izing the part, where it needs to be, then on the other side of the machine, a threading machine always has two sides, one in the front and one in the back.” The LVE chucks are self-contained air chucks that automatically create the cor- rect clamping pressure, eliminating potential operator errors and speeding the process.
Big Parts, Big Machines In many cases, the larger part sizes
prevalent in the oil & gas industry ap- plications may make going to hybrid mechanical/hydraulic fixturing an optimal choice, and modular workholding is pre- ferred for its fixturing speed advantages. “For very large parts, some oil & gas
shops are using large, 1200-mm CNC horizontal machining centers or boring machining pallet machines,” said John Gage, regional sales manager, Carr Lane Manufacturing Co. (St. Louis, MO). “For the smaller parts, companies are moving production from vertical machining centers with multiple setups to horizontal machining centers to get the advantage of being able to machine multiple sides in a single setup.” Workholding technology require- ments often differ in oil & gas versus general manufacturing needs. “The fixturing for large parts is simpler than smaller parts: positive stops, strap clamps and gravity,” said Colin Frost, Carr Lane’s chief business develop- ment officer. “Some companies are moving toward modular elements on their fixtures to accommodate a family of parts.
“Many other types of manufacturing
are well-suited to either mechanical or hydraulic workholding. Large oil & gas parts often are well-suited to a hybrid fixture; one containing both mechani- cal and hydraulic workholding,” Frost said. “Hydraulically, we can faster and more reliably clamp a part that varies
in dimensions from part to part, the most obvious example of which is a raw casting.”
Mechanical workholding excels at providing maximum force for their size, Frost noted. “Size is, in fact, the main
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February 2015 |
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