CA Machine Tools - Metalworking Blog

Food-Grade Stainless Steel Finishing

In the machining world, “food-grade” is a term that refers to a specific type of finish for metal products. Food-grade means that the surfaces of the metals used are safe enough and clean enough to process food on and also fairly easy to clean after using. For this reason, food-grade metals must not contain divots or grooves as those will likely allow bacteria to grow. The metals must also be able to withstand the corrosive effects from processing food as well as from cleaning with chemical solutions on the surfaces.

Most often, a food-grade finish is one with a finish at the high end of Number 4 (brushed). To achieve this finish, a high-grit abrasive ranging from 150 to 220 should be used. The surface roughness average (Ra) measured in micro-inches will dictate the success of the finish. For the majority of food-grade finishes, 60-36 Ra is acceptable. But if the surfaces will be used for dairy products (milk, etc.), the finish should be finer since these products carry more bacteria and spoil quickly.

Choosing the Right Tool

Finishers/Wraparound Pipe Belt Sanders

Food Grade Stainless Steel Finishing

Flex Pipe Belt Sander LBR 1506 VRA

These are multi-tasking machines that can perform several functions. These machines can grind flat surfaces and removes weld seams. The sanding belts on these machines can also follow the specific contours of pipes.

Linear Finishers

Food Grade Stainless Steel Finishing

BD-300 Linear Finisher

These types of machines are suitable for long, flat surfaces without streaking as well as finishing in corners. For brushing, deburring, and blending, these are the machines to use.

Finger Belt Sanders/Wraparound Pipe Sanders

Food Grade Stainless Steel Finishing

Flex LBS 1105VE Finger Belt Sander

These machines are specifically suited to perform one task. They are perfect for tight spaces and angles because. They use narrow abrasives and are good in smaller areas.

Deburring or Sanding?

Deburring – What is a burr? Occasionally, you will notice small pieces of protruding metal remaining after you’ve finished modifying an item. These pieces are called burrs and they can ruin an otherwise perfect process.

In the machining business, we see far too many people making mistakes when deciding whether
their metal needs graining, finishing, or deburring. It is often assumed that you could simply run
the metal through a sanding or graining machine in order to remove the burrs. This sounds good on
paper but in reality, there are many factors that lead to burrs in the metal and there are just as many
variations in the deburring process. The first thing to determine is what type of burr you have.
Typically, burrs fall into two categories: thermal and mechanical. Thermal burrs are the result of
oxyfuel or laser cutting while mechanical burrs result from shearing or from punching holes when
the punch and die are not fitting perfectly.
Although the graining process (which involves using a sanding belt on the metal surface) is
commonly referred to as deburring, it does not actually remove any burrs. It can affect the shape
and/or position of the burr by making it sharper but it will not completely remove it. To remove the
burr, a deburring and graining machine is needed. These machines will have two or more heads.
One head will have a sanding belt to knock the burr down and the other head with have a brush
which can eliminate the burr as well as give a radius to the edge. Above is an FP-4075W Finishing-Deburring Machine (wet)

Also to be considered is whether you want to use a wet or dry machine. A wet machine will
keep the belt in peak condition longer than a dry machine. A wet machine will also offer a better
finish and help remove grit from the parts. The downside is the amount of maintenance required.
Dry machines, though requiring less maintenance can be dangerous if not used properly. For
example, processing aluminum and stainless steel with a dry machine can cause an explosion if the
dust from the two metals is allowed to mix. For this reason, it is vital to use some sort of wet dust
collection system with a dry machine.

Water Jet: Over Flow to Drain System

Overflow to Drain System

150 Micron Nylon Bag Pre Filter
50 Gallon Stainless Steel Settling Weir with Removal Baffles
Stainless Steel 07A Size 1 Bag Vessel
5 Micron, Size 1, Polyester Felt “ Posi-Seal ” Final Filter
.5” Cast Iron Heavy Duty Sandpiper AOD Pump
Adjustable Air Regulator with Gauge
Pre Plumbed and Mounted on an 18” x 42” Steel Base with Casters

A Guillotine Shear vs A Swing Beam Shear

Guillotine

The most important factor in providing a precision cut, is the manner in which the upper blade cuts though material from beginning to the end of the cut A Guillotine drive system insures that the upper blade crosses down in a straight line from directly above the work piece. From the beginning of the cut all the way to the end of cut, the relationship of the upper blade to material never changes.

