Some oil-field workpieces machined on the L700MA turning center can weigh up to 2 t with 40" (1016-mm) OD (shorter lengths), or as long as 220" (5.6 m) with an 8" (203-mm) OD. Material hardness for downhole tools typically is Rc 36 to 40.
turning centers offer plenty of rigidity, due to their design and weight of 51,808 lb (23,500 kg).
The fourth axis of the Hyundai WIA VX650-50 VMCs has also significantly helped reduce setup time. “Some of the parts that we run on the VMC include drive shafts, which re- quire turning performed on a smaller lathe and some milling. These parts are used in directional drilling operations,” says Payne. “We do elliptical or circular splining on both ends. The most popular of these parts is 3.25" (82.5 mm) in diameter. The material is 4330V modified. Most splines are short, 3.00" [76-mm] long. There are 23 splines on each end. The weight of this shaft is approximately 44 lb [20 kg]. We had the mill equipped with an optional fourth axis which lets us do splin- ing and profiling, which normally couldn’t be done without a fourth axis.”
Alvarez describes the close working relationship JNB has with its machine dealer. “The dealer that we work with, Hill- ary Machinery [Houston], knew we were looking at moving up to larger parts. They also knew at the time we were using multiple machine in our process. Hillary approached us with