head, which led to additional setups, teardowns and transfers between equipment. With the a61nx-5E, we are now able to machine-bore features complete using 180-degree indexing. Diameters are held within plus or minus 0.0006 inches with matching alignment within plus or minus 0.0002 inches.”

STANDARDIZING AND SIMPLIFYING SETUP PROCEDURES While Abipa currently has 85 parts programmed into the MMC-R cell, it expects to grow that number to 500 different parts in the future. In 2014 alone, the company is anticipating 100 new aluminum part orders—most of which are to be added to the cell’s production queue.

“By choosing to go with the optional 218-tool capacity magazine for the a61nx-5E, we’ve gained a higher degree of production flexibility,” says Girard. “This expanded capacity not only allows for a wider selection of on-board tooling but also affords space for redundancy to keep the cell running unattended longer. We’re also actively developing a standardized approach to tooling and fixturing for quicker, easier setup routines.”

Girard and other team members are currently engineering new processes to simplify operators’ procedures when running the cell, making the technology easily accessible for operators at any skill level. This approach is particularly helpful in growing operators’ versatility.

The company has established several fail-safe processes using a sophisticated probing routine within the machine to read what fixture, part number and fixtured part quantity have been loaded for processing.

“When humans are involved at any point in a production process, errors or incidents can and will happen regardless of operator skill level,” explains Deconninck. “The addition of these fail-safe probing routines ensures that no 50 | NOVEMBER 2014

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matter how the machine can read and react appropriately to the job at hand. Even if a billet is accidentally fixture incorrectly, the machine will stop and move on to the next pallet. It’s a highly intuitive process that is just one of the many ways that we are continuing to innovate and improve.”

BUILDING ADDITIONAL VALUE Despite the overwhelmingly successful integration of its new automated 5-axis machining cell, Abipa continues to look toward the future. With the MMC-R’s modular expansion capabilities, the company intends to add more machines and pallets to the system as it transfers parts to the cell and adds new orders. For phase 2 of Abipa’s automation plans, the company is expecting to add a second a61nx-5E to the cell that is designed to handle harder materials such as steel and titanium. A third and fourth machine are also in the plans to complete the cell as part of a phase 3 expansion.

“For every two a61nx-5E machines placed in the cell, we expect to gain productivity equivalent to at least five of our previous machines,” says Cabral. “By the time that phase 3 is completed, the cell will have provided us the productivity of more than 10 machines. Our customers have already begun to recognize the changes and advancements that we are making, and they see us as a viable, cost-effective solution and very competitive alternative to outsourcing their production to other countries.”

With a growing volume and variety of part orders, Abipa looks forward to taking full advantage of the production scheduling and reporting capabilities of the MMC-R’s MAS-A5 control software. Cabral and other managers intend to use the software’s functionality to improve production workflow and optimize the shop’s

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BUSINESS PROFILE: MACHINING inventory for further price reductions.

The company also plans to eventually replace much of its previous technologies to further cut HELPFUL INSIGHTS down on part FROM ABIPA CANADA costs and create For manufacturers who are lookadditional floor ing to make their first move into space for more automation, I want to reinforce the automation. importance of proper preparation.

Push yourselves to do as much research and planning in advance before the equipment is delivered.

Every company possesses a different degree of tech savviness and engineering capabilities, but don’t underestimate successful implementation of automation and the learning curve of the manufacturing team. In our case, we worked closely with Makino for many months to plan out our goals, objectives and necessary steps to get there. They provided us with a dedicated project manager to help ensure that no detail was overlooked and every milestone was achieved on time.

Having the support of an experienced supplier can make a big difference in the pursuit of automation. There’s much more to the process than simply placing a robot on your floor to load and unload parts. Every step of the production process has to be finetuned to guarantee reliability and optimal performance, from robotic interfaces to fixture design and programming adjustments. Most importantly, you should be sure to select a supplier that you know will support you even after the installation is complete. We still look to Makino for support today, and our production processes are improving continuously as a result.

Successful automation is all about preparation, and the supplier that you select can have a dynamic impact on how well you plan ahead.

“Every day we are looking for opportunities to become more cost competitive and provide value that our customers can’t get elsewhere,” says Cabral. “We’re working to maintain and grow our reputation as a world-class Tier 2 supplier for aerospace OEMs, Tier 1 integrators and equipment manufacturers through continuous innovation. So while we are excited to share all of our recent accomplishments in 5-axis machining and automation, our ambitions will never be satisfied by the accomplishments of today.”

— Rui Cabral, general manager, Abipa

www.canadianmetalworking.com

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BURLOAK TECHNOLOGIES, DUNDAS, ONTARIO Canada’s first advanced manufacturing facility anticipates a wave of innovation thanks to 3D metal printing technology.

BY DOUG PICKLYK

T

he smell of fresh paint still lingers in the air of the shop floor at Burloak Technologies where space has been prepared for Canada’s first additive and automated machining production facility—bringing 3D metal printing together with subtractive technologies for a full service state-of-the-art offering. It’s a move the company’s management team believes will jump start the next generation of advanced metalworking manufacturing in this country and lead to the return of innovative highvalue part production to North America.

Set up in Dundas, Ontario, this past August Burloak unveiled phase one of its $11.5 million five-year strategic plan to establish its advanced manufacturing centre. To date the company has spent $2.5 million equipping its new plant with an EOS M 290 production direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) 3D printing system and a selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printer for plastic parts, as well as a complement of automated Matsuura CNC machining systems including five-axis and three-axis milling machines, a four-axis turning machine and a Zeiss CMM system.

Peter Adams originally founded Burloak in 2005 as a supply chain management specialist for large industrial companies seeking to optimize their manufacturing processes.

A mechanical engineer, Adams spent years in management positions within large-scale organizations working on the machining and assembly side of manufacturing. In his experience he witnessed a disconnect between engineering design and the shop floor, especially when part manufac-

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turing was moved from one shop to another or taken offshore. The supply chain was broken, and where executives expected cost savings they discovered a lack of planning and oversight, which ultimately led to poor results.

Adams formed Burloak to provide engineering expertise, quality control and ensure the optimized production of high performance components for these large players.

“We took a very different approach to supply chain and have been very successful at managing and taking very complex products overseas, or sourcing locally, and delivering great results,” says Adams.

In the eyes of its customers Burloak was effectively a virtual manufacturer, taking ownership of the parts being manufactured, right down to onsite quality inspection at offshore sites. “When you’re sourcing low volume, highly complex projects you only have one chance to get it right,” says Adams.

Having established itself as a reliable supply chain specialist in metalworking manufacturing, Burloak began investigating its next steps. Three years ago Jim Glover joined the company. A long-time friend of Adams, Glover is an engineer who had had spent the last decade involved in venture capital. Glover looked at Burloak’s existing suppy chain business and the emergence of production-quality additive technology in the metalworking industry, and he saw all that was missing was a supply chain providing the 3D printing capability.

“And we didn’t see that supply chain happening in China,” says Glover, “we saw it here.”

Small companies similar to Burloak in the U.S. and the U.K. were already sprouting up and offering these supwww.canadianmetalworking.com

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BUSINESS PROFILE: MACHINING

Line-up of the company’s newly-installed Matsuura CNC machine tools.

ply chain solutions to customers. “We decided this is the sweet spot to go for,” he says, and it became not a matter of if, but when. So in late 2013 Adams and Glover developed their business plan, raised some private equity, and began the process.

Today Burloak Technologies Inc. is comprised of two wholly-owned subsidiaries, Burloak Advanced Manufacturing (the new production facility) and Burloak Engineered Solutions (the supply chain specialists).

This past July the company moved from Burlington to its new building in Dundas, just outside of Hamilton, to set up its manufacturing plant.

The timing of the launch required confidence in the maturity of the DMLS technology and the necessary demand for the products it can produce.

Jim Glover, CEO (left) and Peter Adams, COO of Burloak Technologies Inc., Canada’s first production metal 3D printing shop.

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“The defining moment for us was seeing what GE had accomplished,” says Adams, referring to GE Aviation’s upcoming LEAP engine program that incorporates 3D-printed fuel nozzles. “When a company like GE is putting the parts in aircraft engines, you’re sure it’s a mature technology.”

According to Glover, what really attracted them to the DMLS technology was the complexity that could be built into the parts. And he knew they needed to get involved early to gain that hands-on knowledge. “If we didn’t make the move now, we’d risk being further back in that wave.”

“The great thing I see is that outsourcing to China is likely to dry up because of this technology,” says Adams.

“You’re not going to bring the widgets back to North America. Instead we’re going to be creating high-tech components here.

“Today people design to the constraints of the regular machine shop, but as this technology matures and becomes more widely accepted you’re going to see the very nature of the designs change. And when they do, you’re going to be looking at very complex lightweight components.

“If customers are able to print their high-value products close to the source in no time at all, why would they go offshore. And for designers creating highly complex products, it’s advantageous to keep the manufacturing close to protect their intellectual property.”

As for generating the demand, Glover admits that’s a critical piece, which he describes as a chicken and egg situation. “The designers won’t design a product into something if there is no supply chain, and the supply chain won’t be created if there is no load for it. We see ourselves as the first on the block, and we’re talking to a lot of companies that want to design their products in.”

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BUSINESS PROFILE: MACHINING Both Adams and Glover note that the aerospace and energy sectors are acutely aware of the technology and the medical market has huge growth potential. They also see huge opportunity locally in the mold and die industry, specifically 3D metal printing of molds with conformal cooling inside—functionality that gives mold makers a strong competitive advantage.

“Mass customization is what it’s good for, low volume with options,” says Adams. “If the product is complex, high value and very difficult to manufacture, then it’s a good candidate for going to production on an additive machine.”

In setting up their production facility they knew there couldn’t just be a 3D metal printer, or plastics printer.

“We needed to offer a full suite of services: the machining capability, the CMM and the post processing to be a true advanced manufacturing centre,” says Glover.

“What we’re uncertain of right now is how those things play off each other,” admits Glover. “How much business is the metal 3D printer going to drive on the subtractive (machining) side, and vice versa.” It is likely that work from the supply chain side of Burloak’s business that was previously being sourced offshore will be repatriated and placed on its new CNC machines.

Overall, as some of the equipment is still being unwrapped and set up for production both Adams and Glover are brimming with confidence. Their new Dundas location was a strategic decision. “When a customer puts their manufacturing load on you, they want to know you have the capacity and capability to scale. That’s part of the reason for moving here,” notes Glover. Their space now occupies 10,000 sq. ft., with an adjacent building allowing for easy expansion of another 6,000 sq. ft., and when necessary another 12,000+ sq. ft. beside that, all under one roof.

Dundas is also located down the road from Mohawk College, where there are EOS machines installed (Burloak is in talks of setting up a co-op program with the school) and also McMaster University is nearby. The company currently employs nine people, but Adams suspects that number will be up to 15 by early 2015 and at 22 by next summer.

Being first to the Canadian market as a 3D metal printing production facility is something the partners expect will be short lived. “It’s a growing market and by next year we expect to have competition. In the U.S. there are some successful operations that have done what we’re doing, and the good problem for us is that most of those are already at capacity and waiting for new machines, and/or they have been acquired by other companies,” smiles Glover.

The barrier to entry in this market is the significant investment in high-end equipment that is required. And the real advantage for Burloak is their plan to automate their operation to the utmost.

“That’s the beauty of the way we’re setting up this facility,” says Adams. “Even the subtractive machines we’re installing are highly automated, so we’re going to run one-offs as efficiently as some companies will run 50.”

Burloak has partnered with Elliott Matsuura Canada for its CNC technologies. “There are a lot of good quality CNC machines out there, but when we put it all together, Elliott just stood out,” notes Adams. “They’ve got such depth in what they could offer, both now and as we grow, especially with all of the automation we are planning.”

Part of the efficiency will come from a common pallet system that will be able to move parts from machine to machine with basically zero set-up time. “The reference tooling system from 3R was all Elloitt Matsuura Canada’s idea,” says Adams. “And the beauty of this is, as our manufacturing load grows and we start running lights-out production, Elliott will supply robotic loading systems that will manage the process, actually taking pallets in and out of the machines.”

It’s this next level of advanced manufacturing automation combined with intelligent 3D printing that Burloak believes will set it apart and position it well for the next wave of part design innovation.

“Having watched the decline of manufacturing in Western countries, I think this is a brilliant opportunity for us to step up and take the lead in that market again.

That’s what excites me,” says Adams.

The company’s climatecontrolled CMM room with new Zeiss Contura G2.

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www.canadianmetalworking.com

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TOOL TALK

OKUMA TO HOST “MAKE THE LEAP” TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE The event will take place on December 9-10, 2014 in Charlotte, N.C. On December 9-10, 2014, Okuma America Corporation will host its Technology Showcase event.

The theme of this year’s event is “Make the Leap” and will include demonstrations of simple technology upgrades that enable users to quickly jump ahead of their competition and enhance the productivity of their CNC machines and operators, thus improving overall profitability.

In order to demonstrate productivity enhancements, Okuma will be showcasing side-by-side technologies, basic versus advanced machine functionalities. This way it will be easy for attendees to see the benefits gained by “leaping” into higher technology.

Each side-by-side demonstration will show attendees how they can use advanced CNC machine technology to create competitive advantage in their marketplace.

Some examples of Okuma’s demonstrations include:

Okuma’s MA-12500H

2-axis vs. 4-axis Lathes – side-by-side cutting demonstration of Okuma’s LB EX-II and LU EX lathes show how a 4-axis CNC lathe can easily combine operations to reduce cutting time, improve quality, enhance flexibility and increase throughput • VMC vs. HMC – learn how a horizontal machining center can increase overall throughput, improve quality and reduce labor, WIP and floor space, all without significantly increasing capital budget • The Okuma App Store—find out how machine tool apps can significantly impact the effectiveness and efficiency of machine tools—there’s an app for that The demonstrations are relevant to attendees from a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, automotive, construction/farming (heavy equipment), die/mold, firearms/munitions, medical, oil/energy, and general job shops.

