Visit the Product Innovations Archive at
www.moderncasting.com
PRODUCT INNOVATIONS New Product
Robotics Could Make Rapid Production of Large Parts Easier, Less Costly For more than a decade, Clinken-
beard, Rockford, Ill., has been pro- ducing parts using rapid production methods, including CNC machining sand molds for casting, but the com- pany had recognized a shortcoming of its process: the size of the parts it makes is limited by the size and shape of the machines it uses. Clinkenbeard had been ap-
proached in the past by customers who needed a large part quickly. But machines large enough to produce such parts are rare and expensive and operate more slowly than smaller machines. Tooling was expensive and time-consuming to produce. Clinken- beard partnered with the American Metalcasting Consortium to run a feasibility test on the use of robotic technology to rapidly produce sand molds and cores for large parts, start- ing with a military casting. Clinkenbeard is registered with the
U.S. Department of State’s Director- ate of Defense Trade Controls, so it is able to work on U.S. Department of Defense projects. Unlike CNC machining, a ro-
bot moves independently of the work piece, so it has the ability to feed as quickly on a large part as it does on a smaller, lighter part. “We thought, why couldn’t
we try a robot?” said Ron Gustafson, Clinkenbeard president. “We can use a big piece of sand and machine really fast, without sand getting caught in the ma- chine cavity.” For the study, Clinken-
beard leased a 6-axis robot and bought a drive motor. “What we had to look for
was distance of reach for what we needed and the ability to carry the weight that we needed,” Gustafson said. “And we needed more than a 3-axis machine.”
Clinkenbeard produced a rapid prototype oil pan casting for a military vehicle using robotic machining technology.
Clinkenbeard first robotically ma-
chined a mold for a lower oil pan casting for U.S. military Humvees that was 22 in. long, 16 in. wide and 14 in. deep. It conducted a parallel test with its CNC machine. “We had no idea going into it how
it was going to work, but I thought it made sense,” Gustafson said. “After
we went through the process, we saw that it was very fast. We modeled the gating, cavity and core and machined everything with the robot. When we poured the casting, it came out great.” Gustafson said the prep time for
making the molds and cores was the same for both the CNC machine and robot. The actual robotic machining for the oil pan tooling took a couple of hours. According to Clinken-
beard, robotic machining could reduce capital invest- ment for larger castings by as much as 35%, reduce individual part cost by up to 20%, and improve cycle time by 25%. Robotic machining for
rapid production still needs further development. Gus- tafson said he hopes to pursue the method further once additional funding is obtained.
MC
Robotic machining of a sand mold opens up opportunities for the economical rapid prototyping of large castings.
MODERN CASTING / August 2010
Visit
www.clinkenbeard.com for more information.
45
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60