my projects

Mesin lemang.(machine to produce lemang)

• I'll show you how i do it in my next posting.this is one of several projects that i did with my collegue at GiatMARA PJU.
• this project has won the first place in MARA innovation and invention contest and currently we are trying to commercialize with patented rights on the market through the entrepreneur programmed by GiatMARA Malaysia and in hand several prospect have been made.
  

Three piston model steam engine my version

• the actual design for this engine was actually taken from another website but i've made some significant changes to suites my taste and unique especially the turbine fan that's mine .
• most of the parts were made of aluminium and it can run on steam or air compress.
  
• if you want the design, you can email me or if you already made one similar to this, share it with me so we could exchange ideas or info either way,you can ask me anything.

there's more to come........VISIT AGAIN

The Key to Controlling Your Machining Process

Over the past decade high velocity and hardened metal machining has become fairly commonplace in the die/mold, aerospace and medical component industries. The machining process has not changed much, but the cutting tools required have changed dramatically.

Tooling Requirements
Efficient high-speed and hard machining of molds, dies and other components requires tooling that can take the heat of the higher surface speed. The tooling also must have the edge preparation to hold up to the forces and abrasion of higher speed milling.

Coatings
The most important thing to take the heat is in the coatings. TiAlN (AlTiN)-coated tools are best for steels over 40 HRc or running over 800 sfm. There are many different variations of each of these coatings since there are many different companies that coat tools. Trial and error is the only way to decide which one is better. Most manufacturers of cutting tools perform their own tests on these coatings, but some do not test specifically for high-speed and hard metal machining.

High feed insert. Images courtesy of Millstar and Commercial Tool and Die.

Look for a cutting tool manufacturer that performs extensive testing in hardened metal to help develop the best coatings available. AlTiN coating is still the best choice and in the future there may be the possibility of including Si (Silicon) in the coating mixture. As the machining center spindle rpm increases the coating and carbide combinations must be able to keep up with the higher heat that is being generated. The addition of Si will create a very high oxidation resistance that will allow the coating to work at temperatures of up to 1100oC.

Geometry
The geometry on the tool also plays a big part in controlling heat. The geometry of the cutting tool must allow for chip removal in order to take the heat out with the chip. There is a new geometry of ball nose insert available, which has a three-dimensional helical grind that allows for smoother cutting, less vibration and better chip evacuation, all of which reduce heat generation. These new geometries require a new machining approach to effectively utilize the tool. Higher rpm and feedrates with shallow depth-of-cut are typically required to maintain chip flow and heat.

When deciding on the geometry of the cutter there are a few guidelines to follow. For example, always check the accuracy of the tool you want to use. Diameter, radius and runout are all things to consider. The more accurate the tool, the more accurate the part will be. Maintaining lower runout will generate a better surface finish, accuracy and lengthen the tool life.

P20 material being machined with a high feed insert tool.

A two-flute ball nose cutter with a large core diameter seems to be best suited for complex 3-D milling. More flutes are not recommended, as the extra flutes hinder chip evacuation. Also, if you are cutting on the tip of the tool there are only two flutes at the tip, on a three-flute tool there is only one flute at the tip.

Insert Technology
Insert technology for die/moldmaking and general machining applications has been enhanced to a level that it can perform most operations without fail. Many operations can be performed with insert tooling, especially in medium to large cavities and cores, since the diameter of insert tooling available fits well into this category.

Insert tooling—from diameters of 1/2 inch (12mm) and larger—works very well for roughing and finishing applications. The smaller insert diameters are designed mainly for finishing applications and some lighter duty roughing.

Solid Carbide Tooling
There are still certain applications areas where solid carbide tooling has advantages. The most obvious time to select solid carbide tools is when the diameter is less than 1/4 inch (6mm). Insert technology has not been developed for the smaller diameters.

One of the newer processes called trochoidal milling is another application for choosing solid carbide end mills. Trochoidal milling is an application that is used mainly for slot machining, but some CAM software developers are using this application for cavity milling as well.

This process entails machining with a large depth-of-cut and very small step over. The machining motion is a very smooth arcing loop cut that moves forward by an amount roughly equal to the step over amount for each loop. A solid carbide end mill is used because it has multiple flutes to maximize the feedrate. Typically this tool also is a high helix tool. This allows for very smooth cutting and the ability to create very good surface finishes. A drawback to this milling strategy is deflection if the tool is long.

Solid Carbide Shanks for Insert Tooling
The old theory that the extension length to cutting diameter ratio plays a deciding role in choosing solid carbide versus insert tools is now being challenged with the introduction of new solid carbide shanks for insert tooling.

3-D helical grind on a ball insert.

