Tools And Work Holding Devices of Cnc Machines

 What is tool?
A tool is any instrument or simple piece of equipment that you hold in your hands
and use to do a particular kind of work. For example, spades, hammers, and knives
are all tools.

 Difference between CNC and Conventional Machine:

1. CNC machines can be used continuously for long intervals and only need to be
switched off for occasional maintenance. Conventional machines are difficult to
operate for several hours at a stretch. the operator has to continuously focus on the
job at hand.

2. CNC machine can produce several products all similar and deadly accurate. The
resemblance of the products formed depends on the skill of the operator. A visible
difference may occur.

3. Less skilled or trained persons can easily operate CNC machines. It requires
highly skilled operators to work on conventional machines.

4. The software to drive the machines usually updates the CNC machine process.
Chances for a major improvement in the same conventional machines are very less.

5. One person can supervise several CNC machines, and they can be left to work
themselves. One person cannot operate one CNC machine at a time.

 Tools Of Cnc Machines:

The use of computers to control cnc machine
tools. Tool include lathes, mills, drills. Machine tools function through numerical
control. A computer program is customized for an object and the machines are
programmed with CNC machining language (called G-code).
 Content of 1st Part of topic
Types of Tool materials
Types of Cutting tools
 CNC Milling tools
  CNC Turning tools
 CNC Drills
 Insert
 ATC & Turret Head
 Types of Tool Material:
There are different type of following materials used for tool.
 High Speed Steel (HSS) (18% Tungsten, 4% chromium, 1% vanadium, 0.7%
Carbon )
 High Carbon Steel (HCS) (0.6-1% carbon, 0.6-0.9% manganism, 97% iron )
 Cast Alloy (10% chromium, 15% manganism, 75% stainless steel )
 Cemented Carbide (Cemented carbide tips used )
 Ceramic (Alumina (Al2O3) and silicon nitride (SiN) )
 Diamond (Super hard materials )

 Cnc Milling Tools:

CNC milling, or computer numerical control milling, is a
machining process which employs computerized controls and rotating multi-point
cutting tools to progressively remove material from the workpiece and produce a
custom-designed part or product. This process is suitable for machining a wide
range of materials, such as metal, plastic, glass, and wood, and producing a variety
of custom-designed parts and products.

 Various type of milling tool:

 End mill:
 End mills can take many forms, they typically have sharp cutting
flutes on the ends and sides, and can be used in various cutting applications:
 Flat end mill:
Flat end mills are used for roughing operations, cutting 2D shapes
like engravings and circuit boards, and flat-sided 3D shapes. You can use these
carbide end mills to cut a square edge into metal, wood, wax, and plastic.
 Bull Nose End Mills (Corner Radius):
Bull end mills are simply corner radius
end mill cutters.  These radius end mills are single ended tools used for making
corner radii at the bottom of a milled shoulder. Corner radius end mill cutters have
a stronger milling edge than square end mills, so feed rates may be increased and
yield longer tool life and greater productivity.  These milling bits may also be used
in mold profiling applications with greater productivity than ball end mills.  These
mills are all solid carbide, and are available in many diameter sizes and lengths.
 Tapered end mill
Tapered End Mills are highly functional general-purpose
cutting tool for cutting angled slots into molds and dies. Unlike standard end mills,
tapered end mills are wider at the base than the tip, and the conical shape allows
for milling operations in deeper cavities and at harder to accommodate angles.
Plus, tapered end mills offer increased strength over the typical straight reach
cutting tool. Order your custom tools through Valley Tool Inc. today for tooling
with unmatched accuracy and precision, designed with the fastest, most
competitive lead times in the industry.
 T-slot tool:
T-slot use for creation of t slot on work piece suface in milling
operation with horizontal and vertical operation.
 Chamfer tool:
Chamfer tool use for creation of 45 degree on sharp edge of wokpiece
Taps tool generate thread in cylindrical hole
  Cnc Turning Tool:
Turning is a machining process in which a cutting
tool, typically a non-rotary tool bit, describes a helical tool path by moving more or
less linearly while the work piece rotates.