•

SECO EXPANDS AND SIMPLIFIES SMG CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM Continuously developing new ways for its metalworking customers to maximize productivity and profitability Seco recently released a new version of its workpiece material classification system (SMG) that makes it even easier to understand the complicated interactions between cutting tools and workpiece materials during milling, turning and holemaking operations.

With the improved SMG v2, Seco provides new data as well as simplifies the way in which it organizes the content so that more customers use the classification system as a basis for maximized metalcutting opera56 | NOVEMBER 2014

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tions and productivity gains.

The company widened its range of workpiece material classifications for steels, cast irons, non-ferrous materials, super alloys, titanium, plastics, composites and more.

The colour-coordinated groups within the classification system indicate the ISO category for each material type, while a comprehensive cross-reference list indicates where a material may appear in different SMG groups based on how it is processed.

More than 15 CNC machines will be running demonstrations, many of which debuted at IMTS 2014, allowing another chance to see these machine tools in person. Machines on display include: • MA-12500H horizontal machining center – debuted at IMTS 2014 • MU-10000H 5-axis horizontal machining center – Okuma’s largest 5-axis machine • MULTUS U Series – Okuma’s newest multitasking CNC machines • Okuma’s “Affordable Excellence” products – GENOS CNC lathes and machining centers, LB3000 EX-II and MB-5000H machining centers – functionality at an affordable price On Tuesday, December 9 attendees will enjoy a dinner at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte.

For more information and to register for this event, visit www.okuma. com/events/maketheleap.

Furthermore, each SMG category includes details on a reference material that users can review in order to determine if the cutting data should be adapted for their specific application.

The SMG v2 makes identifying the most appropriate cutting tools and cutting parameters for a particular workpiece material quick and simple by presenting all relevant data in a concise, logical manner.

The company categorizes workpiece materials by type, capabilities and characteristics. A simplified cutting-data chart format now runs common across all Seco product catalogs. Plus, a new data display format makes charts applicable to all tool types and includes cutting tool recommendations. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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Here's a great idea for:

High-speed reaming DIHART REAMAX®® TS Modular precision reaming system

TOOL TALK

DMG MORI HOSTING GRAND OPENING IN MISSISSAUGA The event dates run November 18-21, 2014 DMG MORI is inviting guests to visit its new Mississauga facility for its grand opening. The DMG MORI Tech Centre will be open to the public from November 18 to the 21. Attendees will get to experience a wide range of DMG MORI products and services.

There will be 12 high-tech machine tools live in operation at the approximately 1,600 sq. ft. Technology Centre. Guests will also experience the Canadian premiere of seven machines as well as five machine tools in the new DMG MORI design.

Here is what you can expect to see at the grand opening event:

TURN & MILL COMPLETE MACHINING CENTRES

The idea: Incorporating micro-adjustable reaming heads and holders into a Plug'n Ream tool system.

CTX beta 800 TC— A Canadian Premiere • New DMG MORI Design and CELOS • Workpieces up to ø 500 mm and with a turning length of 800 mm can be machined by the new compactMASTER turn-mill spindle NT 4250DCG/1500SZ—A Canadian Premiere • Highly productive 6-sided complete machining due to the main and counter spindle + second tool carrier as lower turret with BMT technology for live tools

Why it's great: • Expandable head compensates for wear.

• Built in run-out adjustment with DAH Zero arbor.

• Head can be changed within the machine in seconds.

• Plug'n Ream system with DAH, ABS® or straight shank holders.

Learn more about this and other great ideas.

Go to www.komet.com/greatideas or scan this QR code.

www.komet.com 905-551-1743

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www.canadianmetalworking.com

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TOOL TALK PRODUCTION LATHES NZX 2000/800STY3 • Highly productive machining of complex workpieces with 48 live tools on 3 turrets, incl. 110 mm Y-axis for each turret

VERTICAL MACHINING CENTRES DuraVertical 5100 • Working surface 1,350 x 600 mm, table loading capacity 1,000 kg and footprint of only 6.6 m²

dynamic NC trunnion with 60 rpm and 400 kg table load DMU 65 monoBLOCK— A Canadian Premiere • New DMG MORI Design and CELOS • 5-axis milling with redefined trunnion for workpieces up to ø 840 x 500 mm and max. 1,000 kg and footprint of only 7.5 m² DMU 125 P duoBLOCK

• •

New DMG MORI Design and CELOS Patented duoBLOCK design for the highest precision and dynamics and best access to the workspace with 1,250 x 1,000 x 1,000 mm / max. 2,500 kg

For more information about this event or to register, visit www.dmgmori.com.

HORIZONTAL MACHINING CENTRES NHX 5000 • 500 mm pallet machine for workpieces up to Ø 800 x 1,000 mm and 700 kg with a 730 x 730 x 880 mm work area

UNIVERSAL 5-AXIS MILLING MACHINES DMU 50—A Canadian Premiere • New DMG MORI Design and CELOS • Entry-level CNC universal milling; 5-axis simultaneous machining due to trunnion with large swivel area of up to 115° for undercuts up to 20° DMU 60 eVo linear— A Canadian Premiere • New DMG MORI Design and CELOS • High-end 5-axes simultaneous machining due to linear drive technology for up to 80 m/min and

www.canadianmetalworking.com

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TOOL TALK Intelligent deep hole machining Sandvik Coromant is now launching a powerful deep hole machining concept for the STS system—CoroDrill 808.

This product is equipped with optimized pad design for good hole finish, unique edge preparation for increased chip breaking and a reinforced periphery insert corner for added security and reliability. Suitable for diameters from 15.60 to 65.00 mm and tolerance demands of IT 9, CoroDrill 808 is capable of producing perfect holes, regardless of the component material.

Being the first choice for close tolerance holes, CoroDrill 808 is perfectly suited for the energy segsegment, for example, when machining in heat exchanger plates. Cladded materials such as low carbon steel with Inconel, used for these types of applications, are difficult to machine due to tricky chip-breaking and tool life maintenance. CoroDrill 808 produces superior close tolerance holes even in the toughest conditions. In addition, this drill is available as a stock standard item with 24 hour delivery.

CoroDrill 808 premium drills are equipped with a fully traceable dot matrix. It is a two-dimensional patterned array, used for storage and display of various types of information, for example, the measurement protocol. Such protocol includes data on diameter and run out of the drill, making dot matrix a very safe tool for product identification and traceability. www.sandvik.coromant.com

A new wire optimized for use on Makino machines with HyperCut technology SST Consumables Group introduces a new wire, optimized for use on Makino machines with HyperCut technology, including the U3 and U6 wire EDM machines.

This wire technology is a result of collaboration between Makino and bedra.

The HyperCut wire boasts high cutting speed, excellent precision and surface quality on Makino machines with HyperCut technology. Initial results of tests using this wire have seen machining speeds increase by as much as 20 per cent compared to standard brass wire.

The core material of the HyperCut wire is brass (CuZn40), with an outer coating of gamma-phase brass and a tensile strength (MPa) of 900. This wire offers superior auto-threading and cleanliness. It is available in 0.008-, 0.010- and 0.012-inch diameter on P5, P10, B8 and B16 spools purchased from SST. www.singlesourcetech.com 60 | NOVEMBER 2014

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www.canadianmetalworking.com

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TOOL TALK Joint technology partnership yields new modular interface Kennametal Inc. and Haimer GmbH have agreed to a revolutionary joint technology partnership and development cooperation for modular cutting tool systems. The agreement, signed earlier this year, involves a significant cross-license model and long-term partnership.

“This agreement is a perfect fit because it illustrates both Haimer and Kennametal as leaders in high-end innovative technologies for world manufacturing,” states Carlos Cardoso, chairman, president and CEO, Kennametal Inc. Both companies together introduced the new modular interface DUO-LOCK for carbide cutting tool heads. The companies are combining their toolholding and carbide knowledge to provide solutions for high-performance milling applications with this revolutionary modular system. Like SAFE-LOCK, DUO-LOCK will be offered as a license to leading high-end cutting tool companies to establish a compatible, high-performance modular endmill system.

For the past few years, the cost of carbide has been consistently increasing.

Following this trend, Haimer and Kennametal have developed DUO-LOCK, which is the most rigid and most precise interface in the marketplace and virtually unbreakable.

“The current existing modular tool systems have their weakness in the interface. Due to this fact, the full potential of the cutting heads can’t be used because of tool breakage,” said Oliver Sax, Director Product Management at Haimer.

The DUO-LOCK technology provides maximum stability, load capacity, and high runout precision based on an innovative thread design with a proprietary double-cone connection and additional third supporting area in the back of the interface. www.kennametal.com

25

Celebrating Years

BSF

Back Spotfacing & Counterboring Tool The BSF tool back spotfaces or back counterbores in one operation without turning the workpiece Counterbores Up to 2.3xd

Single-edged grooving system brings new capabilities Walter has added additional sizes and designs to its Walter Cut-SX single-edged grooving system for grooving and parting. This makes it possible to achieve deeper grooving and parting cuts that are increasingly required in many sectors of industry.

Process reliability is enhanced by Walter Cut-SX’s self-clamping inserts.

This is made possible by having precisely matched grooving inserts and insert holders, a positive locking insert shape with form fit underside and a sturdy top clamp. A major advanadvan tage of this design is process reliability is significantly increased because a positive locking insert cannot be “lost” during machining.

The Walter Cut-SX G2012-P toolholder features internal coolant delivered directly to the cutting edge, both with and without high pressure. Initial customer results show this can increase tool life by as much as 200 per cent.

Walter will offer its Walter Cut-SX G2042R/L grooving blades with strengthened shank in four variants. This makes it possible to work in any position required, even where space may be limited. Because the tool shank reduces available clearance when grooving in the immediate vicinity of the spindle, the mirror-image design of the contra version provides an easy solution to this potential problem.

Walter Cut-SX G2012-P toolholders with through coolant are now available in the inch shank sizes of 1/2”, 5/8”, 3/4” and 1”. Walter has now added the metric shank sizes of 12 and 16 mm for smaller diameters. www.walter-tools.com www.canadianmetalworking.com

09CMW-ToolTalk.indd 61

BSF

Counterbores up to 2.3xd

For Product Videos and Brochures visit www.HeuleTool.com

NOVEMBER 2014 | 61

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TOOL TALK New milling toolholder for heavy-duty cutting The new SINO-R from SCHUNK is a maintenance free toolholder especially well-suited for rough milling.

The toolholder is based on an expansion technology system with a solid body and a pressure medium, quickly clamping the cutting tool by using a spanner wrench. This simple operation decreases machine down-time.

The excellent interaction of high radial rigidity and superior dampening characteristics are special features that increase the productivity of the toolholder.

The toolholder is flexible due to the use of intermediate sleeves. Nearly all common tool shank diameters can be clamped. SINO-R holds your tool securely, with a maximum torque transmission (850 Nm), at a clamping diameter of 32 mm. It is precision-balanced standard to G 6.3 at 15000 rpm. www.schunk.com

New 5-axis profiler cuts machining time up to 80 per cent Fives new 5-axis, 5-spindle Cincinnati XP aerospace profiler lives up to its name, delivering “X-treme Productivity” in machining of structural aluminum parts. With doubled spindle speeds, greater horsepower and higher feedrates on all axes, the purpose-designed machine delivers 50 to 80 per cent faster cycle times than prior models, while cutting multiple parts each cycle.

The XP profiler’s modular design utilizes many features incorporated into Cincinnati’s record-setting XT titanium profiler. It carries from one to five A/Baxis spindle heads in a traveling-gantry or traveling-table design, allowing it to complete up to five parts per cycle.

The rail-type design allows any practical X-axis length for carrying multiple gantries and creating multiple work zones. The new XP profiler is fully compatible with existing Cincinnati gantry profiler installations. X-axis length can be expanded anytime in the field with additional 12’ rail segments. Railtype machines use dual servo planetary gearbox drives on both sides of the X axis. Y-axis drives can be linear-motor or rack-and-pinion driven.

The new high-speed rotary spindle heads are individually supported and independently driven in A/B axes.

Rotary axis feedrates have been increased to 2,400 dpm, more than 400 per cent over the prior design, to support higher tool path velocities in 5-axis contouring. www.fivesgroup.com 62 | NOVEMBER 2014

09CMW-ToolTalk.indd 62

www.canadianmetalworking.com

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TOOL TALK New holders and patented rhombic inserts expand the 409 tangential milling system

www.canadianmetalworking.com

09CMW-ToolTalk.indd 63

NEW INNOVATIONS in Steel Machining

CA5 Series G r a d e s

P Series C h i p b r e a k e r Wear Resistance

A series of enhancements and additions further expand the patented Horn M409 tangential milling cutter system.

Inserts with corner radii of 0.4 and 1.2 mm, also in grade AS4B, are new additions. The precision-ground rhombic indexable inserts achieve a high level of precision and produce excellent surface finishes. Positive cutting and axial angles enable a soft cut. The secondary cutting edge with integrated trailing chamfer produces outstanding surface finish. An additional free-formed surface chamfer provides a stable wedge angle and a very smooth milling process.

The milling cutters can achieve cutting depths up to ap = 9.3 mm.

Additional 45° and 60° milling cutters as well as indexable insert end mills and side milling cutters have been added to the 409 system. All new milling cutters undergo special surface treatment to ensure a high degree of hardness and rigidity. The 45° and 60° milling cutters with cutting depths of ap = 6.2 and 7.7 mm can be used with the same R409 type indexable inserts.

Both milling cutter models are available as arbor milling cutters with DIN 8030-A holders and internal cooling, in diameters of 40, 50 and 63 mm.

The five-row indexable insert end mills with a cutting depth of ap = 43.2 mm and DIN 8030-A holders also use the same indexable inserts. The holders with internal cooling are available in diameters of 40, 50 and 63 mm.

In addition, the 409 system has been expanded to include the side milling cutter with DIN 138 keyway. As well as the R409 indexable inserts, new indexable inserts in a left-hand design with an L409 cutting edge corner radius of 0.8 mm are also used in this system.

