Live Tool Speed Increaser Spurs Engraving Cost Savings

Kurt Machining specializes in manufacturing precision CNC machined parts for customers in the aerospace, defense, semiconductor, energy and automotive industries, among others. To accomplish this, Kurt performs processes from five-axis machining to welding, and produces parts ranging from micron-sized semiconductor components to one-ton workpieces for the defense sector.

On a recent project where the shop needed to engrave 5,000 pieces of 6060 aluminum on a Hwacheon horizontal turning center, Kurt Machining manager Shawn Eisenschenk had concerns over the cycle times. He turned to his local tooling distributor, Abrasive Specialists, Inc. (ASI), and their tooling partner, Platinum Tooling, for suggestions. ASI and Platinum Tooling representatives suggested performing a test run with a Heimatec speed increaser, aiming to increase RPM on the machine and decrease part cycle time. After performing the calculations in consultation with Preben Hansen, president of Platinum Tooling and exclusive importer for Heimatec products in North America, the partners determined that Kurt Machining could achieve significant savings.

ASI and Platinum presented a Heimatec 1:3 speeder that increased the spindle RPM and coupled well with a nearly threefold feed rate increase on the machine. Altogether, using the Heimatec speeder onboard the Hwacheon turning center reduced the machining cost per part enough to result in ninefold cost savings for the customer in the first year’s production run on this engraved aluminum component.

ASI and Platinum presented a Heimatec 1:3 speeder that increased the spindle RPM and coupled well with a nearly threefold feed rate increase on the machine.

“We say we put our expertise to work at the spindle of the machine and, in this case, that’s exactly what happened,” says Cody Papenfus, who was a sales engineer for Hexis at the time and the area rep for Platinum Tooling. “The speed increaser performed as expected, the customer got the results promised and it was a win-win for all. We serve our customers for the long haul, and successes like this one are the big reason.”

The 1:3-gear-ratio speeder supports a max rpm of 18,000, and offers 12 Nm of torque. Platinum Tooling and Heimatec also offer a 1:1 tool with a 6,000-rpm max and 70 Nm of torque, and a 1:4 speeder with a max rpm of 24,000 and 5 Nm of torque. These tools have standard ER outputs to maintain compatibility with common tooling outputs. Heimatec and Platinum Tooling’s speeders are compatible with many major lathes, as well as some Swiss-style machines.