There is now very little reason to use solid carbide end mills in diameters exceeding 1/2 inch (12mm). Before this technology a steel shank toolholder did not have the rigidity required to aggressively machine with long tool extension. Now a carbide shank toolholder with a relatively inexpensive insert can be used in these applications, rather than using a more costly solid carbide end mill. Additional advantages of insert technology include flexibility, repeatability and longer reach.

High Feed Insert Tool for Roughing of Soft Materials
Milling of pre-heat treated materials can be performed quite easily with today’s cutting tools. A new insert tool for roughing of soft materials has been developed that offers a faster alternative for roughing. This high feed tool geometry is designed for high rpm and high feed machining with a relatively shallow depth-of-cut.

Case Study
An actual cutting example that was run with this geometry was as follows:

• Machine=FPT Dino five axis
• Maximum spindle speed=10,000
• Diameter of tool=1 inch
• Depth-of-cut=.035
• Width-of-cut=0.75
• RPM=3800
• Feedrate=310 inches per minute
• Tool extension of 4 inches
• Oil mist coolant

In this application the customer did not previously rough on this machine as the spindle torque is limited in the lower rpm range. By machining at 3800 rpm it was possible to get into the power band of the machine spindle.

Using a 1-inch diameter tool also allowed for roughing closer to net shape than was previously performed with a larger diameter tool.

Finishing
The cutting tool, machine tool and coating combinations now available can allow finishing of most die/mold materials with cutting speeds in excess of 1200 sfm. Some finishing operations are even performed at 3000 sfm with great success. Since the cutting speed is higher, the feedrate also is very high, which offers the opportunity to decrease cycle times while also increasing the finish quality.

Mold that was machined using high-speed machining (P20 material).

The key to success is making sure the semi finish passes are as close to net shape as possible so the finish tool does not have drastic changes in the amount of material being removed. More consistent stock removal in finishing will create more constant cutting forces, which will offer more predictable tool life and can shorten cycle times. Picking off small radii before finishing the main shape also will help increase tool life as well as enhance the surface finish and allow for more unattended machining.

Finishing of most die/mold materials is performed with air blow or oil mist. At the high cutting speeds liquid coolant can fracture the carbide tool due to the heat in the cut and the cold temperature of the coolant. Oil mist will provide the best surface finish while also increasing tool life.

Summary
Controlling heat is the most important factor in high-speed and hard metal machining. If you can control the heat you have taken a major step in controlling your machining process.

Hard milling applications put high demands on the toolholder and cutting edge, and require certain adjustments to milling parameters. Fully hardened material is harder to cut and the cutter will develop more heat in the cut. By using ball nose tools wherever possible, the detrimental influence of heat can be minimized.

In hard milling the depth-of-cut and step over are reduced to minimize heat. Due to the additional chip thinning effect caused by the shallower depth-of-cut, the tool can be run at a higher feed per tooth (fz). Toroid tools, bull nose tools and square tools also may be used in hard milling operations, but the sharper the corner radius, the less “heat-defying” the tool is.

Faster Cavity Roughing

These days, domestic mold and die shops make it or not based largely on how fast they can hog out tool cavities. Faster cavity roughing gets the whole tool set out the door sooner, enabling you to compete better against offshore shops while still preserving your margins.

So when you find a way to double or triple your cavity roughing rate, you jump on it.

That’s exactly the case at B&J Specialty (BJS) in Wawaka, IN, which focuses on larger mold and die sets for the appliance and automotive industries. Today they’re roughing hardened A-2 die stock twice as fast as before. Moreover, they’re hogging out cavities in wrought H-13 and M-4 mold stock three times faster.

B&J Specialty’s cavity rough-milling is running a whole lot faster after retooling with Ingersoll Chip Surfer replaceable tip mills. Throughput rose sixfold on hardened A-2 steel and more than tripled on wrought H-13 and M-4. Photos courtesy of Ingersoll Cutting Tools.

BJS process engineer Scott Sizemore had a hunch he could be roughing faster than 80 ipm if only he could find a cutter able to stand up. After all, their Makino V 550 vertical mill with a 20,000-rpm spindle had higher feed to spare. But whenever he turned up the feed, the solid carbide ball nose mill he was using—at $90 a pop—dulled out in just minutes. “Shows you what a fresh set of eyes can do,” says Sizemore, who led the change.

First Impression
The fresh eyes belonged to Mitch Bair, a representative from Ingersoll Cutting Tools recently assigned to this account and looking to make a good first impression. Sizemore showed him the cavity roughing operation with the ball nose mill and challenged him to come up with a better way.

“It was one of our bottleneck operations, so any improvement here would benefit the whole enterprise,” explains Sizemore. “If we go to the trouble to re-tool, we’d better make it count.”

