Oil & Gas Machining
In addition, thread mills for NPT and API LP thread form sizes with extended milling section and external coolant are available.
Machines Match Energy Machining Needs
“DMG Mori has a fully developed portfolio of large ma- chines, which can handle the large and long parts and tubes that are required in oil & gas industry machining,” said Nitin Chaphalkar, advanced solution development manager, DMG Mori (Hoffman Estates, IL). “Oil field customers aren’t really that different from others in the aspect that they would like to improve productivity and throughput. They produce big expensive parts that are typically heavy and difficult to handle. Productivity improvements for these customers come from producing first-part good-parts in a minimum number of set- ups and, above all, reducing scrap. Another important facet of the oil & gas industry is the need for machining replacement parts in much smaller volumes,” said Chaphalkar. “We are working on some special machining processes for machining specific features for machining long tubular parts. For machining the insides of tubes, for example, you need a long boring bar option. The NT 6600 is a 6-m X-axis machine with a 600-mm chuck size that is well-suited for these ap- plications. Also, the NLX is designed for heavy-duty machining of difficult-to-machine hard metals like stainless and Inconel,” said Chaphalkar. The NLX 4000 is a rigid four-axis lathe with two turrets that can be used for performing a variety of pro- cesses on large tubes. The NLX is equipped with a tailstock and a big bore spindle for long tubes to be passed through. “For large diameter parts, the DMU series of machines up to the DMU 600P with a 6-m X-axis stroke can handle a part with a 4 to 5-m diameter. It’s available in sizes with 2.4-m X axis and 2.7-m X axis. These machines are very flexible and can do turning where needed. Our latest development is mak- ing gears on our machines for oil field and energy applications where the parts are long and the setup time is high. The more operations you can combine on a single setup, the more part handling is reduced and cost savings are improved. The NT series machines and various DMU models, all can cut various types of gears, including everything from helical, spur, herring bone, to bevel gears,” said Chaphalkar.
Machines Built for Challenging Conditions “Machine tool rigidity, versatility, and accuracy are among the most critical considerations in the manufacture of oil & gas components,” said Dale Hedberg, Feeler product man-
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ager, Methods Machine Tools Inc. (Sudbury, MA). “Machine tools must be exceptionally strong and rigid to be capable of accurately producing large, heavy-duty parts comprised of exotic materials. At the same time, machines should be versa- tile to perform complex machining required to produce many oil & gas components. Challenging conditions put extreme demands on equipment, for example, drillheads that might need to go down two to three miles require high accuracy in order to prevent any failure.”
“Machines that are well-suited for the manufacture of oil & gas components from Methods Machine Tools include the Feeler double-column bridge-style machines that offer the rigidity and strength required to accurately manufacture large, cumbersome components. The machines also feature a stepped Y-axis beam and weigh up to 82 t, contributing significantly to rigidity. For extra machining power, the Feeler bridge machine’s German ZF gearbox design provides optimal spindle performance and a 4-to-1 gear ratio, for maximum power and torque at lower rpm,” said Hedberg. The Feeler FV-Series bridge mills facilitate the production of large high-quality components with THK linear guideways on the X axis, and Schneeberger roller linear guideways on the Y axis. X-axis travels range from 85 to 284" (2160–7200 mm) and Y-axis travels range from 55 to 158" (1400–4000 mm). The Z axis features boxway construction and travel of 35.4" (900 mm) with an optional 47.2" (1200-mm) travel available. Feeler boring mills feature ultra-high precision for machining large workpieces and four-axis capability for work on multiple part surfaces. In addition, these systems offer a large, 5" (127-mm) quill diameter with 27.5" (698 mm) of travel and linear scales in X, Y and Z axes for precise machining of large components.
Multifunction Machines Fit Various Strategies “Okuma offers a number of multifunction machines for producing downhole components, some of which [LOC series] are capable of simultaneous four-axis cutting with balanced loads on both turrets,” said Tim Caron, Houston Tech Center Coordinator, Okuma America Corp. (Charlotte, NC). “The Multus series general-purpose multifunction CNC lathe, for example, is available with a long bed.” When equipped with a subspindle the machines reduce setup time by virtually elimi- nating repetitive fixturing. The Multus B750 with W spindle hands the part from one spindle to the other to complete milling and turning operations without changing the part. Programming of both lathe and machining center processes
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