Swingbeam

In direct opposition to this a swing beam pivots from the side of the end frames and brings the ram down in an arc of a “swing” (like a welding helmet coming down over your face). This causes the relationship of the top blade to the work piece t change throughout the entire cut. Because the blade comes down in an arc, the cut is distorted from the beginning of the cut all the way through the cut.

Comparison of major cutting processes:

Waterjet machines — fast speed, able to cut thick material, good accuracy and finishing surface. Cuts virtually anything with no heat affected zone(HAZ). Some burr occurs near cut. Waterjet is widely used as metal cutting machine, glass cutting machine, ceramic tile cutting machine, marble cutting machine, and granite cutting machine. Waterjet cutting machine typically can cut as much as 4″ thick of steel (100mm).

Wire EDM — slow cutting speed, but able to cut very thick material. EDM has very high accuracy and excellent surface finish. No burr, a little HAZ. Only electrically conductive materials can be cut with EDM. Also there must be a way to drill a hole for putting through the wire for cutting.

Laser — good speed and precise cut when cutting thin material. Laser yields little burr, a little HAZ. Laser is suitable to cut non-reflective mild steel. A 6kw laster machine can cut as much as 25mm (1 inch) steel. Laser cutting machine is also very expensive.

Plasma — cuts at high speeds and generates heat that leaves rough edges. Accuracy is not very high with plasma cutting. Plasma cutting Can cut electrically conductive materials, up to 6″ of aluminum. Process yields HAZ. Special gas need to assist the process.

Machine Tool Salesman Jobs – Openings Nationwide

Full or part time work selling cnc machine tools

We are heading towards a great year and would like to invite a few ambitious people to join the team. We are based in Southern California and have salesman nationwide. Browse through our machinesand see which types you have experience selling. We represent a large line of machine tools with several premier equipment lines like LVD Strippit and Jet-Edge.We are offering positions on a commission basis that matches any in the industry. Contact Melvin Caldwell for more information on what we have available in your area.

Best of luck this year,

CA Machine Tools

Interested in learning how much money you can make on a machine tool sale?Contact us for more information.

State of the Union: Manufacturing a Hot Topic

Manufacturing was a main topic at the begining of President Obama’s State of the Union address. His blueprint for changing the American economy began with manufacturing. He struck a number of key topics that impact the manufacturing industry.

1. Auto Industry – He recapped the restructuring and retooling of the automakers industry. He said that the industry has added over 160,000 jobs and that General Motors is once again the worlds number automaker. He wants to do the same in other industries.

2. Fair Trade – The President said it’s getting more costly to manufacture in China, so less jobs will be outsourced there. This is something I’ve been hearing a lot lately; hope it’s true. Evidently, the company Masterlock has found it cheaper to bring it’s manufacturing facilities back to the United States. The President wanted us to ask ourselves, as small business owners, what we can do to bring jobs back to this country. He continued by boasting about his 2 year old promise to double exports within 5 years. He said that they are ahead of the deadline. He plans on attacking unfair trade practices with a brand new commission that he announced he will be creating. Their mission will be too equal the playing field for American manufacturers so that they can compete internationally.

hero sotu 2012 300x168 State of the Union: Manufacturing a Hot Topic

3. Taxes – The President laid out three tax policies designed to help small businesses.

No tax breaks for companies that outsource jobs.
A minimum tax for multinational corporations.
More tax cuts and incentives for U.S. manufacturers.

In general he wants to financially incentive U.S. manufacturers and put regulations on manufacturers that outsource or do business internationally. There does seem to be some momentum in bringing jobs back to the United States. These policies might be a good start in keeping that momentum going.

