Two servomotors adjust the machine along the y axis as the boring bar makes its way through an engine block. Droop compensation in this manner keeps consecutive bores running true. Automated tool changing for insertion machines is new, said Rory Kelly, a Haeger design engineer. Comparing automated tool changing to hand chucking of tools is like comparing CNC machining to cutting metal on ordinary lathes, he said. The new machine eliminates any need for an operator to change tools between different fasteners, he said.
Assemblies often use a variety of fasteners.
In a manual tool change, an operator installing fasteners may need to handle a workpiece several times. Handling increases the risk of damage to parts, Kelly said. In the case of circuit boards, scrapping them at the fastener-insertion stage of manufacturing is costly. Through market research, Haeger discovered that seven seconds was about all the time press users would tolerate for tool changes. A typical insertion cycle runs 20 seconds, Kelly said.