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AML’s raison d’etre is to take a part, however complex and establish the most productive and economical way of manufacturing it – from prototype through to full batch production. It achieves this via a number of scientific methods centered around machine dynamics optimization such as Tap Test Analysis and Adaptive Probing....more
Cutting metal three times faster
AML says it routinely offers its clients metal removal rates 2-3 times faster than could previously be achieved...more
Tap-testing with the Machining Dynamics team
My main project has been to conduct an investigation into the dynamic properties of some of the machine tools on the shop floor and create a database of this information. By performing a procedure called tap testing on these machines it’s possible to understand how they vibrate; essential knowledge when a critical concern in machining is the elimination vibrations...more
Case Study: Aerospace Industry
The trials carried out included a TAP test (this test is a major evaluation tool used before the purchase of any machine by the AMRC), which uses a sophisticated software package to check the overall stiffness of the machine structure...more
DMG MORI provides the key to AML's advanced capabilities
With resonance measurement, accelerometers are fitted to the cutter and, in some cases, the billet. Readings are then taken to establish the best cutting conditions and methods. Using this technology enables the company to maximise metal removal rates by taking much deeper cuts than would normally be possible, avoiding problems commonly found when cutting titanium such as burning the tool and chatter which can damage the material and lead to high scrap rates. Dr Gareth Morgan says, “Resonance technology was my field of study for my PhD, so we are well advanced in its use. For aerospace parts we are working with aggressive materials and we are frequently removing over 80% of them, so this is a very important technique for us...more
AMRC CATAPULT
The AMRC develop techniques to deliver significant improvements in machining performance, including: process monitoring and control; machining dynamics; and machinability for aerospace, automotive and medical sectors...more
Model Development for Cutting Optimization in High-Performance Titanium Machining
These plots feature “stability lobes” above which the combination of depth of cut and spindle speed results in unacceptable vibration. The key is to select the highest speed that falls under the last acceptable lobe to give the largest possible depth of cut....more
What Your Handbook Isn't Telling You
"Dr. Tony Schmitz, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, recorded this quick presentation on machine tool dynamics. It’s worth watching—less than 12 minutes long, with a quiz at the end to make sure you got the key points. If you understand that vibrations are a major contributor to the performance of your machining process, but don’t quite know how to put this understanding to practical use, then this presentation is where to begin"...more
AML’s raison d’etre is to take a part, however complex and establish the most productive and economical way of manufacturing it – from prototype through to full batch production. It achieves this via a number of scientific methods centered around machine dynamics optimization such as Tap Test Analysis and Adaptive Probing....more
Cutting metal three times faster
AML says it routinely offers its clients metal removal rates 2-3 times faster than could previously be achieved...more
Tap-testing with the Machining Dynamics team
My main project has been to conduct an investigation into the dynamic properties of some of the machine tools on the shop floor and create a database of this information. By performing a procedure called tap testing on these machines it’s possible to understand how they vibrate; essential knowledge when a critical concern in machining is the elimination vibrations...more
Case Study: Aerospace Industry
The trials carried out included a TAP test (this test is a major evaluation tool used before the purchase of any machine by the AMRC), which uses a sophisticated software package to check the overall stiffness of the machine structure...more
DMG MORI provides the key to AML's advanced capabilities
With resonance measurement, accelerometers are fitted to the cutter and, in some cases, the billet. Readings are then taken to establish the best cutting conditions and methods. Using this technology enables the company to maximise metal removal rates by taking much deeper cuts than would normally be possible, avoiding problems commonly found when cutting titanium such as burning the tool and chatter which can damage the material and lead to high scrap rates. Dr Gareth Morgan says, “Resonance technology was my field of study for my PhD, so we are well advanced in its use. For aerospace parts we are working with aggressive materials and we are frequently removing over 80% of them, so this is a very important technique for us...more
AMRC CATAPULT
The AMRC develop techniques to deliver significant improvements in machining performance, including: process monitoring and control; machining dynamics; and machinability for aerospace, automotive and medical sectors...more
Model Development for Cutting Optimization in High-Performance Titanium Machining
These plots feature “stability lobes” above which the combination of depth of cut and spindle speed results in unacceptable vibration. The key is to select the highest speed that falls under the last acceptable lobe to give the largest possible depth of cut....more
What Your Handbook Isn't Telling You