4. Technology Workers – The next thing the President talked about was our need for more workers in the technology industries. His goal is to train 2 million new workers. 1 of his more catchy lines of the night was when you said he wanted to, “change the unemployment system to a re-employment system. However, it seemed his main plan for doing this was giving more money to community colleges, with no real direction on how that money would be spent. To improve education he also wanted states to mandate high school and to stop school loan rates from doubling this summer. The manufacturing industry could definitely get a boost by having more competent workers in the field. The right programs in education, more focused programs like trade schools, could help the manufacturing industry greatly.

hero disney 300x168 State of the Union: Manufacturing a Hot Topic 5. Energy Industry – The president said he would not give up on his (our) pursuit of clean energy. He wants to give incentives to manufacturing companies to upgrade their buildings. He touted the amount of oil production by the U.S. as the most in years, and said our dependence on foreign oil was it’s lowest in 16 years. The President tried to convey just how strongly he believes in investing in the energy. He said that some technologies and companies would fail (Solyndra reference?) but that he (we) could not stop investing in clean energy.

6. Infrastructure – The President’s last point was that he wants to start working on the infrastructure. He wanted to take half of the money we’ve been using on the wars and spend it towards nation building at home. He spoke of our run down electrical system and our incomplete broadband internet network. No mention of building high speed trains as in previous speeches.

Photos from www.whitehouse.gov.

How Does Water Jet Cutting Machine Work

A water jet machine has essentially two components: a high intensity pump that pressurizes water to 40,000 — 90,000 PSI , and a cutting head assembly mounted on a frame that can move along the x-y-z direction over the material being cut. Pressurized water is forced through a tiny nozzle hole to create high energy density stream that can erode and tear the surface of materials to achieve a cutting affect. Pure water ca alone can cut plastics, foam, wood, resilient floor coverings, rubber and similar soft substances. In some cases, water is mixed with a garnet abrasive to cut harder materials such as metals, stone, ceramics, glass and dense composites.

Introducing the IWM CNC Router

Model CR1325

X-Y-Z Working Area 1300x2450x200mm
Table Size 1440x3040mm
X-Y-Z Traveling Positioning Accuracy +/-0.03/300mm
X-Y-Z repositioning Positioning Accuracy +/-0.05mm
Lathe Structure V-iron Structure
X-Y Structure Flat Linear Ways,Gear-wheel
Z Structure Flat Linear Ways, Ball Screw
Max.Consume Power 6.3KW
Max.Speed 32m/min
Max.Working Speed 25m/min
Spindle 2.2KW
Spindle Speed 0-24000rpm/min
Working Mode Stepper 2PH 3.0A 1.8 deg. 1.20N
Working Voltage AC220V/50 Hz
Command G Code,*uoo,*mmg.plt
Operating System Mach3 PC Software and DSP system
Interface USB
Collet System ER25 13mm
Mode steper
Running circumstance Temperature:0-45 degree C, relative humidity: 30%-75%
Software Type3 software, Wentai software, Artcam software
Packing Size 3180x1940x1440mm
Net Weight 600kg
Gross Weight 900kg

IWM CNC Waterjet Pipe Engraving Machine

The cutting table can rotate the pipe when cutting. The rotation speed is adjustable to suit various cutting speed needs due to different wall thickness and type of the materials. Position of the cutting head is also adjustable to fit different diameters of the pipe. The cutting head can slide along the length of the table to choose desired cutting position. There is an abrasive hopper mounted on the same rail of the cutting head for feeding abrasive to the cutting head. Customer should specify the weight of the pipe when order the machine.

pipe engraving IWM CNC Waterjet Pipe Engraving Machine

Special tracks can be ordered to cut different shapes of holes into the pipe wall instead of cutting off the pipe.

The waterjet pump is 50 hp and when cutting with abrasive, the max thickness of mild steel is 60mm. The pump requires 3 phase electricity power supply of 220V — 480V, 50 or 60 Hz, (specified by the customer). The pressurized water is fed to the cutting head through a high pressure whip tubing.