Design collaboration produces tooling 'right first time'

Devon based DeltaCAD Ltd, a start-up company who specialise in CADCAM services has recently collaborated with sub contract tooling manufacturer Casting Support Systems Ltd on a project to provide a leading Aerospace company with aluminium tooling for a carbon composite seat shell for a major civil airline company. The volatile nature of fuel prices has forced the aerospace industry to make weight reduction a high priority focus and reducing the weight of aircraft seating significantly reduces aviation fuel consumption and CO2 emissions throughout the operational lifetime of the aircraft, with every kilogram of weight contributing to the running costs of an aircraft to the carrier.

DeltaCAD Ltd was founded in 2010 by Dean Challis, a design engineer with considerable CADCAM and tool design experience, who provides a comprehensive range of design and manufacturing services from 2D drawings to 3D modelling and CAM programming.

For this project, the original CAD model was provided by the customer as a Unigraphics NX file and the part analysis and tool design was performed using VISI Modelling from Vero Software. "VISI is very tolerant of non-native data", explains Dean Challis. "Often when models are originally designed, the manufacturing requirements are not always known. To make a part manufacturable, it is vital to interact with the data and make the relevant changes. In regards to these particular components and with authority from the original design team, the tooling was modified to remove undercut areas and apply blend radii on sharp edges. Typically, blending can be a very complex task and it is often necessary to explode a model into surfaces and manually apply the CAD modifications. VISI is very strong at switching between a solid & surface environment and this allows us to make complex changes where other CAD systems often fall over."

The manufacture of the tooling was performed by Casting Support Systems Ltd, a company who supply large tooling to the Investment Casting, Plastic moulding and Gas Turbine Industries; but also, in conjunction with its sister company Versa-tote, is a forerunner in the design and manufacture of returnable transit boxes, picking and order tote boxes for distribution and storage facilities across Europe.

All toolpaths were programmed using VISI Machining and the aluminium tooling was milled using XYZ 1060 high speed vertical machining centres running Siemens 840D ShopMill Control, with WNT solid carbide end mills which have been specifically designed for cutting softer materials such as aluminium. The geometry of the tooling makes it possible to cut full slots to 1.5 x D depth with high feed rates, typically twice that of traditional steel cutting tools. The tooling life for the cutters is approximately 3,000 hours.

The entire multi surface tool was manufactured and assembled in only 9 days and this was partly due to optimal toolpath usage and running multiple jobs at the same time. Sam Cox, Tool room foreman at Casting Support Systems explains, "Complex tools often contain a number of sub inserts where the setup time is disproportionate to the actual CAM runtime. To overcome this obstacle, we setup a number of individual jobs located around a single datum which run overnight for lights-out machining. Although the machine can run at optimum production rates, we back off when running overnight to protect tool life. We use VISI to accurately predict the actual toolpath cutting time and program accordingly. A typical set of overnight programs will run for up to 14 hours."

The carbon fibre material used was a 2 x 2 twill weave cloth that is pre-impregnated with epoxy resin so that when the tool is brought up to temp (120-140 degrees depending on resin used) the resin cures within approximately 1 hour. The tool is then cooled as quickly as possible and the top half of the tool is removed, exposing the cafibre moulding. ,

The properties of carbon fibre such as high  tensile strength, low weight, and low thermal expansion make it very popular in aerospace, civil engineering, military, and competition sports. The complete assembled, multi insert tooling was sent to our customer for lay-up and production where the final carbon fibre component (measuring 700mm x 680mm x 460mm) weighed only 5.25 lbs was 'right first time having virtually no visible split line definition'.

Although Casting Support Systems Ltd already have in-house CADCAM capabilities, Director, James Head acknowledges the benefits of using external design expertise from DeltaCAD and maximising the use of VISI Machining. "The combination of Dean and VISI has catered for many additional requirements and has in fact exceeded our expectations. Vero have provided a powerful, cost effective solution for the design and manufacture of complex tooling."

Vero in profile
Headquartered in England, Vero Software designs, develops, and supplies CAD/CAM/CAE software that radically enhances the efficiency of design and manufacturing processes. It is a leading supplier within key sectors of the CAD/CAM/CAE industry such as plastic injection moulds and progressive dies, providing its customers with exceptional value through high productivity gains and significantly reducing time to market.

Vero is represented in over 40 countries by more than 80 distributors. In addition to its extensive dealer network, it has its own direct sales operations in the UK, USA, Canada, France, Italy, China, and Japan.

For further information, e-mail: marc@vero.co.uk  or view website: www.vero-software.com  Refer to page 195

For other useful information, view websites: www.deltacad.co.uk and  www.cssltd.info

New ATEX-certified junction
boxes from MARECHAL Electric

MARECHAL Electric introduces a new range of ATEX-certified, IP66-sealed junction boxes which combine safe electrical connections in harsh, wet and hazardous environments, with the flexibility to specify a mix of Exe terminals with currents ranging from 4A to 350A and cable sizes ranging from 1.5mm² to 240mm². The largest of the ten standard box sizes can accept up to 402 individual Exe terminals rated at 4A with 1.5mm² cables, or five 350A Exe terminals with 240mm² cables. The boxes are rated for voltages up to 750V and operate over a temperature range of -55 to +60 degrees Centigrade.

The new MXBJ range of junction boxes is certified to IECEx LCI 11.0026 and ATEX N° LCIE 11 ATEX 3028, for use in ATEX gas zones 1 & 2, and dust zones 21 & 22. Sealing to IP66 ensures that the junction boxes are water-tight and dust-tight whilst their high resistance to shock is rated to IEC and EN 62 262, level IK09.

