REAMING OF DRIVE COMPONENTS

Swiss tool specialist URMA has gained a name the world over for its fine boring solutoins, which are demand predominantly by companies from the automotive and aviation industries, as well as the mechanical engineering sector. Many customers using the modular replaceable inserts reaming system CircoTec RX had been asking for some time about an extension to include smaller diameters of less than 11.9 mm. One oft hem was Aldin Banovi, Project Manager at Wittenstein Schweiz AG – for many years an avid user of the system CircoTec RX.

Wittenstein uses URMA reaming tools in a variety of diameter values for its serial gearhead production and mechanical engineering operations. When Aldin Banovi heard about the launch of the new CircoTec RX small product series last year with ist extended 7.6 mm to 13.1 mm diameter range, he wasted no time in ordering all the system sizes of this small reaming system – also a modular solution – with a view to being among the first to integrate this wolrd innovation into the company's production processes. At the time, Wittenstein was urgently in need of process-reliable reaming tools for its newly developed racks.

Recalling the first test series with CircoTec RX, there is an unmistakable air of pride in Banovi's voice: ,,All twelve test boreholes passed our stringent QA controls right from the very first deployment'', confirms the drive specialist. ,,I had high expectations of thr new small modular reaming system, and were fulfilled right from the start.''

Stringent QA controls passed with flying colours from day one

Wittenstein AG Schweiz produces high-precision racks made of case-hard-ened materiel with a workforce of around 50 for the company group's headquaters in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. This company offers innovative overall solutions to ist client base of discerning customers with high expectations. The racks produced in Switzerland form part of the Wittenstein alpha linear systems which are required for aplications in the field of automation technology or mechanical engineering.

Using these high-quality innovative Swiss-made precision racks with their ,,Inirar pinning'' feature, the assembly work involved in pinning has now been reduced from previously three quarters of an hour to just one minute.

Following a customer order, the semi-finished products are rapidly completed by adding the customer-specifeic reamed boreholes with the utmost process reliability. The ability to guarantee this services involves reliance on a competent, dependable technology partner.

One of the greatest difficulties thrown up by this application is the extreme material hardness of 60 HRC. The hardened edge layer with its soft core poses a tough challenge for the high-precision tool. To meet these stringent requirements, there was a wide choice of inserts geometries and coating types from the standard URMA product range available. By working closely together, the engineers from Wittenstein and the URMA application team were able to design the best possible tool solution fort he job.

Another challenge facing the team was the fact that the reaming cycles using CircoTec RX and CircoTec RX small are the last machining steps of the production cycle, making process reliability a particularly vital factor. Any scrap or delivery delays would be fatal at this point oft he process. Aldin Banovi: ,,In a similar way to URMA's reaming tools, the production of our components is coordinated in line with customer requirements, and hast o be completed with the utmost efficiency within just a few days. This is why it's practically impossible for us to operate without process-reliable, dependable tooling technology and a rapid sercice from our suppliers.''

Accurate drilling repeatability right from the beginning

During series production at Wittenstein, the exchangeable head system and consequently also the modularity oft he high-performance reaming tools are of decisive importance. Firstly, this ensures the repeat quality oft he boreholes with every exchange head with the same service life, and secondly, due to ist customer-specific reaming diameter, the tool starts producing GO parts straight away.

The modular reaming tools are designed for optimum user convenience. In both systems, only the reaming cutter or the reaming head is exchanged directly in the machine with an exchange accuracy deviation of no more than 5 microns. This does away with the need to readjust the run-out, the diameter and the tool length. All of these benefits ultimately result in minimal machine standstill periods, an undoubted benefit in the eyes of Aldin Banovi: ,,The fewer times we need to set the tools, the better and the greater the reliability oft he process.'' Handling simplicity and a rapid insert changeover without the need for repeated set-up not only saves time, it also enables the company to deploy semi-skilled machine operators.

Because Aldin Banovi and the machine operators had been totally won over by the larger high-performance reaming system CircoTec RX, before its baby brother CircoTec RX small had even been launched, the team was in no doubt that they should lose no time whatsoever integrating this new system into the production line.

Support by application engineers

Because high-performance reaming tools are always designed for specific applications, as a solution provider URMA always recommends resolving drilling operations in close cooperation withh the application engineering team on site. Aldin Banovi is delighted with the way this cooperation worked out. ,,I've become an enormous fan of application engineers. Any producer who insists on a high level of innovation will have no choice but to enter into a professional exchange with specialists. It's good to know that I can get in touch with the technicians at URMA at any time to ask them to provide on-site assistance and optimize our reaming applications.''

Aldin Banovi is in no doubt that reaming applications using modular tooling systems are the way forward for the future, and regularly recommends reaming tools from URMA to colleagues. ,,We'll continue to prioritize URMA for all our reaming operations going forward'', he conforms. ,,We've already pressed the button on the next projects, and we look forward to future cooperation with the Swiss reaming specialists.''