100 and 125 mm cutting edge diameters with cutting widths of 14 and 18 mm are available with 5 and 6 cutting edges respectively. Other cutting widths and diameters are available on request. The maximum slot depth at 100 mm is 26 mm; at 125 mm , the maximum slot depth is 34.5 mm. www.hornusa.com

CA510 P05

CA515 CA525 P15

CA530 P25

Conventional Coated Carbide

P35 Stability

In comparison tests, KYOCERA’S new CA5-Series steel turning inserts combined with the PP, PQ, and PG smart chipbreaker lineup have consistently outperformed the competition.

Don’t take our word for it…try it for yourself! Contact your local KYOCERA Sales Engineer or visit www.kyoceraprecisiontools.com to request a free sample.

V is it O ur

BRAND NEW WEBSITE! kyoceraprecisiontools.com

800.823.7284 cuttingtools@kyocera.com www.kyoceraprecisiontools.com

NOVEMBER 2014 | 63

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TOOL TALK BENZ releases tooling system catalogs for Haas, Hurco, Mazak, MoriSeiki, Nakamura, Okuma and Hardinge CNC Lathes German tooling systems expert BENZ, Inc. has released a new live tool and static toolholder catalog for Haas and Hurco VD140 tooling systems, as well as Mazak, MoriSeiki, Nakamura, Okuma and Hardinge CNC lathes. BENZ, Inc. specializes in the engineering and manufacturing of tooling systems for machine tools, such as live and static tools, angle heads, multi-spindle heads and spindle speeders, large

scale drill heads, 5-axis heads, and the BENZ Solidfix, BENZ CAPTO and Trifix modular tooling systems. BENZ tooling systems are engineered in Germany and sold and serviced in the US and Canada from its BENZ, Inc. headquarters in Charlotte, NC. Each full-colour tooling system catalog provides product descriptions, technical specifications and parts breakdown, complete with product ordering information, inquiry forms, available options and tooling accessories data. www.benz-inc.com

Grinding down the cost of crankshaft production When the coolant becomes a liquid tool.

We ar are here to help you boost yo your productivity, economic efficiency and machinin machining quality.

The new PMD 2 machine is designed for the machining of passenger car crankshafts and features twin grinding heads that allow the simultaneous grinding of two pin or main bearings in a single setup using two grinding wheels. Its capacity covers small components up to 500 mm length.

The basis for the PMD 2 is the established “Series 2” from EMAG NAXOSUNION and EMAG KOPP. The PMD 2’s two CBN grinding wheels machine crankshafts to the highest precision.

The machine is equipped with a directdriven workspindle, hydrostatic guideways and a linear motor in the X-axis, as well as an in-process measuring control that allows for roundness monitoring and correction in the machine.

The twin-tool process opens up a number of possibilities for the user, depending on component and machining requirements. Two pin bearings or main and pin bearing are machined simultaneously, reducing cycle times.

The machine also features a compact but flexible construction. Connecting an automatic loading system poses no problem, and both emulsion and oil can be used as coolants. www.emag.com

Our specialists support you to get the best out of your machines and tools with the liquid tool.

Please contact us for your local distributor distributor.

Blaser Swisslube Inc. Goshen, New Y York Phone 845-294-3200 mailboxusa@blaser.com www.blaser.com .blaser .blaser.com

64 | NOVEMBER 2014

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14-11-05 12:08 PM

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FABRICATING & WELDING NEWS

SUCCESS AT CANADA’S LNG EXPORT CONFERENCE However, one of the key takeaways was that not all projects will go ahead In the past couple of months, LNG projects have seen their fair share of the limelight. Whether it’s news of municipal challenges to proposed plans, concerns over the environmental implications by First Nations groups, uncertainty of partnerships within the oil and gas industry, or appealing to the federal government for tax breaks, LNG plant proponents are tasked with finding the appropriate solutions for their problems.

Canada is still considered a front contender for LNG export. However, the road ahead is a difficult one, laden with challenges that exporters must face, according to Neill Howard, marketing manager for the Canadian LNG Export Conference.

Speaking after the 2nd Annual Canada LNG Export Conference, Monica Ansary, event director, said, “One of the key takeaways from the conference was that not all projects will go ahead, foreign investment divisions (FIDs) need to be made relatively soon, before Canada’s window of opportunity diminishes altogether. Fostering relationships with Aboriginal communities, securing a skilled workforce, implementation of a competitive tax framework and streamlining capital expenditure are just a few key factors that need to be reconciled. Only when these challenges have been met will proposed projects gain feasibility

and the go-ahead to join the fierce global competition.”

Petronas’ recent announcement that it may pull out of the Pacific Northwest Project just reinforces these issues, says Howard.

On September 16-18, 2014, engineers, operators, investors and government officials were invited to partake in the Canada LNG Export Conference and Exhibition in Calgary, AB. This second edition focused on the surge in proposed LGN projects and how the industry will help fuel the economy.

The Canada LNG Export Conference and Exhibition continues to bring together all major industry stakeholders to share their insights and uncover strategies for overcoming these significant challenges in order to promote LNG projects and partnerships within Canada—a country with vast potential for investment opportunities and return.

With over 50 distinguished speakers, guests were treated to numerous topics to help overcome the challenges of the LNG industry at a local, national and international level. The opening remarks were delivered by Bill Cooper, President, Center for LNG, U.S.A. The advisory board, charged with developing content for the program included professionals and key players in the industry: Dr. Eva Busza, Vice President,

Canada LNG Export Conference & Exhibition

Knowledge and Research, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada; Guy Broggi, Senior Advisor, LNG, Total Gas & Power; Jeff Kucharski, Doctoral Candidate, Kyoto University; Jose B. T. Aldon, Managing Director & CEO, AXI LNGAS Inc. & Senior Advisor, Natural Gas Business, First Gen Corp; Todd Peterson, Advisor LNG Projects, Itochu Group; Derek Thomas, Director – Strategic Technologies & Partnerships, AG&P. There were several discussion panels looking after various interests including industry, aboriginal, regulatory, ministerial, skilled workforce, floating liquefied natural gas, global, project finance interests.

Along with the conference, attendees were also invited to the Canadian LNG Export Exhibition, which was designed for local Canadian LNG export mega project teams to interact and engage with the international supply chain, contractors, and service providers to look at technical solutions, innovations, explore business-to-business opportunities, and develop partnerships.

TRUMPF HAS A NEW VICE PRESIDENT On October 1, 2014, TRUMPF announced the promotion of James Rogowski to Vice President, technical service.

In this role, Rogowski is responsible for technical 66 | NOVEMBER 2014

09CMW-WeldingNews.indd 66

services and training for TRUMPF’s machine tools installed across the United States. Jim Rogowski reports directly to Peter Hoecklin, president and CEO of TRUMPF Inc. Rogowski began his TRUMPF career in 1998 as a sheet metal applications engineer. He held various roles in product management before assuming the role of managing

director of TRUMPF Canada in 2008.

In 2011, he returned to TRUMPF Inc. in Farmington, CT to become director of machine and power tool products. During this time he gained extensive experience in machine development, new product introduction, and market research.

For more information, visit www.us.trumpf.com. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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FABRICATING & WELDING NEWS

NEW ALUMINUM ALLOY OFFERING IN NORTH AMERICA Aleris 7017 will now be available in North America. This aluminum alloy has broad applications including commercial plate and defence end-uses.

“7017 has a unique combination of properties making it ideal for the most advanced armor solutions,” said Lawrence Kramer, global defense field engineer at Aleris. “These include high strength, weldability and corrosion resistance. This alloy is currently utilized in Europe and Asia on combat vehicles to achieve superior ballistic protection.”

Recently Aleris 7017 underwent extensive testing and review. The

United States Army Research Lab (USARL) has issued MIL-DTL-32505 for use in armor applications.

“The analysis has resulted in a significant protective benefit as Aluminum Alloy 7017 has demonstrated a reduction in spallation compared with the legacy AA7039,” Tyrone Jones, mechanical engineer in the Armor Mechanisms Branch, said. “An armor plate must not only arrest the projectile, but mitigate the kinetic energy before it fatally compromises a protected asset.”

Fusion welds of 7017 plate have excellent strength with the weld

heat-affected zone strengthening with time. 7017 is weld compatible with the 5000 series alloys such as 5083 and Alustar 5059, Aleris’ highstrength alloy designed to withstand corrosive environments.

The weld compatibility of the new alloy gives great flexibility to armored vehicle designers, enabling them to incorporate different design characteristics. The optimum balance of elements that comprise Aleris 7017 provides for superior stress-corrosion cracking resistance while maintaining high strength and weldability properties.

LINCOLN ELECTRIC ACQUIRES EASOM AUTOMATION On October 6, 2014, Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. announced its acquisition of Easom Automation Systems, Inc., a company specializing in designing, building, and installing new automation systems. Easom served a wide range of industries and markets including heavy fabrication, aerospace and automotive OEMs and suppliers. Easom has developed relationships with Ford Vehicle Operations, Daimler Chrysler

Tech Center, and General Motors Tech Center providing opportunities to explore new plant manufacturing processes, offer solutions, and have Easom products specified to Tier I tool builders.

Easom currently operates three plants in Michigan including an engineering, sales and technical center in Madison Heights, and currently employs approximately 130 employees.

“Our investment in Easom advances our leadership position in automated welding and cutting,” says Christopher L. Mapes, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Easom is a strong partner for us as our complementary strengths create a compelling offering for our customers and accelerates our market presence in attractive applications.”

Easom Automation Systems is Continues on page 70 

WELDING AND CUTTING AUTOMATION

www.gullco.com From weld preperation to completion GULLCO INTERNATIONAL has an automation solution.

PREPARATION Visit us at booth

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68 | NOVEMBER 2014

09CMW-WeldingNews.indd 68

AUTOMATION

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GULLCO INTERNATIONAL LTD. 1175 Nicholson Road - Newmarket - Ontario - L3Y9C3 Tel: 905.953.4140 Fax: 905.953.4138 e-mail: sales@gullco.com

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14-11-05 12:09 PM

INTRODUCING THE SGX: A compact CNC cutting machine that’s heavy on features but light on your wallet. n

Rugged: Performance and accuracy are assured with a heavy steel beam, welded and machined construction, and linear rail.

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Compact design: The SGX requires minimal floor space. One-meter rail increments keep the footprint small and maximize production space.

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Ease of use: ESAB’s Vision® T5 features an easy-to-use touchscreen and built-in process database for simple plasma and oxy-fuel setup.

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Precision: As an option, the SGX can come equipped with m3 Plasma® technology for high-quality cutting up to 50 mm (2 in.) thick on mild steel, 38 mm (1.5 in.) on aluminum, and 25 mm (1 in.) on stainless steel.

To learn more, go to esab-cutting.com.

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FABRICATING & WELDING NEWS  Continued from page 68

headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, where it also has its operations facility. The company has annual sales of approximately US$30 million.

Although details of the transaction were not disclosed, Reg Kelley, president of Easom, endorses the deal by saying, “We are excited about joining Lincoln Electric as they share our commitment to help customers achieve superior operational efficiency and improve profitability through automated solutions…Our equipment can be found in automotive plants the world over, as well as steel mills, ship-building yards, aerospace assembly facilities, agricultural equipment producers and many other heavy-equipment manufacturing operations. We could not have found a better purchaser or steward for our business than Lincoln Electric.”

70 | NOVEMBER 2014

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CINCINNATI INC. GETS NEW PRESIDENT AND CEO Cincinnati Incorporated, an Ohio-based company, has announced the appointment of Carey Chen as the company’s next president and CEO. The board of directors unanimously chose Chen, who will also serve as a member of the board of directors.

He will join the company in early January 2015, succeeding Andrew Jamison who will be retiring.

“After a comprehensive search process, the board is pleased to have found the best individual to assume leadership of our company,” said Christina March, chair of the Cincinnati Incorporated board of

directors. “Carey has a strong track record and is uniquely qualified to lead Cincinnati Incorporated into the future.” The selection of Mr. Chen caps a search process facilitated by Boyden, a global executive search firm.

Before joining Cincinnati Incorporated, Mr. Chen was VP & General Manager – Light Industrial Businesses at Hypertherm, Inc. Chen’s experience includes serving as VP Finance at Wiremold / Legrand.

Previously, he served as VP & CFO for Bayliner Marine Corporation. He began his career at AlliedSignal, now under the name of Honeywell.

Chen will be based at Cincinnati Incorporated’s headquarters in Harrison, OH, and plans to relocate to the Cincinnati, OH area.

www.canadianmetalworking.com

14-11-05 12:09 PM

FABRICATING & WELDING NEWS

2014 CWA PRODUCTIVITY AWARD HAS A WINNER Congratulations to the Roll Form Group who received the 2014 CWA Productivity Award.

This award, presented by the Canadian Welding Association (CWA), recognizes creativity and process improvement in the Canadian welding industry.

The award was received for the innovative inline installation of

a Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) process at Roll Form Group’s facility in Cambridge, Ontario. Roll Form Group (RFG) manufactures heavy roll formed product.

The new addition to the mill has significantly improved production and the results speak for themselves: a 56 per cent throughput improvement, 57 per cent less labor, and 15

per cent less scrap on welded floor sections.

“We’re very proud to win this award, especially knowing this project was selected against some world-class competition,” said Lou M. Sartor, President, Roll Form Group. “This is a significant accomplishment for the RFG team.”

Thin-walled tubes in lightweight construction titanium, aluminum, copper or stainless Equipped with a vertically traveling steels such as No. 1.4509 or 1.4512. pressure die assembly, the bending While the usual tubes, for example, forces of the CNC machines from have a wall thickness of 60 x 1 Schwarze-Robitec are exercised millimeters, the thin-walled tubes precisely on the thin-walled only have 60 x 0.6 millimeters. tubes. Due to the better The tube bending specialist adjustability of the forces the has fine-tuned his computer machines achieve, even with thin-walled tubes made of CanMetalWork_XtremeAd0814_Layout 1 7/14/14 1:21 PMcontrolled Page 1 bending machines

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All machines can be integrated in existing bending cells and are fitted with the new control, which takes care of quick production. www.schwarze-robitec.com

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NOVEMBER 2014 | 71

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FABRICATING & WELDING NEWS Quadruple position accuracy for even more precise cutting Ideal for prototype development and production runs, the MicroMAX is a highly rigid machine with a table size of 2 feet 4 inches by 2 feet 4 inches and an X-Y cutting travel of 2 feet by 2 feet. It utilizes advanced high-precision linear encoders, innovative vibration isolation and intuitive software control systems to achieve a position repeatability of less than 3 microns and a positioning accuracy of approximately 15 microns (0.0006”).