After studying the operation, Bair suggested that a recently introduced Ingersoll Chip-Surfer high-feed bull nose cutter with replaceable tips would improve the roughing rate on soft stock by at least three to one and reduce tooling costs to boot. For roughing the hardened A-2 stock (Rc 60), Bair recommended an Ingersoll toroidal cutter, projecting at least 60 percent higher throughput.

Ingersoll high-feed bull nose cutter hogs out cavity at 700 ipm in wrought mold block at B&J Specialty, up from 80 ipm with solid carbide ball nose mill. Despite the higher material removal rate, edge life per unit of material removal more than tripled.

Tests Point the Way
Then he brought B&J the two tools to test on their own, with suggested settings. For roughing the soft wrought H-13 and M-4 steel, he suggested 6800 rpm, a 600-700 ipm feedrate and a slightly shallower depth-of-cut (DOC): 0.020 in. vs. 0.050 in. with the ball nose mill. For the toroidal cutter on hard A-2, he suggested 200 ipm/0.012" DOC, or twice the feed and three times the DOC as before, at the same 3750 rpm as before.

The next week, Sizemore tested the high-feed bull nose Chip Surfer at 600 ipm/0.020 DOC on the wrought mold stock. Spindle speed was 6800 rpm, unchanged from before. The tip was still sharp after an hour in the cut, which was how long the old solid carbide cutter has lasted—while cutting at only 80 ipm. He changed the tip anyway, a 20-second job with the Chip-Surfer shank still chucked in the spindle, and started right up again. With in-spindle tip changing, there’s no downtime touching off or reprogramming datum references.

Doing the math, Sizemore concluded that he had found the solution for one bottleneck operation. The bottom line: 3.3 times faster material removal on wrought mold stock and three times longer service life of a cutting tip costing about 40 percent less than the cutter it replaces. The time saving for edge changing—20 seconds from STOP to START vs. five minutes before—was simply icing on the cake.

Tests with the toroidal cutter on Rc 60 steel were just as conclusive.

The cutter lasted a full hour in the cut, the same as before, but after feeding 4.5 times faster for the entire hour. The toroidal cutter made chips at 3750 rpm/175 ipm/0.012" DOC, vs. 3750/100/0.004" before.

“While even a small percentage gain in rough-milling throughput would be important, here we’re talking order-of-magnitude increases, on both the wrought and hardened steels,” says Sizemore.

Pushing the Envelope
Not surprisingly BJS has standardized on the Ingersoll cutters for all their rough and semi-finish milling of mold and die cavities. But Sizemore didn’t stop there. He inched up the speed settings over those used in the validation test. Result: BJS now feeds the Chip Surfer high-feed bull nose cutter at 700 ipm and the toroidal cutter at 200 ipm with no loss of tool life or surface finish quality.

Ingersoll rep Mitch Bair reviews results with B&J Specialty’s Scott Sizemore. To make a good first impression when he was assigned the B&J account, Bair spotted the way to debottleneck the moldmaker’s rough-milling operation.

“We’re literally roughing 3.5 times faster and finishing six times faster than before with similar gains in edge life per unit of material removed,” says Sizemore. “In effect, eliminating this bottleneck has increased capacity of the shop as a whole, and enabled us to quote better deliveries. That gives us a key competitive edge over offshore shops ten thousand miles away that use lower technologies. We also can quote price with a sharper pencil and still maintain margins.”

Geometry Matters
Higher cutting rates with the Chip Surfers stem directly from their advanced geometry. First, the tool silhouettes are more straight-sided and cylindrical than spherical as with ball nose cutters. The pitch radius, and therefore the surface cutting speed, is more uniform over the entire cutting surface. Surface speed doesn’t approach zero as it must near the nose of a ball nose mill. Next, a robust sweeping radius capitalizes on chip thinning for faster removal on straight cuts. Generous corner radius and backdraft combine to facilitate cleaning out corners and minimize cutting forces. Finally, the tough alloy shank withstands shock and side deflection better than brittle solid carbide cutters.

And for milling the hard steels, the Ingersoll toroidal cutter boasts some of the same design differences over ball nose mill cutters, and more. The toroidal cutter also features six flutes instead of four, permitting 50 percent higher feeds without increasing cutting forces per flute. And again the radius is essentially constant over the entire cutting surface—keeping surface speed more uniformly optimized. With the shallow cuts characteristic of milling hard metals, this is a tremendous advantage.

The tool design also recognizes that efficient cavity milling is essentially side milling, which involves higher lateral forces. The alloy tough shank handles lateral forces that would snap off a solid carbide cutter.