Video: Sheet Metal Forming Without a Die
Ford Motor Company produced this video of its process for forming sheet metal directly from the CAD model, without any need for a die. Robots from FANUC Robotics use a stylus to shape the sheet metal into the desired form. Parts that otherwise might have required months of leadtime for die tooling can be manufactured within days of being designed.
Eliminating tooling is a theme with Ford. We have also covered the company’s use of 3D printing in sand to eliminate patterns in prototype casting.
This manufacturer’s use of live-tool lathes overcomes labor cost in various ways. One of the latest sources of savings involves bringing another operation—hobbing—into these machines. INCLUDES VIDEO.
Machine tool builders in Korea have been playing a catch-up game for the past decade. A review of current developments in machine tool technology indicates that Korea is rapidly pulling up with manufacturers in Japan, Europe and the United States. The products from Korea closely match their counterparts from other global suppliers in terms of capability and quality.
Hypereutectic aluminum is saturated with silicon particles that must be exposed during honing. A two-stage process first hones a cylinder’s wall to a mirror-like finish and then relieves aluminum around the silicon particles.