The MicroMAX comes equipped with a high precision 7/15 Mini MAXJET5i nozzle that features a 0.007” orifice and 0.015” mixing tube combination for quickly and accurately cutting

Creating a clean pierce point that is the same diameter as the cut width The Laserdyne’s SmartPierce makes use of the tightly integrated and high speed control of the laser directly by the S94P laser control. Many laser system manufacturers simply send a request to the laser to operate at a particular set of parameters. However, with the LASERDYNE integrated laser control, the S94P directly controls the laser and, for instance, the timing of each and every laser pulse. This control is also the basis for CylPerf (drillon-the-fly) for which the laser pulses must be delivered in precise locations even when the speed and hole spacing are varying.

Applications for which SmartPierce will be found valuable are quite varied, ranging from thin to thick metal cutting.

For example, in many medical device, electronics, and fine mechanics applications involving small features and thin

materials, features are often simply too small to allow for piercing in what will eventually be the drop-out or scrap. In other cases, a feature, such as a slot, is produced in a single pass without moving around the outside profile of the feature in order to minimize the time to produce the feature. www.primapower.com

Metal-cored wires provide strength after extensive stress-relief hold time

delicate, comcomplex patterns. Because it forms a jet stream carrying an extremely fine abrasive, the nozzle can produce a kerf as small as 0.015”. The machine also has advanced pressure controls for piercing delicate materials.

Now, a smaller version of its OMAX Corporation’s award-winning Tilt-AJet cutting head designed specifically for its MicroMAX JetMachining Center is also available. The new Tilt-A-Jet accessory nearly quadruples the position accuracy of the nozzle enabling the machine to achieve virtually zero taper with most materials up to 3” in thickness.

It is also 25 percent smaller and lighter than the Tilt-A-Jet designed for OMAX’s other machine models and is nearly twice as rigid for less deflection. The Tilt-A-Jet for the MicroMAX employs 10 degrees of tilt, and is fully sealed for use in the abrasive waterjet environment. www.omax.com www.canadianmetalworking.com

09CMW-WeldingNews.indd 73

Hobart has introduced two new metal-cored wires formulated to maintain strength after extensive stress-relief hold time when welding 4130 and 4140 steels. The Hobart FabCOR 4130 SR is a gas-shielded metal-cored wire for semi-automatic welding, and the Hobart SubCOR 4130 SR is a metal-cored submerged-arc welding electrode. The two wires share similar characteristics, most notably the ability to maintain mechanical properties such as hardness during long periods of stress relief.

Both wires provide higher deposition rates than solid wires, assisting in increased travel speeds and improved productivity. The wires also offer a high-

strength weld deposit with versatile chemistry, making it suitable for use in a range of joining and repair applications with a variety of materials, including AISI 4130 and 4140.

Formulated and intended for use with DCEP polarity, the wires can be used in single and multi-pass welding applications found in the oil and gas and offshore industries; wellhead fabrication and repair; and those using high-strength low-alloy steels.

The FabCor 4130 SR exceeds AWS minimum specifications by offering a tensile strength of 107,000 psi and a yield strength of 98,000 psi, when operating with a shielding gas of 80 percent argon and 20 percent CO2.

The wire also offers Charpy V-Notch impact values of 30 ft-lb. at temperatures of -60 degrees Fahrenheit (-50 degrees Celsius). The FabCOR 4130 wire is available in .045-inch diameter, packaged on a 33-pound spool.

The SubCOR 4130 SR is available in diameters of 3/32 inch, 1/8 inch and 5/32 inch, packaged in 60-pound coils or 600-pound drums. www.HobartBrothers.com NOVEMBER 2014 | 73

14-11-05 12:10 PM

ALUMINUM FILLER MATERIAL: WHAT ARE YOUR OPTIONS? Filler selection will affect quality and strength of the finished product, so choose wisely.

BY GREGORY D. DORIA

W

hile aluminum is a material of growing importance in the welding, fabrication and metalworking industries, it can prove to be challenging to use. Rules that generally apply to mild steel do not necessarily apply to welding aluminum. So how does one select the correct filler alloy for the job?

CONSIDER POTENTIAL ISSUES WITH THE FINISHED WORK The first consideration when selecting a welding filler alloy is to determine what factors may become an issue in the finished work. For example, is the base material susceptible to cracking? Since the weld chemistry is determined by the base material, the filler alloy and the weld dilution, filler-alloy chemistry plays a crucial role in determining cracking sensitivity.

Another consideration is final weld strength. Unlike steel, aluminum welds rarely are as strong as the base material. Since different filler 74 | NOVEMBER 2014

09CMW-WeldingNews.indd 74

alloys have differing tensile and shear strengths, selecting the correct filler alloy is critical.

Often, weld appearance and aesthetics play a role. For example, 4xxx alloys often are easier to work with, providing excellent fluidity that delivers improved weld appearance over 5xxx alloys. They also provide good crack resistance and are less prone to develop porosity. However, if the finished product will be anodized, 5xxx alloys should be used. Anodizing often is used when the finished product will be painted, and 5xxx alloys provide the best colour match.

Will the part be cold-worked or formed after welding? Ductility is not an important characteristic for most welding applications unless the part will undergo roll bending or another forming process after welding.

These considerations and others must be made before finalizing an aluminum filler alloy for a welding application. Once the desired factors are selected, selecting from and within an alloy family becomes an easier task.

FILLER FAMILIES OFFER VARIOUS ADVANTAGES IN VARIOUS APPLICATIONS Filler alloys are available in the 1xxx, 2xxx, 4xxx and 5000 families, but for the purpose of this article, we’ll evaluate the features and benefits of the two most common alloy families, 4xxx and 5xxx.

The 4xxx alloys use silicon (Al-Si) as the primary alloying element, the most common of which are 4043 and 4047. As mentioned earlier, The Al-Si filler alloys are characterized by excellent fluidity and very good resistance to weld cracking. In addition, they are less prone than the 5xxx fillers to develop porosity in the weld.

When welding 6xxx extrusions or plate, such as 6061, the 4xxx filler alloys are widely used because the resulting weld chemistry helps reduce crack sensitivity common in this base-material family. Generally, 4xxx filler alloys should not be used to weld aluminum-magnesium (AlMg) 5xxx base materials. The combination of silicon and magnesium can produce an intermetallic compound known as magnesium silicide, which is very brittle. The result is welds that tend to have poor ductility and toughness. Note that there are exceptions to this rule when welding base alloys with relatively low magnesium levels, such as 5052.

If welding with 4xxx filler alloys, www.canadianmetalworking.com

14-11-05 12:10 PM

keep in mind that it is relatively soft and for diameters smaller than 1/16 inches (1.6 mm), a push-pull system such as Lincoln Electric’s Power Wave C300 with the Magnum Pro Aluminum gun is an optimal solution.

The 5xxx fillers, of which 5356 is the most common, often are simple Al-Mg binary alloys. The 5xxx alloys typically are selected for their strength. Manganese and higher levels of magnesium are typically added to further increase strength, as is the case with 5183 and 5556 filler alloys.

It should be noted that the 5xxx alloys require higher wire-feed speeds than 4xxx alloys to achieve the same heat output. Also, these alloys are not as fluid as 4xxx alloys, so the weld appearance may not be as uniform and smooth, although specialty 5xxx alloys, such as Lincoln Electric’s SuperGlaze 5356 TM, have been developed to improve “wetting.”

Due to the magnesium levels in 5xxx alloys, black soot often is encountered, especially during MIG welding.

09CMW-WeldingNews.indd 75

So why select 5xxx filler alloys?

Simply because the mechanical properties are much better than those of 4xxx fillers. For example, ductility and shear strength are both significantly greater with 5356 over 4043. So if strength is of paramount concern, 5xxx alloys are the best choice.

WHEN IN DOUBT, ASK Overall, once consideration is given to the base material and treatment of the material post welding,

selecting the correct aluminum filler metal for the job can be a less daunting task. If faced with a particular challenge, experienced aluminum welding suppliers can help answer the questions leading you to the best filler alloy for the job at hand.

Gregory D. Doria is director of global sales and technical services for Lincoln Electric Aluminum Solutions, Mississauga, Ontario. www.lincolnelectric.com/alum

14-11-05 12:11 PM

AUTOMATING JET ENGINE BLADE FINISHING With heightened tolerances in aerospace design, manual finishing doesn’t make the grade.

BY DOUG PICKLYK

M

anufacturing parts for today’s modern jet engines requires working to very tight tolerances, and while manual grinding and hand finishing operations were accepted practices in the past, the introduction of more technical designs to improve fuel efficiency in the engines is demanding more precise computer-controlled, automated and repeatable finishing solutions.

Montreal-based AV&R Aerospace is a niche company specializing in automated visual inspection and robotic finishing systems.

Formerly called AV&R Vision and Robotics, the company developed its first automated robotic finishing system in 1997, and it was in 2010 that AV&R Aerospace set its focus specifically on the aerospace industry.

“We went after aerospace because there are a lot of critical components with high value, and there are still a lot of hand finishing operations happening,” says Michael Muldoon, sales and marketing director with AV&R Aerospace.

Muldoon has been with the company eight years, and over that time has observed the advancements being made in aerospace, specifically by the engine manufacturers and the push to high efficiency.

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“We’ve positioned ourselves in the market to be able to target these complex processes and offer a solution that allows manufacturers to achieve the larger scale automation they’re looking for in order to achieve the volume they require.”

AV&R Aerospace’s automated finishing approach uses Fanuc robotics, and the main processes include profiling, polishing, deburring and blending. While every application is different, Muldoon claims robotic finishing can result in savings of between 30 to 75 per cent on abrasive costs.

“What we found is, the more a hand finisher works on a part the more waste that goes into the process. As soon as an abrasive becomes less effective the operator is going to change out his pad or belt and start with a fresh one.”

AV&R Aerospace has performed testing to evaluate abrasive life and programmed the parameters into its system so it’s able to maximize the abrasive use.

Besides the cost savings inherent in automating a process with robotics, the necessity of high precision machining required by the aerospace industry is really leading the move to programmable, repeatable robotic finishing.

Profiling of compressor blades in jet engines is becoming a very precise science, www.canadianmetalworking.com

14-11-05 12:02 PM

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as the shape on the leading and trailing edge of the blades has an impact on the their performance in the compressor, ultimately effecting overall engine efficiency.

The timing of AV&R Aerospace’s introduction of its automated blade leading and trailing edge profiling system has coincided well with the industry’s push towards more efficient engine design programs, notes Muldoon.

He cites the Bombardier C Series for example and their target of achieving 15 per cent fuel savings over previous generations. “One of the interesting things we found is these operations [compressor blade profiling] used to be done by hand, but in order to achieve these performance targets they’ve had to tighten all of the tolerances, so no longer are they able to do it by hand.”

He goes on to explain that when it comes to profiling compressor blades, the old tolerances specified only a round even edge, so in those cases alternative finishing techniques, like tumbling for example, were often able to achieve the results.

But new designs have changed the process.

“Now manufacturers want a specific elliptical shape and typical tolerances are plus/ minus 1-1/2 thousandths, or 37-microns, and because you need a specific shape, tumbling’s out of the question,” says Muldoon.

According to Muldoon most of the OEMs have standardized on automated profiling in order to achieve the engineering tolerances they’ve designed into their products.

AV&R Aerospace’s profiling system is an adaptive closed-loop system, taking a forged blade and putting a leading edge shape on it with the specific customer-design angle.

“We start from the customer’s 3D model of the part,” explains Muldoon. “They’ll have specifications at different sections for the specific edge shape. Using laser sensors we’ll measure the forged part at those positions, and we’ll create a routine in real time based 78 | NOVEMBER 2014

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on that feedback, and this is all programmed in the robot. The robot then calculates the path it needs to perform in order to create the required edge shape.”

Once a cycle is complete, a final leading and trailing edge inspection can be completed, and the profile is adjusted or the part is removed and the next one is brought in.

“There are other robotic finishing companies in North America and a couple in Europe, but our combination of the inspection and measurement with the robotic finishing is unique,” says Muldoon.

Besides new part finishing, Muldoon sees a place for AV&R Aerospace’s profiling system in the aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market as well.

After a set amount of flight hours engines require an overhaul. According to reports from Lufthansa Technik, the maintenance and overhaul services division of Lufthansa Group, dust particles entering with the airflow cause erosion at the leading edges of compressor blades in jet engines, leading to a deterioration of the engine efficiency. In 1994 Lufthansa Technik developed a procedure for analyzing worn blades electronically and then began re-contouring them with its own automated robot. The results led to improved fuel consumption and also extended the life of the components.

With AV&R Aerospace’s profiling system, they are able to import the original specs for the compression blades, inspect the existing part and with its adaptive capability the system will determine an optimized profile to get the blade back to spec.

“The big thing with profiling is the fact that you can’t hit the tolerances by hand anymore,” says Muldoon. “If you want to manufacture these parts and you want to be involved in these new engine programs, well you need to have the equipment to get on board.”

www.canadianmetalworking.com

14-11-05 12:02 PM

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SWITCHING TO A 4 1/2-INCH POWER WIRE BRUSH HELPS ACHIEVE GREATER EFFICIENCY

BY TONY HUFFORD, CATEGORY MANAGER, METAL FABRICATION, WEILER CORP.

T

A 4 1/2 -inch stringer bead brushes provide higher knot counts to improve performance.

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he 4 1/2-inch grinder is one of the most popular tools used in the surface conditioning market today. While it is the most popular size of small right-angle grinder, welders, welder’s helpers and fabricators who use this tool most frequently pair it with a 4-inch-diameter stringer bead wheel.