ATEX-certified, IP66-sealed junction box.

The junction box casings are manufactured in polyester resin, reinforced with fibre-glass and graphite, and secured with stainless steel screws. Cable glands, in sizes ranging from M12 to M63, are available in a choice of polyamide, for unarmoured cable, or nickel-plated brass for armoured or unarmoured cable.

The robust construction allows the junction boxes to be used in wet or corrosive environments such as the food, drink and chemical industries, as well as in hazardous, ATEX applications such as oil refineries, gas terminals and silos.

Christophe Janin, Sales director, MARECHAL, explains; "The new junction boxes extend MARECHAL's range of ATEX-certified decontactor plugs, sockets and spring-assisted terminals, allowing customers to increase the flexibility and safety of their electrical supply as well as helping them to reduce maintenance costs."

Key Facts
1) Certified to ATEX N° LCIE 11 ATEX 3028 and IEC Ex LCI 11.0026. 2) Water-tight and dust-tight sealing to IP66, shock resistance to IK09. 3) Customer-specified combination of terminals from 1.5mm² to 240mm². 4) Rated from 4A to 350A, and up to 750V. 5) Suitable for wet, corrosive or hazardous environments.

MARECHAL Electric in profile
MARECHAL Electric pioneered the use of high performance, silver-nickel butt contacts in electrical socket systems, which are now available for applications from simple compact multipin to heavy duty 600A connections. This technology is used across a range of demanding environments such as the food and drink, nuclear power, heavy industry, infrastructure and ATEX sectors.  An effective alternative to both hard-wired equipment and pin/sleeve type contacts, the decontactor is a highly flexible method of connecting and disconnecting electrical equipment at the press of a latch - safely.  MARECHAL brought the decontactor, the high performance industrial connector with integral AC21 switch, to the electrical market.

For further information, e-mail: l.depiante@marechal.com or view website:  www.marechal-electric.com  Refer to page 395

New long-life, Heraeus UV modules
provide cold disinfection for food packaging

The new Premium UV module from Heraeus Noblelight has been specially developed to provide cold UV disinfection for food packaging. It offers a compact design, allowing easy retrofit  within existing production lines, and features a lamp life of around 12,000 hours, three times that of competitive lamps. Its geometry fits it especially for in-line filling machines with four to twelve rows of cups.

The new module provides a positive reduction in germ count of up to 99.99% and can also be used to kill yeasts, spores and fungi. Its high 3 W/cm power is virtually free of any infra-red so that irradiation on packaging is fast and cold, which makes the lamp ideal for use with heat-sensitive products. There is no need for any additional disinfection products or chemicals.

By using air cooling instead of water cooling, the Premium UV module is extremely compact. It features an integral breakage detector for total product security and is protected to IP 67. The module's high intensity UV radiation is available for virtually all of the unit's operating life, falling by just 20% after 12,000 hours, so that the module continues to offer an economical and reliable disinfection solution.

Heraeus specialises in the production and application of high quality energy sources covering the electro-magnetic spectrum from ultraviolet to infra-red.

For further information, e-mail: ian.bartley@heraeus.com  or view website: www.heraeus-noblelight.com  Refer to page 251

Infra-red drying helps to improve electro-plating productivity

An infra-red drying system from Heraeus Noblelight has helped Lorlec Ltd to improve productivity and reduce downtime in the drying of electro-plated components at its Burton-on-Trent factory. The new system was easily and quickly retrofitted into the available space in the plating area.

Lorlec Ltd is committed to providing the highest quality metal finishing and is a MacDermid Registered Applicator of the METEX JS 500 zinc process as specified by many automotive manufacturers. For over 20 years, Lorlec has produced plating to the most exacting of specifications at its purpose-built facility, which can accommodate items for zinc plating up to 6m long and weighing up to 5 tonnes.

The electro-plating process, involves dipping the components to be plated, which are suspended on an overhead conveyor, in the plating bath. The components are then rinsed off in a water bath to remove any plating products which have adhered to the surface. Finally the rinsed components are dried as they are conveyed to a storage area to prevent any discolouration or watermarks on the plated surface. Warm air ovens are often used for this drying process but space restrictions at Lorlec prevented their installation. Consequently, the company had turned to short wave infra-red halogen lamps but these proved unreliable because of frequent lamp failure, which necessitated process stoppage so that repairs could be carried out.

In an effort to solve the problem, Lorlec contacted Heraeus and after successful tests at Heraeus' Neston Applications Centre, a 38.4kW fast response, medium wave system was retrofitted adjacent to the conveyor system by the water bath. Since installation, the new system has allowed productivity to be increased by around 30%, because of the greater efficiency of medium wave infra-red in drying applications and because of the long life of the medium wave modules. As Brian Lord, project manager at Lorlec, comments, "Apart from our gains in productivity and improvements in plating quality, we have also been impressed with the fast response of the infra-red system, as this means that plated components are not damaged in the event of any unanticipated line stoppage."

Heraeus specialises in the production and application of high quality energy sources covering the electro-magnetic spectrum from ultraviolet to infra-red. It has over 40 years experience in infra-red technology and offers the expertise, products and systems to provide efficient and effective solutions to drying, heating and curing problems throughout industry.  For further information, e-mail: ian.bartley@heraeus.com  or view website: www.heraeus-noblelight.com