Want to Test Drive Cryogenic Technology?
Okuma and 5ME have opened two test centers where you can give cryogenic machining (using liquid nitrogen as the coolant) a shot.
Low-temperature liquid nitrogen flowing through a cutting tool has the effect of turning the cutting tool into a heat sink, expanding its capacity to absorb energy while improving tool life.
Okuma and 5ME have formed a partnership to establish two cryogenic machining demonstration centers, one at 5ME’s Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, and the other at Okuma’s Aerospace Center of Excellence in Charlotte, North Carolina. Visitors can test various machining processes using Okuma machines equipped with 5ME’s cryogenic machining technology. Pete Tecos, 5ME executive vice president, says the partnership will continue the development of cryogenic machining applications in in difficult-to-machine materials such as titanium, Inconel, hardened steel and compacted graphite iron (CGI).
In short, cryogenic machining technology flows liquid nitrogen at -321°F through the cutting tool, improving tool life. The nitrogen evaporates upon contact with the air. This article explains more about the technology.