It’s a common pairing because the 4-inch wheel traditionally was the only option available. However, manufacturers now offer a 4 1/2-inch power wire brushes specifically designed to fit the tool and deliver optimal efficiency and longer product life.

Selecting a 4 1/2-inch stringer bead wheel when using a 4 1/2-inch right-angle grinder offers advantages in many applications, including surface preparation, inter-pass and hot-pass weld cleaning, and the removal of rust, mill scale, oxidation and heavy burrs.

A 4 1/2-inch stringer bead brush designed for 4 1/2-inch grinders typically features a higher knot count and can offer a shorter trim length. The larger diameter not only means more knots, but also that the brush naturally spins faster.

This combination can improve performance because it allows more wire tips to strike the surface of the base metal at a greater speed, when compared to a 4-inch brush, resulting in more aggressive and quicker cleaning action.

We’ve found the Weiler 4 1/2-inch Roughneck stringer bead brush results in a 35 per cent improvement in cleaning action, up to 20 per cent less wire loss and 50 per cent longer brush life, versus comparable 4-inch stringer bead wheels.

Stringer bead brushes are aggressive but not abrasive, making them a good option when the application calls for a slag-free surface without the need or desire to remove any base material. This type of product is often a good choice for surfaces that will be painted.

Because the wire tips are doing the work with a stringer bead brush, holding the tool at the appropriate angle in relation to the work surface is important. Holding it at the wrong angle can lead to faster brush wear or long wire breakage. While it’s common to hold the tool at an angle when using a grinding disc or flap disc, avoid holding the wheel at an angle in relation to the work surface when using a 4 1/2-inch power wire brush.

That’s because the brush is designed to be used on its end so the wire tips strike the surface and do the cleaning work.

Another common mistake is applying too much pressure. Too much pressure bends the wires and contributes to wire breakage.

It also keeps the wire tips from striking the surface as designed.

A common speed rating for a 4 1/2-inch angle grinder is 10,000 rpm, so the wheel should be rated at 10,000 rpm or greater for safe usage. And the 4 1/2-inch power wire brushes on the market are available in a variety of materials, including carbon steel and Type 302 stainless steel wire, and also in a variety of arbor hole options.

While the 4 1/2-inch stringer bead brushes may require a slightly higher initial investment, they can offer faster payback time, because product changeover can be reduced and brush life extended. Choosing a brush that is specifically designed to fit on one of the most common and frequently used tools in the welding or fabrication shop helps improve performance and efficiency, resulting in increased productivity, cost savings and more efficient use of labor time for operators and companies.

Traditionally 4-inch wheels were the only option with 4 1/2 -inch right-angle grinders, new 4 1/2 -inch options optimize efficiency and product life.

www.canadianmetalworking.com

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THE

BOTTLENECK BLUES Efficient material handling is one way to streamline your manufacturing process.

BY NESTOR GULA

A

utomated systems have evolved as manufacturers have demanded faster production times and a higher quality of products. When discussing speeding up production times, material handling has frequently taken a back seat. It is much easier and more fun to talk about the speed and accuracy of cuts opposed to the mundane details of handling sheets of steel or moving parts around.

Automated material handling systems have evolved with the rest of the automated manufacturing machines. It was in 1985 that Salvagnini integrated a material handling system into its automated punching, shearing and bending operations. Since then, companies have worked to develop integrated solutions for bottlenecks in the manufacturing process.

Bottlenecking primarily occurs in the materials handling stage of production. And although materials handling isn’t always at the forefront of a production manager’s mind, perhaps it should be. “The world of manufacturing has shifted from large production runs of relatively few part numbers to shorter runs [with] a large

variation of part numbers, kitting, and justin-time manufacturing,” says Clinton Miller, account manager, automated systems with TRUMPF Inc. The modern machine plant is often challenged when it comes to adapting to the shift. TRUMPF believes problems generally fall into two categories: (1) material handing management issues, and (2) equipment issues.

Together, the two problems only exacerbate bottlenecks in the manufacturing process.

Fabricators no longer have large production runs of the same nest in the same material—there is a need to shift from one material to another and one nest to another very quickly. Machines are often left sitting idle if a shop chooses to present material using a manual process. TRUMPF often surveys manufacturing plants where different materials are stacked on skids, one on top of the other. This further intensifies the problem; a material handler takes more time and processes to find and remove pallets for use. It can be extremely time consuming and inefficient.

Adding new equipment to the shop floor enhances productivity, but only if the overall manufacturing process is adjusted to faster machines. On a production line, if a faster

The Compact Tower Modular Material Handling System (CTMMHS-200) from Cincinnati.

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14-11-05 11:59 AM

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Case in point: many manufacturers around the world have discovered that inserting a Salvagnini P4Xe panel bender in the manufacturing equasion has boosted production efficiency by as much as 30 percent. One P4Xe panel bender can do the lion’s share of your work — the equivalent of 3-5 press brakes.

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The Flexible Automation for Lasers (FA-L) from LVD can handle sheet sizes from 1000×1000 mm up to 3050×1525 mm. www.lvdgroup.com

machine is installed, bottlenecks can occur downstream with aging equipment.

When it comes to the fabrication process, logjams can occur at every step. “People are now using more powerful CAD/CAM designing software, we punch or laser cut our parts a lot faster, set-up times with press brakes are significantly improved. The improvements in each technology create a stage that causes the next step in the process to slow down or stop,” says Stefan Colle, laser product sales manager for Strippit Inc. Common bottlenecks occur when a laser cuts more parts than the sorter/operator can handle; or a laser is cutting too many parts, more than one or more press brakes can handle; or a press brake bends too many parts than a welder can handle, according to Colle.

The efficiency of equipment and lack of production capacity can be straining on the manufacturing process and lead to a decline in productivity. However, “improved materials handling can streamline the process for material, but machines may have their own inherit bottlenecks due to setup time, process time, down time, etc.” says Matt Garbarino, marketing manager for Cincinnati Incorporated.

Frequent causes include low productivity of a machine and too much labour. “For example, with lasers, a single pallet that the material is cut on would limit productivity after parts are cut. The machine is idle, while the parts and skeleton are being removed. By using dual pallets,

one pallet can allow the cutting of material, while the other one can facilitate the loading of material or unloading of finished parts.

A dual pallet system is one of the simplest forms of material handling for a laser.”

Automating set-ups for press brakes is also helping to keep up with faster punching and cutting speeds. “In the old days you needed three press brakes to keep up with newer turret systems,” says Timothy Brady, punching and combination product manager for Amada America, Inc. Having a system that requires a lot of setup for a relatively small production quantity can drive down productivity.

“What is really taking off and proving to be a great success are automatic tool change press brakes. They are still manual, where you have an operator that is bending the parts, but the setup is all done offline with software, and the machine is all robotically controlled. You can set up from one part to the next very rapidly. Typically around three minutes to set up where it might have been 30 minutes.”

While a robotic press break will often be more predictable and accurate than a manual press break, Brady doesn’t think an automated press break is any faster than a human when it comes to the actual bending of parts. However, an automated system has the ability to run 24 hours a day and “it doesn’t take lunch breaks,” says Brady, which leads to added productivity.

Machines that perform more than one task also help eliminate bottlenecks. Many turret lasers can cut, tap, mark, bend, punch, and form louvers. According to a recent Hypertherm case study, “Canada’s AWC Manufacturing estimates it lowered its yearly operating expenses by $100,000 and increased its profit per assembly by $500,” by utilizing Hypertherm’s Built for Business Integrated Cutting Solution technologies.

They were able to add a top Y bevel to the edges of plate and cut

With the Bystronic ByTrans Extended compact material handling system, loading and unloading takes just 60 seconds so the system is always faster than the shortest cutting plan.

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14-11-05 11:59 AM

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UW 505 Universal 5-Axis Workstation from ROFIN, developed to address industry’s need for a compact, turnkey CNC laser processing work cell for 3-D applications.

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out holes before moving the parts directly over to the welding area for fit-up, saving many steps in the production.

Overcoming bottlenecks in a production facility is not just a question of purchasing new equipment. “Management and equipment are both relevant to the bottleneck issue. Management needs to determine the best engineered manufacturing procedures to make the part,” says Bob Kloczkowski, sales manager for Rofin-Sinar Inc. “Part design needs to consider the capabilities of the production equipment as well as part design specifications. Management also needs to consider the up-time of the equipment. Older equipment or high maintenance machines will generate bottlenecks if their up-time is low. New technology machinery is an answer to equipment concerns because they offer higher production rates, less downtime and better performance specifications.”

Although both management and equipment are relevant, management must lead.

“It starts with management. Having a solid, lean manufacturing operation is a key component of company culture. It is very difficult to change the culture. Operators that are used to setting up a machine and letting it run slowly through its operation while they read the paper are not likely to embrace change,” suggests Marc Lobit, general manager sales support for Mazak Optonics Corporation.

“The pallets of work in front of their machine for many illustrate their job security. Once the decision is made to change the culture, the equipment and workflow needs an objective analysis. Many machines are more effective in automated operation due to automatic setup features or intelligent

“MANAGEMENT AND EQUIPMENT ARE BOTH RELEVANT TO THE BOTTLENECK ISSUE.” functions that help adjust machine performance automatically.” Automation systems will increase workflow and capacity, but the technology needs to solve a problem to be effective. “If it is not an appropriate type of automation, the shop will have higher capital costs without the ROI [return on investment],” says Lobit.

Improper material handling can result in manual loading and unloading inefficiencies and lost time. “First and foremost management must identify the bottlenecks and make the decisions to fix them,” says Frank Arteaga, head of product marketing, NAFTA Region for Bystronics Inc. “Management must always maintain the vision of their company both in the short term and the long term. The equipment should match the expectations and productivity requirements of the company both in the present and the near future.”

If management does not outline the right process flow for parts or have limits on how labour or machine time is used, bottlenecks will result. Determining where workflow inefficiencies are located and then dealing with them intelligently is management’s responsibility.

“In many instances the use of buffers can offer a solution. A buffer is a piece of material handling equipment that can temporarily store parts until the next step in the process is ready to receive it,” says Colle. “Buffer equipment must be sized based on the lack of capacity in the next step of the process. If we under-size our material handling system we can create a bottleneck within a bottleneck.

Without creating this buffer it is impossible to take advantage of the speed of the laser.

The key here is to temporarily store the parts until the next step in the process is ready to receive these parts.”

Automating laser cutting systems goes beyond feeding solutions. “Our simplest automation is where it will load a sheet of material, the parts are cut and it unloads the sheet to a separate pallet,” said Brady. “As we move up the line, you can go to something that has six shelves of different material and bring down a pallet automatically and load as many sheets as you need off of that pallet onto that turret, and then either bring www.canadianmetalworking.com

14-11-05 11:59 AM

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“THE MOST COMMON ISSUE WITH THE EQUIPMENT IS THAT AN INVESTMENT IN AUTOMATION TYPICALLY IS MADE IN FABRICATION, WHETHER IT IS A PUNCHING MACHINE OR LASER PROCESSING MACHINE, AND THAT LEAVES THE ANTIQUATED SECONDARY PROCESSES WITH MORE WORK THAN THEY CAN FULFILL IN THE SAME TIME SLOT” the parts back to an unload pallet or with the addition of a parts picker, it can actually pick the parts out of the sheets as they are being cut.”

Downstream of the laser a parts picker is a very useful tool. “The parts picker can remove parts from the sheet and stack them on a pallet at the back of the machine, and these then could go to the next phase, which is usually a press brake…You have all this automation but you end up with micro joined parts which are on this whole sheet of material,” he explains. “You then need to rely on an operator or several operators, which is usually done by vigorously shaking the sheets until they fall out. Then they have to be picked up and identified.” Some systems have trap doors where the parts will fall below the machine and are collected in a box. However, if there are many different parts on the sheet, like there usually are, then an operator must sift through a pile of parts, slowing the process down.

Adding a laser cutting system with an automatic feeder to speed up production might create more problems, according to Lobit.

“Depending on the application, a 10-year-old laser will have significantly slower cutting speeds and the addition of automation can double throughput.”

Depending on the parts produced, a versatile laser can eliminate some downstream work.

Garbarino explains that if the laser parts do not require additional operations, gains will be seen. “If the parts still require additional operations, the bottleneck will shift downstream to those operations. In some cases, additional operations could be eliminated (punching, marking) with use of a laser.”

There are various solutions to production constrains created by the addition of a highspeed laser cutting system. “Management needs to analyze if it is an operator, equipment or programming problem,” says Kloczkowski, who explains that solutions may involve hiring more employees and adding a shift, buying new equipment, updating programming software, training programs, or all of the above.

Many manufacturers invest in machinery to speed up production. “The most common issue with the equipment is that an investment in automation typically is made in fabrication, whether it is a punching machine or laser processing machine, and that leaves the antiquated secondary processes with more work than they can fulfill in the same time slot,” says Miller. “There are several solutions to this problem.” However, for Miller, the best solution is to continue with automation into secondary processes.

Automated bending and welding cells can be added to material handling systems to mitigate this problem.

Manufacturers justify the purchase of a new system by looking at the cost reduction and the increased productivity that will result. “You will always have

TRUMPF’s LiftMaster Compact automatically loads and unloads, the PartMaster allows quick and ergonomic part removal. With the TruStore modular and expandable rack and storage system, fabricators maximize the beam-on time of the laser and material flow.

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14-11-05 12:00 PM

an operator needed for any system. If the introduction of the system can allow the operator to do other tasks, it increases the productivity of that labour,” says Garbarino.

However, if more labor is required to manage the system costs go up, and if productivity has not increased then the system fails to meet its requirements. All automated machinery needs to be part of a whole system that takes into account the whole manufacturing processes and the material flow through the production facility.

“If they do not [take into account the whole system], it can be very costly to have production machines waiting for the automation,” says Miller. “The correct material handling equipment, specified by a knowledgeable automation expert, work hand-in-hand with the fabrication equipment to make the complete process not only more efficient, but also more flexible. This leads to lower per-piece costs and a more competitive shop.”

