Vibration-assisted drilling boosts holemaking in frame assembly parts
Cutting tool and tooling systems specialist Sandvik Coromant is planning to highlight recent innovations developed with its established technology partner, Mitis, at JEC Europe. In fact, visitors to the show on Tuesday 10 March are invited to attend a free presentation taking place in the Agora area at 11:00. The subject will be vibration-assisted drilling, which has been created to help overcome the challenges of drilling stack material, with Sandvik Coromant providing the tooling, and Mitis developing the equipment.
Breakthrough technology
Vibration-assisted drilling is a process that offers several advantages when performing CNC drilling and countersinking on carbon fibre/aluminium composite stack materials used typically for aerospace frames and associated parts.
To highlight the benefits, the presentation will first show a conventional drilling and countersinking process, followed by another drilling and countersinking operation using pecking cycles. Finally, drilling and countersinking using the Mitis vibrator system and Sandvik Coromant tooling will demonstrate clear advantages over the first two processes that include better chip control, cycle time and quality.
Principles of operation
So, how does it work? Well, the principle of vibration-assisted drilling is to fractionate chips. In simple terms, this is facilitated by creating an oscillating movement of the drilling process. Using the Mitis system, these axial, low frequency oscillations (1.5 per rotation) are adjustable in amplitude according to the application conditions and material using a simple ring adjustment.
The upshot is a process offering optimised chip breaking when drilling composite stack materials. Furthermore, cycle times are reduced as there is no pecking, and power consumption is low. The process can also be performed with no or greatly reduced lubricant.
Trials have demonstrated that vibration-assisted drilling can meet the specification requested by aerospace OEMs in terms of surface finish, diameter, exit burr and process capability (CP/CPK).
Easy to use
The system, which features spindle speeds up to 9000 rpm, offers standard mounting shanks such as Capto HSK and ISO, and is adaptable to all machines without modifications.
JEC Europe 2015 takes place on 10-12 March at Porte de Versailles, Paris. Opening hours are 09:00 to 18:00.
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About Sandvik Coromant
Sandvik Coromant is a global leading supplier of cutting tools, tooling solutions and know-how to the metalworking industry. With extensive investments in research and development we create unique innovations and set new productivity standards together with our customers. These include the world's major automotive, aerospace and energy industries. Sandvik Coromant has 8,000 employees and is represented in 130 countries. We are part of the business area Sandvik Machining Solutions within the global industrial group Sandvik. .
Contact details:
Nikki Stokes
Tel: +44 (0) 121 504 5422
Email:
nikki.stokes@sandvik.com