"Dr. Tony Schmitz, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, recorded this quick presentation on machine tool dynamics. It’s worth watching—less than 12 minutes long, with a quiz at the end to make sure you got the key points. If you understand that vibrations are a major contributor to the performance of your machining process, but don’t quite know how to put this understanding to practical use, then this presentation is where to begin"...more
BlueSwarf Founder Receives S.M. Wu Research Award
"2012 NAMRI/SME S.M. Wu Research Implementation Award - Scott Smith, PhD, FSME, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Jerry Halley, Tech Manufacturing; and Robert Wilhelm, PhD, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; were recognized for their research on applied high-speed machining technology"...more
"2012 NAMRI/SME S.M. Wu Research Implementation Award - Scott Smith, PhD, FSME, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Jerry Halley, Tech Manufacturing; and Robert Wilhelm, PhD, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; were recognized for their research on applied high-speed machining technology"...more
BlueSwarf Founder Named Fellow by International Academy
"Election into the International Academy for Production Engineering, or CIRP, is a very exclusive honor. The total number of fellows worldwide is limited to 175 and the number is limited to 20 per country. BlueSwarf co-founder Dr. Scott Smith is one of six CIRP fellows at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte"...more
"Election into the International Academy for Production Engineering, or CIRP, is a very exclusive honor. The total number of fellows worldwide is limited to 175 and the number is limited to 20 per country. BlueSwarf co-founder Dr. Scott Smith is one of six CIRP fellows at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte"...more
Eliminating Chatter: BlueSwarf To The Rescue
"Eliminating Chatter: BlueSwarf To The Rescue?Chatter, the vibration created when CNC machine tooling engages a work piece, affects turning, milling and drilling operations, but is especially troublesome for milling. Even minimal chatter can shorten tool life and impact part quality. Too much chatter can even damage machine tools"...more
"Eliminating Chatter: BlueSwarf To The Rescue?Chatter, the vibration created when CNC machine tooling engages a work piece, affects turning, milling and drilling operations, but is especially troublesome for milling. Even minimal chatter can shorten tool life and impact part quality. Too much chatter can even damage machine tools"...more
Increase Milling Output on Your Existing Machine
"An Airbus research and technology leader was quoted in this article describing what he sees as low-hanging fruit in the supply chain—that is, opportunities to get greater output from existing CNC machines. One opportunity he sees is increasing metal removal rate in milling by selecting spindle speeds with an understanding of the machine’s and the overall system’s tendencies to chatter. The practice has been known for decades, and Dr. Scott Smith of BlueSwarf explained in a recent Webinar just how to obtain this productivity gain"...more
"An Airbus research and technology leader was quoted in this article describing what he sees as low-hanging fruit in the supply chain—that is, opportunities to get greater output from existing CNC machines. One opportunity he sees is increasing metal removal rate in milling by selecting spindle speeds with an understanding of the machine’s and the overall system’s tendencies to chatter. The practice has been known for decades, and Dr. Scott Smith of BlueSwarf explained in a recent Webinar just how to obtain this productivity gain"...more
Chinch Bugs and High-Speed Machining
In today’s information driven society, it could be argued that the relative significance of a topic is measured by the number of web sites identified by an Internet search. The search term “Super Bowl”, for example, yields approximately 103,000,000 sites[1], which tops “World Cup” at 88,800,000. “Machining” outscores “nanotechnology” at 56,400,000 to 26,500,000 sites"...more
In today’s information driven society, it could be argued that the relative significance of a topic is measured by the number of web sites identified by an Internet search. The search term “Super Bowl”, for example, yields approximately 103,000,000 sites[1], which tops “World Cup” at 88,800,000. “Machining” outscores “nanotechnology” at 56,400,000 to 26,500,000 sites"...more
56-Percent Productivity Increase By Reducing Chatter
"The video compares a milling pass that chatters to one that is stable. Because the stable speed permits greater depth of cut, productivity increases." ...more
"The video compares a milling pass that chatters to one that is stable. Because the stable speed permits greater depth of cut, productivity increases." ...more
Boeing Headlines Advanced Manufacturing Center
"Presented by Boeing, Lotus F1, IMTS and Modern Machine Shop, the Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMC) features technologies impacting all aspects of the manufacturing business.From tool monitoring to total cost of ownership, the AMC will feature leaders in shop management technologies and strategies. BlueSwarf will introduce the Tooling Cloud, an online shop and tool management system. BlueSwarf will also feature the DARPA-funded Machine Tool Genome Project."..more
"Presented by Boeing, Lotus F1, IMTS and Modern Machine Shop, the Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMC) features technologies impacting all aspects of the manufacturing business.From tool monitoring to total cost of ownership, the AMC will feature leaders in shop management technologies and strategies. BlueSwarf will introduce the Tooling Cloud, an online shop and tool management system. BlueSwarf will also feature the DARPA-funded Machine Tool Genome Project."..more
Dial Up or Dial Down?
