Thermal Finishing Machine Boosts Productivity

The P400 TEM machine from Kennametal Extrude Hone is capable of finishing customized components such as complex gears, pinions and valves. The company’s thermal energy machining (TEM) strategy uses a pressurized mixture of a combustible gas and oxygen injected at 5 to 10 atm of pressure into a containment chamber. An ignition system ignites the gas mixture, releasing heat energy from the oxidation of fuel in a 20-msec. high-speed energy wave. Internal burrs and flashings with raised surfaces and thin cross-section features are burned away. Because the gas mixture engulfs the entire workpiece, all internal and external surfaces are exposed to rapid oxidation, and internal cross-drilled holes and intersecting edges that are difficult or impossible to reach are processed quickly. The finishing process is said to provide high reliability and repeatability when combined with washing.