Avoiding bottlenecks and using machines near their capacity will ensure productivity and profit. “Proper material handling will ensure that fabrication equipment maximizes its utilization rate. However, the

Maintaining a high rate of repeatability, Amada’s HD 1003ATC is equipped with an Automatic Tool Changer that provides flexibility and productivity and is capable of storing more than 86 feet of precision tooling. www.Amada.com

operator factor must also be considered,” says Kloczkowski. “The most productive work cell will not produce parts unless there is a motivated, well-trained operator to program, setup and operate the cell. Equipment software and controls can simplify these operator functions; however, operators need to be well trained and understand the application as well as philosophy of running a productive shop.”

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BUSINESS PROFILE: FABRICATING

VENTEX, BOLTON, ONTARIO Bolton-based louvre and damper manufacturer opens up to new opportunities with laser cutting equipment

BY NESTOR GULA

M

any successful companies start off with a simple idea. Ventex Inc. started because one man had an idea of how to improve a product most of us don’t even think about—industrial back-draft dampers.

Bill Haley was working for Leader Fan when he had an idea for an improved extruded aluminum back-draft damper, and in 1984 he went out on his own.

“He started this because he had an idea how to make back-draft dampers better,” says his son, Jason Haley, president of Ventex Inc. “It was just him for the first couple of years, and then he hired a couple of guys. I joined the business in 1992 right out of university. I went to school at Seneca College studying sales and marketing, and I actually wanted to get into advertising. I said I would never work for my dad. But…it was the middle of the recession and he needed help. So I started to work for him. And I have not found a better job yet.”

The company started very modestly. Manufacturing was done in the Finch Avenue and Weston Road area of Toronto. Bookkeeping, accounting and general business were conducted in the family home.

“When he first started up, it was in a room no bigger than this,” he says, pointing to his very modest-sized office. “When they cut the first extrusion they had to open the door to make the cut because it stuck out into the hallway.”

The company moved a few times—they were just north of Toronto in Concord, around Jane Street and Highway 7, and in 2001, they bought a 46,000 square-foot facility in Bolton, northwest of Toronto.

“We bought this building. We did not need the entire building at first, so we rented out half of the building, and we actually rented out the office spaces as well,” he

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says. “As the years went by, we added more products and grew the business. Now we occupy the whole building and we are looking to expand in the next year or so.”

Haley acknowledges that they got a good price for it, and that he was very comfortable in the area as he actually grew up 15 minutes from Ventex’s current location. There are actually two businesses under the roof—Ventex, which manufactures louvres, penthouse louvres, acoustic louvres and back-draft dampers mainly; and Alumavent, which manufactures extruded aluminum control dampers, insulated control dampers, galvanized steel control dampers and fire dampers. [Incidentally, penthouse louvres are four sided louvres that sit on top of a roof and have the ductwork come up from the bottom.]

The Amada HDS 1303 NT press brake.

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BUSINESS PROFILE: FABRICATING

Although feeding the turret laser is still performed manually, automating the process is being considered.

Alumavent was created when the company bought a competitor in 2006. “They were a louvre manufacturer, and we moved that company up to Bolton. We changed the product line around, and we introduced our insulated control damper and the fire safety products through Alumavent.”

What is interesting about Ventex is that neither the founder, Bill, nor the current president, Jason, are engineers or have a technical background. “My dad is a financial controller by profession and I’m a sales and marketing guy,” says Jason. “We just learned by doing.”

Having a good product and establishing an impeccable reputation was important to growing the company.

“It was very challenging. We were always looking for customers,” he recalls. “It was a very gradual process.

There is no major distributor for our products that handles them across the country. It is not like we are selling to a large retailer. We have to go into these markets and research, either with agents or wholesalers, to sell our products. There is a lot of time spent building relationships. And there was a lot of travel. Not so much anymore but I still do travel, especially to Montreal; it is really busy there these days. We have a salesman in Montreal and I am out there when we are doing the big projects.”

The company has been around for 30 years and maintaining a good reputation is important. In these three decades, the company has grown to over 50 employees. There is even a sign in front of their building stating that they are hiring. “Finding and keeping staff is not difficult,” according to Haley. “We do a large amount of in-house training.

We have two employees that have been with the company for over 25 years. They actually predate me.”

Haley notes that one recurring aspect of the company is to invest in technology to produce better products.

“We have invested a lot of time and money in using technology wherever we can in the manufacturing process. It started with our internal computer system,” he says, explaining, “What it does is take an order directly from the order entry system in accounting, translates www.canadianmetalworking.com

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the line items and descriptions and turns it into something that goes right to the shop where it is barcoded and the cutter gets his cut list just by scanning the bar code.

The assemblers have their production sheets all summarized, and they scan the bar codes through production so that we know where every order is in the shop at any time—we can just look it up when a customer calls.”

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BUSINESS PROFILE: FABRICATING Another recent big investment was the acquisition of an Amada EMLK 3610NT Laser Turret system and an Amada HDS 1303 HD press brake. “Basically, we were looking for a laser to replace a plasma cutter,” says Haley. He was looking for something to make cleaner cuts, faster. “The plasma is like taking a torch and just cutting a piece of metal out. A laser is much more refined and it leaves a much nicer finish on the product.

There are no burns, there are no marks, there are no secondary processes needed that sometimes the plasma cutter requires.”

The decision to go with the turret system came after consultation with Amada salespeople and others as well. “Amada sold me on them. Their customer service was amazing—is amazing,” he enthuses. The Amada salesperson took the time to listen to Haley’s concerns and needs, taking an interest in his current production process. “[The salesperson] tried to show me how he could improve [our process]. Going into this, I was initially going to just get a laser. However, he showed me this other machine that had the combination of a turret punch as well as a laser, and showed me how it could be effective in my business and what it could let me do.”

The turret machine allows Ventex to do some forming and actual bending of the product on the machine, which

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was generally a secondary process for the company. “You can actually cut out production steps.”

Initially, Haley was skeptical. He had another salesperson come to his shop, telling him that a turret type machine was unnecessary for what Ventex needed.

However, after going through the specifications, the Amada salesperson invited Haley to their solution centre in Schaumburg, Illinois.

“I was blown away by their facility, the people, their knowledge of products and everything. They had a complete package. They do what I do. They stand behind their machine. Their customer service has been top notch as far as answering questions. The machine has never broken down because of something mechanical in the year that I have had it. It only broke down once because my operator did something wrong—a sheet of metal crumpled up so we had to replace one part. It has been reliable. It is the backbone, really, of my production now.”

Amada came in to train the employees on the machine says Haley. “I was extensively involved in learning the software side of the program. Because I needed to know what the capabilities of the machines are…I wanted to get as much out of the machines as possible. I am very hands-on that way. I know how to operate most of the machines in the shop.”

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BUSINESS PROFILE: FABRICATING He actually helped design some of the machines in the shop. “The machines on the aluminum side of the shop do custom cutting and punching. And a custom pinning machine that we designed basically took what were the slow spots in production and turned them into areas which drive the production.”

Jason Haley poses in front of one of the company’s louvres.

While some may suggest automation and high-speed machinery will eliminate jobs in manufacturing, Haley says he sees the opposite. The use of the laser has increased throughput and actually caused more hiring in his company.

“I used to be able to process about 50 to 70 sheets of steel or aluminum in a week with one guy. Now with the laser turret and the new brake we are processing the same amount in one shift. So we have increased our productivity five times,” he says.

“It has also allowed us to have new products. We have more products now than we could have had with the old machines. We are now doing heavy-duty industrial control dampers for mines. I have done jobs in stainless steel for Potash in Saskatchewan, something that I could not have done before.

“It has just changed the nature of our approach to manufacturing and what we can manufacture. It has changed our mindset to think of ways to be creative to solve problems—something we could not have done before.”

The complete set up of the laser took about two weeks according to Haley. “The thing that was extremely impressive about it was that as soon as they finished setting the machine up, we were producing. The next day, as part of our training seminar we were producing parts

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BUSINESS PROFILE: FABRICATING on the floor that we were using in production,” he says.

The press brake has also helped streamline the operation. “That came out of necessity because I bought the new laser,” says Haley. “I had the [laser turret system] for a couple of months, and I was getting pristine parts out of the laser, and I was going to bend them in my old brake but the accuracy was just not there. It is amazing to see the capability and the accuracy of the Amada brake. It is repeatable within a few thousandths of an inch every single time.

“When I looked at our production before—bending sheet metal, bending aluminum, bending steel—it was always something that we did as a secondary function,” he says. “It was always something the guys wanted to put off until the last moment. Now we are able to engineer products and have the sheets cut out before we need them. This is now driving my production. What used to be a bottleneck is something that is making the rest of my production go faster.”

Ventex does not have robotic handling yet. “We don’t do a lot of the same thing over and over again. I’m not doing process runs. I am still doing custom fabrication in a way. We very rarely sell the same sized unit twice,” he said. “What I really like about the Amada system is that I can design something in Solid Works, send it to the Amada bending software and then the bending software can then say this is where you need to have a procedure done on the laser. The system is very integrated and very graphical. The guy who is running the press brake can see what he is going to do and what he is to do next. It is all laid out to him very visually.”

Haley says that the company does run into bottlenecks on occasion, and he is very proactive to come up with solutions. “It is as simple as being in the shop and knowing what is going through the shop, what processes are taking the most amount of time,” he says. Ventex is a busy place. If you include data entry, there is anywhere between 75 and 100 orders in various stages of production in the shop, he says. Ventex can do around 30 to 40 shipments a day.

Although the machines are only running about eight hours a day right now, Haley expects they will be running them longer in the near future. He is looking to the automation of the tools so the machine can run 24/7, feeding the sheets and picking the parts up. “We haven’t done this because of space. We are jam packed for space,” he said.

The flexibility and ease of his recently bought machines has allowed Haley to expand his business. “Another thing Amada has allowed me to do is innovate and come up with new products,” he says. “I can actually do all the prototyping and build the product first. Have a specific set of plans and then send them out to the engineers. It has saved me a ton of money in development, and has allowed me to be limited only by my imagination. I’m always asking my guys here at the shop to think of new ways to do things. And the Amada products are really helping me be innovative. We do more because we can.

“Did I have a plan set out for every single thing that these machines would do when I bought them? No. But I knew that we could utilize them, and the capabilities of the new tools would help our business grow.”

The busy and well-lit assembly area of Ventex.

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BUSINESS PROFILE: FABRICATING

QUALITY MACHINING & METALWORKS, MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO Manufacturer of gauges and valves is expanding its fabricating operation

BY DOUG PICKLYK

A

fter almost 30 years in business, Quality Machining & Metalworks Inc. of Mississauga, Ontario has established an international reputation as the only Canadian manufacturer of high-pressure flat glass liquid level gauges and valves supplying heavy industrial sites around the world. Company founder, Sam Chana, developed the specialized products from his small machining and fabricating shop outside of Toronto, and with a steady line of products feeding the machining side of his business, a recent move nearby to a larger facility

Quality valve assembled.

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is allowing Chana to ramp up the fabricating side of his operation.

Originally from Ludhiana, a major city and industrial hub of the Punjab region in Northwestern India, Chana comes from a metalworking family. “It was in my blood,” he says. “It was what I wanted to do.” Growing up he studied mechanical engineering while also helping build the family business.

When he moved to Canada he landed at a company that was producing high-pressure valves and gauges for the Canadian distributor of an American firm. In 1985 Chana went out on, setting up shop offering both machining and fabricating services. He called his start-up Quality Machining and Fabrication, two years later, when he went to incorporate the business, that company name was taken so he renamed his business Quality Machining & Metalworks.

The American gauge and valve firm had pulled out of the Canadian market, so based on the knowledge he had gleaned from working on the products, Chana set out to design and machine his own models of the industrial-strength parts. The high-pressure liquid level gauges (also called sight glass because the levels can be viewed through a glass front) and valve systems are mechanical instruments used to measure reservoir tank levels and boiler levels for the oil and gas and related industries.

In the early days Chana found some custom machining and fabricating business to fill the gaps at his shop and worked on evenings and weekends designing and sourcing materials for his gauges and valves.

“You can’t buy the materials locally to manufacture www.canadianmetalworking.com

BUSINESS PROFILE: FABRICATING Bobby Chana (left) and Eric Wolf

these products. You have to buy mill-run material because it’s very specialized,” says Chana.

The metal needs to be highly stable, as the products can be used in some very extreme locations. Special grade low-temperature metals, able to withstand climates like Northern Alberta or the deserts of Dubai, specialized bolts and nuts and imported high-impact glass are used on the finished products.

It took Chana about five years to ramp up the production and another five to really break into the industrial gauge and valve market. Now his Quality-branded products, including the only made-in-Canada industrial-strength flat glass liquid level gauges and valves, are sold through a network of international distributors with customers across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Chana is able to source his forgings in India at a cost that keeps him competitive in the international market.

His ability to perform all of the machining and assembly in-house also gives the company ultimate quality control. “We do assembly and testing of the products. With this product we have to test 100 per cent before we ship it,” says Chana. The company is ISO certified and has special Canada-wide certification for producing these high-pressure devices.

The machining side of Quality’s shop floor is dedicated to the gauge and valve business and operates six aging CNC machines and four manual machines. The day of our visit, Chana shows us three machines being used for three different operations on the valves. He admits that he’s heavily considering a new CNC machine tool, a fouror five-axis, that may be able to perform all the tasks on one machine. www.canadianmetalworking.com

And he’s prepared to invest in this side of his business because it continues to grow. Eric Wolf, vice president sales and marketing at Quality, has been selling these industrial gauges and valves for 40 years, and he’s known Chana for close to 25 years.

According to Wolf, the gauge and valve business is booming. “Twenty years ago they said it was going to be a diminishing market. But with all of the fracking and (other energy production) going on in the U.S., every injection system has a sight glass on it so they can measure the liquid loads on the steam that they’re inserting into the shale,” he explains. “And every

Quality high-pressure flat glass gauge

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BUSINESS PROFILE: FABRICATING “I don’t want to be cheaper, there’s no skill in that. But there is skill in making products better and being more efficient.”

Although Quality’s focus has been on its valve and gauge business, it accounts for about 70 per cent of the company’s business, it hasn’t abandoned its fabricating side, in fact that’s an area where Chana sees a great opportunity for more growth.