"Warner Robins contracted with the company BlueSwarf both to perform the tap-test analysis and to provide resources including the Tool Dashboard. BlueSwarf is a firm specializing in machine-tool vibration analysis. The company sells a “Metalmax” analysis kit for shops to perform this analysis internally, but the company also performs the analysis itself on-site, for shops that want to contract out this work"...more
The Online Optimizer
"Coming soon from BlueSwarf: The Machine Tool Genome Project promises to let almost any machine shop use its machining centers more productively. Shops will benefit from tap-test findings without personally tapping any of their own machines or tools"...more
High Speed Machining's Origin Moment
"If a history of “high speed machining” is ever written, it might include a moment in the late 1980s when Jerry Halley, of what was then McDonnell Douglas, heard from Ron Aarns that he was free to go ahead with the company’s development of HSM....The notion of using dramatically higher milling spindle speeds was not at all new when Mr. Halley turned to Dr. Scott Smith (now of the University of North Carolina—also a cofounder of BlueSwarf"...more
No Need for Speed
"Through vibration-analysis testing using the MetalMax system., Mr. Halley measured the frequency response characteristics for this machine to determine its ideal high-productivity spindle speeds for various standard tools in the shop. With this information, he determined new speeds, feed rates and depths of cut for programs to be run on the machine, but he didn’t have to change any tool paths. High speed machining tool paths that were already being run productively on the older machines could now be run even more productively on the new machine. The machine started making money for the shop almost as soon as it hit the floor"....more
Sweet, Sweet Spot
"The mic picks up the sound of the chatter, which is easy to hear through the closed doors of the machine, and the laptop records a sample as a data file. The software running on the laptop studies the sample and analyzes the vibrations detected in the data file. If chatter is present, the software then applies algorithms that determine what spindle rpm will fall within a stable speed range"...more
Find The Right Speed For Chatter-Free Milling
"The system (which the company calls "Harmonizer") consists of a microphone that connects to a PC, a hardware key and vibration analysis software"...more
A Subscription To Spindle Speeds
"The service relies on technology from BlueSwarf, a company in State College, Pennsylvania, that specializes in analyzing machine tool vibration"...more
Ten Questions About Chatter
"This test involves tapping the tool with a delicate hammer and measuring the frequency response with electronic equipment. The resulting graph of frequency response will suggest the system's various stable speeds. There is even software available that accomplishes something similar by listening to the cut with a microphone"...more
The Overhang Effect
"When chatter occurs, the natural reflex is to reduce spindle speed, but increasing the speed may in fact be a more productive response. Another common response to chatter is to switch to a tool with a smaller length-to-diameter ratio, because of the seeming stiffness of a shorter tool. In certain cases, however, a tool that reaches farther will deliver a superior cut"...more
Understanding Surface Location Error
"The tool that is no longer chattering is still vibrating. In fact, the tool is likely to vibrate with even greater amplitude when the chatter is quiet, because the low-chatter spindle speeds occur near those “natural frequencies” where the system inherently wants to vibrate"...more
Chatter Myths: Pieces of the Puzzle in Maximized Machining
"If you know the natural frequency of the stackup assembly, then you can suggest the best rpm and depth-of-cut of the machining operation so chatter does not occur"...more
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