Page 45 - MetalForming August 2013

Imperial Die & Manufacturing’s CNC machining operator tends to the firm’s 6-yr.-old Johnford vertical machining center, while at far left sits the firm’s latest acquisition: a 2002-vintage Kitamura Mycenter 7X VMC. Its measurements: 60.2 by 25.6 by 27.0 in.
‘by the books,’” says Ron. “It’s a sci- ence, not observational or by feel. Rocket science has come to the tool- room. The ability to perform high- speed milling also is amazing. The machine controller can look ahead at the tool path and prepare for what’s coming without having to stop and cal- culate the cutter path. It’s looking ahead and processing the data to transition seamlessly.
“For example,” Ron continues, “when remachining cake-pan dies for our local bakeware customer, we can hard-mill the contour all along the top edge, running a ball cutter at high speed to remove tiny amounts of tool steel. We just have to polish out the machine marks and we’re good to go.”
The brothers also appreciate the ability to perform hard milling on their VMC. “A lot of the tools we refurbish have been heattreated,” says Ken, “and we don’t anneal them before machin- ing. Instead, we’re able to hard-mill to rework the contours.” The tool of choice: micrograin solid-carbide ball- nose end mills.
One Operator, Two VMCs
CNC machining at Imperial Die leapt forward earlier this year when the Lapossys opened their collective
“That work” includes several recent new dies made for its hardware cus- tomer, and refurbishing worn tooling for an array of Cleveland-area cus- tomers, including a manufacturer of bakeware.
“Our hardware customer had been running a lot of older dies, including some we built for them 20 to 30 years ago,” says Ken. “Some of those dies, used to stamp hinges, paddle latches, grab handles and similar products, became very difficult to set in their presses. Nothing lined up, so each changeover required hours of grind- ing and shimming. We finally con- vinced the customer to invest in a new two-out die for high-volume stamp- ing of latches and pulls. We designed and built the die to allow them to make 14 different parts without having to remove the die from the press. A setter just has to open the press, reach in and replace the stripper insert, punch hold- er and die block, and he’s back up and running in 30 min.”
Other work making its way to the Johnford VMC includes new projects for its building-hardware customer, requiring machining of D3 tool steel. “We can finish-grind this steel (an air- hardening high-carbon high-chromi- um grade) and provide dies with
improved abrasion and wear resist- ance,” says Ron.
Rocket Science in the Toolroom
D3 tool steels, according to industry literature, prove ideal for blanking and forming dies, as well as punches. Machining the steels, the brothers add, has been a breeze using its current stock of Seco high-speed cutters, made from ultra-fine-grain
carbide with special- ized coatings.
“CNC machining is
Imperial recently fabri- cated a new die, for its stamper-customer in the hardware-compo- nents industry, which uses the replaceable tooling shown here. The stamper can make 14 different parts with- out having to remove the die from the press. A setter only has to open the press, reach in and replace the stripper insert, punch holder and die block, and he’s back up and running in 30 min.
Tooling Technology
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