Most all of the fabricating work is custom, with an emphasis on retail fixtures and displays, bus parts (including work for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and GO Transit) and work for the oil and gas sector.

In order to accommodate growth in both its valve and gauge business and expand its fabricating operation, in January 2014 Quality moved into a larger location. The new 37,500 sq. ft. building more than doubles the size of the 15,000 sq. ft. shop the company had occupied for 12 years.

The move also coincided with the installation of a new TRUMPF TruLaser 3030. The company had previously been operating another laser they’ve had for around 10 years. “We were busy on that laser and needed to buy another,” says Chana. The company was also running into limitations with the existing laser, including its ability to only cut up to 5/8-inch material and up to 4- x 8-foot sizes.

To step up its capabilities Quality elected to go with the TruLaser 3030 and 6kW TruFlow 6000 suitable for cutting mild steel and stainless steel up to one-inch and aluminum up to ½-inch. They also selected the RotoLas option for processing tubes and profiles. The bed size is also 30 x 15 ft. (9300mm x 4600mm).

“It’s really an amazing machine,” says Chana.

“TRUMPF has been a very nice company to deal with,” says Ronnie Chana, Sam’s wife and the office administrator. It took about a month and a half for the entire installation process and getting up to full operation in the new facility and with the new laser because the company’s move occurred during the ice storm in early 2014. “It was supposed to take us two weeks, but it turned into month and a half,” recalls Ronnie.

Chana’s son Bobby, who recently graduated from engineering at Ryerson University in Toronto, is the one setting up and running the laser operations.

He does all of the drawTRUMPF TruLaser 3030 in action, cutting handwheels for Quality high-pressure valves. ings and autocad program-

refinery around the world, every gas plant, every transmission station has a sight glass. It’s how they calibrate their electronics. And if the electronics fail, these products will still work.”

The competition in this market includes some very large organizations, but because Quality is a relatively small operation it’s able to be nimble and accommodate special requests.

“It’s an extremely competitive market—pennies per pound,” says Wolf. “We win business on delivery. Our reputation is for being better and faster; that’s our niche in the market.

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BUSINESS PROFILE: FABRICATING keyhole shaped slots to be ming. In all the company used for toy racks in retail employs about 15 people. “ WHEN YOU ENHANCE YOUR VERSATILITY YOU locations.

Prior to installation INCREASE YOUR POTENTIAL MARKET. ALL YOU Other retail fixture projof the new laser, Bobby HAVE TO DO IS CAPITALIZE ON IT.” ects include jewelry cabattended TRUMPF’s traininets and mirror stands. ing facility in Farmington, He also describes an elaborate customized shoe stand Connecticut as well as traveling to TRUMPF client sites developed for retail window displays for an international in Europe to see the machinery in a production setting.

Along with the new laser the company installed a five-ton running shoe company.

They also have a large 40-foot assembly project on their 120-foot crane to accommodate the heavier gage capacity floor being prepared for an oil and gas company that will the new laser can handle, and it also allows the company be shipped to Fort McMurray, Alberta. It’s a heavy-duty to take on larger project work. The install also included project they would not have been able to complete before having gas lines installed to feed the C02 lasers. installing the new laser.

The fabricating side of the business also includes a They’re happy to take on specialized short-run projbrake press and welding areas and plenty of room for ects that require ingenuity and need quick turnaround. moving product.

“We’re not a large company, but we insist on maintaining “When you enhance your versatility you increase your our versatility,” says Wolf. potential market. All you have to do is capitalize on it,” For their high-pressure valve products the company had says Wolf, who points to a number of fabricating projects been sourcing cast handles, or handwheels. “Then we completed since the beginning of 2014 and the installation of the new laser, including metal cut outs of popular Disney found another solution,” says Sam, with a laugh. They are now cutting their own handwheels on the new TRUMPF characters used for in-store displays at the locations in the laser, adding another step in the vertical integration of U.S. One popular example is Pumbaa from the Lion King, their gauge and valve business, further increasing the cut out about five-feet long and etched on the laser. quality control of their own Quality-branded products.

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NOVEMBER 2014 | 99

Automated inline measuring makes quality control easy and effective (Photo: Miitutoyo)

How automated inline measurement systems help increase productivity

BY LINDSAY LUMINOSO

M

aintaining quality control in a production environment, where the primary focus is on improving productivity, poses challenges for shop managers in all areas of the metalworking industry. Regardless of the tolerances required, quality processes in a workflow can slow down production and ultimately hinder productivity. Today’s inline measurement solutions are one step to improving the path to both quality products and efficient production.

Conroe Machines integrated the Renishaw Equator system in an automated cell, including a 6-axis robot, machining centre, and an engraving machine (Photo: Renishaw).

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One of the main concerns for shop managers is boosting productivity. However, according to the old adage, you cannot improve what you can’t measure. This is why inline measurement is so important for the manufacturing process and overall workflow. Quality demands are continually rising to higher levels, forcing companies to search for the best possible solutions to measure and assure quality in their products.

Traditional measurement procedures, using hand gauges on the shop floor or offline in controlled environments with a specialist operating a coordinate measuring machine are time consuming, cause delays, require skilled operators and may lead to manual re-adjustments production. With hand gauges, there is the added concern of human error introduced in this manual inspection process. Higher-precision measuring, specifically with CMMs, is highly accurate, yet this level of measurement is not always required in a production line. For example, in an automotive plant, 1,000 vehicles can be built each day; however, using a CMM for quality assurance only allows for approximately two of the vehicles to be measured. This is not acceptable with today’s quality standards.

There are several important aspects involved in automated inline (or near-line) measurement systems, including leveraging adaptable metrology methods, developing intuitive software, and enhancing automawww.canadianmetalworking.com

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ently with a partnered automation robot from Netherlands-based Cellro. Together Mitutoyo and Cellro have created an integrated system, the Automatic Inline Measurement, using the MACH series of measuring systems, with the Xcelerate automation system, which enables automatic real-time feedback correction of CNC machines, and data is documented providing exact measurement reports.

QUALITY CHALLENGES ON THE SHOP FLOOR

tion. The measuring equipment, automation software and the machine need to communicate with one another effectively in order to meet quality assurances.

Many metrology companies are partnering with automation companies and combining their capabilities to make complete automated inline systems. These systems provide shop owners with one-stop shopping as well as seamless connectivity between system components. However, some shops and facilities have automated cells already be in place. This is why some companies are focusing on developing metrological devices that are easily adaptable to a wide range of automation scenarios and software that can connect to existing systems, while providing high-data capture rates.

“In-process data monitoring allows updating offset data to multiple CNC machine tools automatically, which provides error free tool control, eliminating operator data entry errors, making lights out manufacturing possible,” says David Chang, technical sales manager (measurement & automation products) for Renishaw (Canada) Limited.

As both visual inspection and measuring technology improve, the opportunities for efficient quality assurance on shop floor environments look promising. Inline measuring linked to a closed-loop production system ramps up productivity with the added advantage of real-time quality assurance.

Japan-based Mitutoyo, specialists in precision measuring systems, supply high-quality measuring equipment that co-operates fluwww.canadianmetalworking.com

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Each production environment is different, so it’s important to understand the type of inspection needed to ensure quality assurance. While automated inline measurement systems can offer feedback process control, these systems can also allow for part sortation, where after inspection a robot is able to remove defective parts from the line. In many cases both applications of the system are used in conjunction and allow for improved quality assurance on a production line.

Conroe Machines, a general-purpose shop in Conroe, Texas, gets a high percentage of its business from the oil and gas industry, specifically drilling components like bearings. In a case study published by Renishaw, James Wardell, a CNC programmer with the Conroe, speaks about the challenges the company faced when dealing with quality.

“Our production plateaued at 800-1,000 parts per day…We had a single operator loading the machines and inspecting the parts. However, you can rely on an operator to correctly inspect so many parts with this kind of volume, and we needed more output.

“Inspection must be fast to keep up with cycle times on the parts…Originally, we looked at white light laser inspection because of its speed, but the parts are too reflective.

We also looked at hard gauging and shop-floor CMMs. Hard gauging was very expensive and required setup attention, and the CMM gave no speed advantage,” explains Wardell.

To enhance its quality process Conroe Machines elected to use the Renishaw Equator gauging systems in an automated cell, including a 6-axis robot, machining centre, and an engraving machine.

“We planned the measurement process to work without a part fixture or stylus changing. The robot chooses, through the EZ-IO automation software on the Equator, which measuring program it will run for each type of part,” says Wardell.

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challenging. As more and more shops are moving towards “just-in-time” manufacturing, there are more than one type of part being produced at a time. Pre-programmable software allows for collected data and measurements to be directly compared to CAD models or real-time model-based algorithms.

Software has also adapted to allow for unique scripts to be written for each part, making the inline system highly adaptable.

In this way, the measuring device is knowledge driven and can operate through a wide range of production processes.

BODY-IN-WHITE APPLICATIONS

Hexagon Metrology’s 360° Smart Inline Measurement Solutions.

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Every industry has specific quality parameters to operate within. Finding a targeted system that fits the production line is key. In the automotive sector, it is important for complex and repeatable measuring. If there are 1,000 vehicles being produced daily, adding robotics, sensors, and measuring devices inline significantly increases the number of cars measured, thus creating a productive environment.

Hexagon Metrology, a Swedish-based company focusing on precision measuring technologies, has developed the 360º Smart Inline Measurement Solutions (360º SIMS) with the automotive industry specifically in mind.

The abilities of the system to work with commonly used robots is helpful if there are existing systems in place, allowing for flexibility when setting up cell systems. For large part and mass production manufacturing, configuring cells within the production line using multiple robots can provide a full view of dimensional quality while measuring hidden components.

Highly accurate data at the early production stages, like body in white measuring, is required before a vehicle moves down the line. Body in white refers to the stage when the car body’s sheet metal components have been welded together, but before moving parts, the motor, chassis sub-assemblies, or

trim have been added and before painting.

For automotive assembly and manufacturing, this stage is significant.

For metrology companies, it’s important that the automated inline measuring systems are able to “demonstrate the locations of [all] holes, slots, studs, welded lines, and features,” according to Nikon metrology, a Nikon Group company. Nikon has developed the Laser Radar for automate inline inspection, mounting the laser to 6-axis robot arms. The measurements need to be precise in order to meet with stringent tolerances and continue along the production line.

Having fixed sensors only allow for detection of present or absent features in a local reference point, whereas automated inline measurement systems provide dynamic measuring and correction on the production line, especially when there is more than one vehicle type being measured. These systems are adaptable and require no changeover when it comes to measuring different features, parts, or vehicles.

Automated inline measurement works well in high-volume manufacturing where defects and time-consuming measuring can cause backlog in production. However, this type of system also works well in large part production, where a CMM or hand gauge is unable to measure beyond a specific size.

In the automotive industry, inline measurement is one of the few ways to ensure quality. Having a fully integrated system allows for full surface inspection and parts measurement within the production cycle time and can provide “insightful and actionable information and monitor quality,” says Giacomo Barita, head of Hexagon Metrology’s automated solutions.

The intelligent software provides users with the ability to specify the parameters for data collection, while analyzing the outcome for appropriate action. Whether you are using a system to correct manufacturing processes or remove defected parts, the ability to measure inline during continual production is key to a system’s success. Waste is reduced while processes are improved.

The goal of any shop, large or small, is to produce quality products efficiently. Quality assurances depend largely on the industry and customers, but one thing is certain, if the manufacturing process is producing defective pieces, a company will lose money.

Investing in a system that suits the needs of the assembly line will pay for itself when it comes to reducing waste both in materials and in time. www.canadianmetalworking.com

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T: 800 945-5554 E: service.ca@walter-tools.com www.walter-tools.com/us

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

CUTTING TOOLS HORN USA, INC. HORN is the technology leader of indexable cutting tools with experience in over 100,000 custom application solutions and engineering expertise applied to more than 17,000 standardized turning and milling tools.

T: 888 818 4676 E: info@hornusa.com www.hornusa.com ISCAR TOOLS INC. ISCAR provides industries machine tools, carbide cutting tools, engineering and manufacturing solutions for a wide range of metal cutting applications, including innovative products, designed specifically for customer increased productivity requirements globally.

T: 905-829-9000 www.iscar.ca SANDVIK COROMANT (Cutting tools for turning, milling and drilling, modular tooling systems for lathes and machining centres. Direct sales personnel and specialists in more than 60 countries plus authorised distributors and 20 Productivity Centres worldwide providing training in tooling solutions for increased productivity) T: 905 826 8900/800 268 0703 E: coromant.ca@sandvik.com www.sandvik.coromant.com SGS TOOL COMPANY. SGS is a privately-held, ISO-certified leader of round solid carbide cutting tool technology providing value at the spindle for the aerospace, medical, power generation, and automotive industries.

T: 330-688-6667 E: sales@sgstool.com www.sgstool.com

Campbell Morden specializes in recruiting full-time staff for a broad range of industries, such as aerospace, automotive, CNC Machine Builders, and system integrators.

Positions include: technical sales, CNC machining, applications engineers, manufacturing management, and field service technicians – among others.