 Cnc Drilling Tool:

Drilling is a process of producing a round holes in a solid
material or enlarging a existing holes with the use of multi-tooth cutting tools
called drills or drill bits. Various cutting tools are available for drilling, but the
most common is the twist drill.
 Insert Tools:
Inserts are removable cutting tips, which means they are not
brazed or welded to the tool body. They are usually index able. This saves time in
manufacturing by allowing fresh cutting edges. The strength of the inserts also
depends upon the shape of the insert.

 ATC & Turret Head:

An automatic tool changer often referred to as an
ATC, is used to improve both the production and the tool carrying capacity of a
computerised numerical control or CNC machine tool. It does this by allowing the
machine to work with various different tools. As such it is part of the process to
achieve full automation.
An automatic tool changer is generally comprised of a base, arms with a gripper, a
tool holder and a support arm as well as the tool magazines. An ATC is capable of
increasing the speed and accuracy as well as the reliability of a CNC machine but it
does have certain requirements. Some of these include the need for the tools to be
easy to centre as well as simple for the grabber arm to hold as well as easy to
automatically disengage. To provide this, tools used in an ATC are usually held by
specially designed tool holders.
 Turret head
Turret head  is a large circular or polygonal disc for holding
various tools for different operations, mounted on a gearbox type closed body
having a spindle and gear arrangement driven by an electric or hydraulic motor
which will cause indexing of disc to position the tool in operating point.
 Work Holding Devices:
CNC machine tools frequently operate at greater feed rates and speeds than those
used in conventional machining, so larger forces may be applied to the component
and therefore to the clamping or holding devices. As the programmer, it is part of
your task to decide what type of work-holding device is required for a particular
operation.
 Over view Of 2nd Part Of topic
Types of Holding Devices
 T slot table
 Rotary Table
 Different type of Chucks
 Different types of vice & clamps

 Work Holding Devices Characteristics

 Work holding devices must have required accuracy and must have matching
reference surfaces with the reference system.
 Work holding devices are allowed to perform a number of operations on
different faces in a single setting.
 Work holding devices must enable quick loading and unloading.
 Work holding devices must be fool-proofing to avoid incorrect loading of
the job.
  Work holding devices must be sufficient rigidity to fully withstand the
cutting forces.
 T Slot Table:
T-Slots are by far the most common way of positioning and
holding down your Work holding solution. They are simple, robust, and they work.
To attach something to a T-Slotted table, use T-Slot nuts and suitable studs or other
fasteners that fit the nuts.

 Rotary Table & 5 Axis Swivel Table:

A  rotary table is a precision work
positioning device used in metalworking. It enables the operator to drill or cut
work at exact intervals around a fixed (usually horizontal or vertical) axis.
5-Axis work holding, like most things 5-axis, is a whole other
world. I won’t go into any detail here other than to say you need different kinds of
work holding when you can access a part from virtually any direction.
 Different Types Of Vice & Clamps:
 Double Milling Vise:
Having spread three or four vises across your mill table,
you’ve pretty well taken advantage of the X-Axis. But, there’s an opportunity to
take better advantage of the Y-Axis by using Double Vises.
 Step Clamps:
The most common type of clamps are called step clamps because
they have little steps machined on them. They’re commonly used with T-Slots,
although you can also use bolt them into a Tooling Plate. Here are some typical
Step Clamp
 Pneumatic Clamps & Vacuum Table:
 Pneumatic Clamps:
pneumatic clamps working through high pressure compressed
air. Pneumatic Clamps (short stroke and positional) are smart time-saving elements
used when flexibility and short cycle times are required.

 Vacuum Clamps:
Vacuum table CNC work holding is designed to swiftly and
efficiently secure flat work pieces to the bed of a machining system. Thin stock,
which could be secured only with great difficulties before, is now secured literally
within seconds. Quickly secure plastic foils as thin as 0.001”, to 0.250” large
aluminum sheets.