Email: bp@campbellmorden.com Call Brian Pho at 905-482-0636 EVENTS – TABLE-TOP SHOWS

April 7, 2015 Winnipeg MB May 5, 2015 Coquitlam BC CONTACT: 416-510-5225 www.mmpshow.com

Sponsored by:

ADVERTISERS INDEX ADVERTISER 3M Canada ABB Robotics Inc. Amada Canada, Ltd. AMT Machine Tools Ltd. Benchmark Maintenance Services, Inc. Blaser Swisslube Inc. Bohler-Uddeholm Limited Brubaker Tool Campbell Mordem CWB Group Dipaolo Machine Tools Elliott Matsuura Canada Ltd. ERI America Inc. ESAB Welding & Cutting Products Exsys Tool. Inc. FANUC Canada, Ltd. Fein Power Tool Company Ferro Technique Ltd. Gullco International Haas Automation Inc. Heule Tool Corporation HORN USA, Inc.

www.canadianmetalworking.com

09CMW-Marketplace.indd 103

PAGE# 87 99 9 20, 45 42 64 55 17 103 75 13, 105 6 18 69 59 21 15 49 68 27 61 11

ADVERTISER Hougan Manufacturing Inc. HSBC Hurco USA Hydromat Inc. Ingersoll Iscar Tools Inc. ITI Tooling Company Inc. Kinetic Cutting Systems Inc. Komet Canada Kyocera Precision Tools, Inc. Lincoln Electric Company of Canada Megatel Inc. Metalworking Mfg. & Production Expo Miller Electric Milltronics CNC Machines Mitcham Machine Tools Mitutoyo Canada Inc. Multicyl Inc. Northbridge Insurance Pearl Abrasive Co. PFERD PG Quality Management Consulting

PAGE# 15 92 IFC 45 35 OBC 60 70 58 63 67 31 57 72 19 19 33 91 95 71 77 105

ADVERTISER

PAGE#

PRAB Renishaw (Canada) Ltd. Retention Knob Supply & Mfg. Co. Inc. Salvagnini America, Inc. Samchully Workholding, Inc. Sandvik Scientific Cutting Tools Scotchman Industries, Inc. Scunk Intec Corp.

SGS Tool Company Sirco Machinery SME CMTS Show Thomas Skinner TRUMPF Inc. Tungaloy America Inc. Universal Robots Vargus USA Victor Technologies Walter Surface Technologies Walter USA, LLC Wilson Tool International

37 25 105 83 51 4,5 14 93 39 44 27 65 27 IBC 3 89 62 23, 81 79 43 85

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES

EVENTS – TRADE SHOWS FABTECH CANADA. March 22-24, 2016 Toronto Congress Centre, FABTECH Canada is Canada’s largest one-stop, all-encompassing venue for the latest technologies and trends in fabricating, welding, metal forming, stamping, coating and finishing. With an unmatched reputation in the industry, FABTECH is the largest event in this sector in North America.

For more information contact us at: T: 1 888 322 7333 E: jsaperson@sme.org www.fabtechcanada.com WESTERN MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY SHOW (WMTS). June 1517 2015, Edmonton EXPO Centre. Evaluate and compare cutting-edge manufacturing equipment, advanced technologies, new products & applications, and services at Western Canada’s largest manufacturing technology event. For more information contact us at: T: 1 888 322 7333 E: jsaperson@SME.org www.wmts.ca CANADIAN MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY SHOW (CMTS). Sept 28 – Oct 1 2015, The International Centre, Mississauga. Canada’s largest display of manufacturing equipment and technology attended by over 8,000 professionals. Connect with over 700 suppliers under one roof demonstrating live, working equipment. For more information contact us at: T: 1 888 322 7333 E: jpike@sme.org www.cmts.ca

FABRICATING MACHINERY AMADA CANADA, LTD. Since 1987, Amada has provided the Canadian industry with innovative sheet metal fabrication equipment including: CNC turret punch presses, lasers, punch/laser combination machines, press brakes, automated systems, tooling and software.

Peter Burell T: 905 858 4496 pburell@amada.ca www.amada.ca TRUMPF INC. TRUMPF Inc. is the largest manufacturer of sheet metal fabrication equipment and industrial lasers in North America. Our Farmington, CT facility produces precision laser cutting machines, punching machines and CO2 and solid-state lasers.

T: 860 255 6000 E: info@us.trumpf.com www.us.trumpf.com

LASERS ROFIN-BAASEL, CANADA LTD. A Canadian division of the laser industry leader ROFIN-SINAR, provides applications, sales and a sophisticated service/technical support network for our vast line of lasers for marking, welding, cutting, and surface treatment. For more information contact us at: T: 905 607-0400 E: Info-canada@rofin-inc.com www.rofin.com

MACHINE TOOLS AMT MACHINE TOOLS LTD. AMT specializes in Sales & Service of: Star CNC Swiss Style Automatic Lathes and Hydromat Transfer Machines. We also have a complete line of filtration products including Filtermist Oil-Mist collectors.

T 416-675-7760 E: sales@amtmachine.com www.amtmachine.com DIPAOLO MACHINE TOOLS. DiPaolo Machine Tools is the one stop shop for all of your machine tool needs. We’ll source the equipment, rebuild it, retrofit it, calibrate and service it. For more information contact us at: T: 905 676-9265 E: sales@dipaolocnc.com www.dipaolocnc.com

HURCO COMPANIES, INC. Hurco invents CNC technology that makes our customers more profitable. We design and manufacture more than 60 models of CNC machines with the most versatile control in the industry— equally powerful for NC and conversational programming.

T: 1-800-634-2416 E: info@hurco.com www.hurco.com MAKINO, INC. Makino is a world leader in advanced CNC machining centers for today’s most complex metalworking applications. With a wide range of high-precision metal-cutting and EDM machinery, we help our customers make what matters.

T: 513-573-7200 E: webmaster@makino.com www.makino.com MAZAK CORPORATION. Mazak is a leader in the design, manufacture and support of advanced technology solutions, including Multi-Tasking, 5-axis, milling, turning, CNC controls and automation, for all metal working industry segments.

T: 859 342 1700 E: triddell@mazakcorp.com www.mazakusa.com MITCHAM MACHINE TOOLS INC. Mitcham Machine Tools Inc. are Canadian distributors of CNC and manual Machine Tools. With our extensive product line from manufactures around the world, we will work with you to find you the right machine for your needs, both on time, and within budget.

T: 416-458-7994.

E: sales@mitchammachinetools.com www.mitchammachinetools.com

MACHINERY ELLIOTT MATSUURA CANADA INC. Elliott Matsuura Canada Inc. is an industry-leading supplier of quality machine tools coast to coast in Canada. Since 1950, Elliott has provided complex metal cutting solutions to meet the challenges of aerospace, automotive, medical, energy, and other industries.

T: 905-829-2211 E: info@elliottmachinery.com www.elliottmachinery.com

MARKING GRAVOTECH, INC. Gravotech are global leaders in the design, manufacturing, sales, and support of innovative solutions for engraving, marking and artistic modeling. As a global leader in durable marking technologies such as engraving, laser, micro-percussion and scribing, we utilize our expertise to develop and market equipment, software and consumables for every application.

T 800-843-7637 E: sales@us..gravotech.com www.gravotech.us

METAL FINISHING PFERD. The PFERD brand name is synonymous with outstanding premium-quality tools and abrasives. Today, we manufacture more than 7,500 PFERD brand grinding, cutting and surface finishing tools. And a complete range of ADVANCE BRUSH power and maintenance brushes.

T: 905-501-1555 E: sales@pferdcanada.ca www.pferdcanada.ca WALTER SURFACE TECHNOLOGIES. Walter Surface Technologies has been a leader in surface treatment technologies for more than 60 years, and has been providing high productivity abrasives, power tools, tooling, chemical solutions and environmental solutions for the metal working industry.

T: 1-888-592-5837 E: csr@walter.com www.walter.com

HAAS AUTOMATION, INC. Haas Automation, Inc. – America’s leading machine tool builder – manufactures a full line of CNC vertical machining centers, CNC horizontal machining centers, CNC lathes, 5-axis machining centers, and rotary products.

T: 805 278 1800/Toll Free: 800-331-6746 E: haascnc@haascnc.com www.HaasCNC.com

104 | NOVEMBER 2014

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Introducing an opportunity for small-space and classified advertising in Canadian Metalworking Metalworking Marketplace will be available in all nine issues of Canadian Metalworking, and provides the opportunity to run small space advertising and classified ads at low cost.

There are two main parts to Marketplace, Listings for Products and Services, and Classified for Machine Tool and Fabricating Equipment.

For a quote on any size ad, contact: STEVE DEVONPORT, Publisher 416-543-1641 sdevonport@canadianmetalworking.com

ROB SWAN, Associate Publisher 416-510-5225 cell 416-725-0145 rswan@canadianmetalworking.com

QUALITY CONTROL

WORKHOLDING

PG Quality Management Consulting

NICHOLAS HEALEY, Account Manager 416-442-5600 x3642 nhealey@canadianmetalworking.com

     

ISO 9001 Auditing & Documentation Business Process Improvement Supplier Management Calibration & Maintenance Programs JHSC (OHSA)

SAMCHULLY WORKHOLDING, INC. Samchully Workholding leverages a broad range of complementary products to provide full turn-key custom solutions. The ability to single source the solutions ensures customers optimal compatibility and unsurpassed quality control.

T 949-727-3001/1-877-750-4747 E info@samchullyworkholding.com www.samchully.com

USED MACHINE TOOLS

Your Quality Management Outsourcing Partner

Phil Ganesh, C.E.T., QMS-LA Consultant Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

Confidential

Mobile: 519.577.9680 Email: sales@pgqmc.com Web: http://pgqmc.com/

Professional

Affordable

RENISHAW (CANADA) LIMITED. Introducing a unique versatile gauging system. Equator, an alternative to custom gauging, offers inspection of an unprecedented variety of manufactured parts. Proven and Developed on the shop floor with industry leading gauging users in a variety of industries and applications. For more contact us at www.renishaw.com/gauging.

T: 1 905 828 0104 E: Canada@renishaw.com www.renishaw.com

OLYMPIA MODEL V-60 CNC VERTICAL BORING MILL (MFG IN 2001) Mechanical rebuild in 2014 by Dipaolo Machine Tools

GENERAL TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION IMPERIAL METRIC Chuck Diameter (4-Jaw Hydraulic) 60” (1500 mm) Machining Diameter Range 70” (1778 mm) Max Machining Height Under Rail 62” (1575 mm) Max Workpiece Weight 33,000 lbs (15000 kg) Ram Travel (Z-Axis) 39” (1000 mm) Ram Size 8.3” X 8.3” (210x210 mm) Horizontal Travel (X-Axis) -4.0 / +47.6” (-101.6 / +1209 mm) Main Drive Motor 80 HP (60 KW) Table Cutting Speed Range

RETENTION KNOBS

(3 Gear Ranges)

IN STOCK American Standards and specials.

Japanese Standards - inch or metric.

FOR FAST DELIVERY: Contact your local tooling dealer or order direct.

TEL 937-686-6405  FAX 937-686-4125 www.retentionknobsupply.com Retention Knob Supply Company P.O.Box 61 Bellefontaine, OH43311

WELDING SUPPLIES LINCOLN ELECTRIC COMPANY OF CANADA. Lincoln Electric is the world leader in the design, development and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic arc welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment and brazing and soldering alloys. For more information contact us at: T 905 565 5600

www.canadianmetalworking.com

09CMW-Marketplace.indd 105

www.lincolnelectric.ca

1 TO 350 RPM

Rapid Travel Speed 315 IPM (8000 mm/min) Working Feed Rates (Variable) 2 - 118 IPM (50-3000 mm/min) Number Of Tools In Automatic Tool Changer 12 Machine Dimensions (Length X Width) 165” X 173” (4.2 x 4.4 m) Machine Height (Rail In Top Position) 213” (5.4 m) Machine Weight 70,500 lbs (32000 kg) Model V60 EQUIPPED WITH: * 60” 4 -Jaw hydraulic chuck * Fanuc 18i-ta control and ac feed motors with digital drives * Vickers hydraulics * Programable and self leveling crossrail (5 positions) * Coolant thru tool holder * Enclosed cutting area

* New preloaded ballscrews on all linear axes * Trabon automatic pulse lubrication system * 12 Position automatic tool changer * Chip conveyor * New steel way covers * Hydraulic power tool clamping * 6 Turning tool holders & 1 boring bar tool holder Excellent condition can be inspected under power in canadian plant

For more information on this or our 50 plus used machines contact T 905 676 9265 E Sales@dipaolocnc.com www.dipaolocnc.com

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BY THE NUMBERS

CANADA’S LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH (%) 3.0

INCREASING

2.5

PRODUCTIVITY

2.0

&PROFIT

1.5 1.0

IN CANADA

0.5 0.0

According to the Conference Board of Canada, Productivity is the key determinant of standard of living over the longer term. Increasing productivity is not about working harder, longer hours. It’s about working smarter and getting more for less—more output per unit of input, which is usually hours worked. One way to do this is through investing in people and the industry. Low productivity in Canada is a huge challenge to future success.

-0.5

2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982

-1.0

Canada’s five-year labour productivity growth has been lower than that of the top countries for many decades, hurting its international competitiveness. Between 2002 and 2012, Canada posted growth of 0.8 per cent.

CAPITAL INTENSITY: CAPITAL AVAILABLE PER WORKER Capital intensity looks at the amount of capital each worker has available, specifically machinery

$211,470.30

and equipment, based on the purchasing power of a particular year. Countries with higher

$166,676.00

AB

SK

NL

$93,022.24

CANADA

$179,173.90

MB

$98,289.39

investment in machinery and equipment generally have higher productivity growth.

$81,845.38

BC

NB

$87,387.65

$71,516.67

QC

NS

$77,231.20

$55,755.59

ON

PE

$69,963.38

LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY: GDP PER HOUR WORKED IN 2012 The actual level of productivity, the dollar value of output per hour worked, is important to

$6

70 2.

NORWAY

$4

2.

36

U.K.

$5

8.

89

IRELAND

$4

2.

28

CANADA

$5

8 6.1

U.S.A.

1.5 $4

BC

5

understand where we rank. In 2012, here is how Canada, including its provinces and territories,

$5

5.

01

AB

4 1.1 $4

ON

$5

0.7

8

BELGIUM

$4

0.

61

SWITZERLAND

$4

9 9.1

GERMANY

$3

2 9.1

QC

$4

4 9.1

FRANCE

$3

6.

96

AB

ranked against top nations, when it comes to labour productivity.

$4

6.

80

NL

$3

5.

89

NS

$4

4.

66

AUSTRALIA

$3

5.

67

JAPAN

$4

4.

25

SWEDEN

$3

3.

84

NB

$4

2.

86

SK

$3

0.

64

PEI

Source: The Conference Board of Canada/Statistics Canada

106 | NOVEMBER 2014

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www.canadianmetalworking.com

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